Harlequin and Columbine
- Date
- c.1913
- Material
- Oil on canvas
- made in
- Sindelsdorf, Bavaria state, Germany, Europe
- Classification
- Paintings
- Collection
- Modern and Contemporary Art
- Current Location
- On View, Gallery 215
- Dimensions
- 65 x 78 3/8 in. (165.1 x 199.1 cm)
framed: 70 15/16 x 84 3/16 x 2 3/4 in. (180.2 x 213.8 x 7 cm) - Credit Line
- Bequest of Morton D. May
- Rights
- Public Domain
- Object Number
- 874:1983
NOTES
Two figures, shown in facets of gemlike tones and contrasting patterns, appear within this colorful fragmented landscape. The title identifies them as Harlequin and Columbine, characters from the commedia dell’arte. This type of theatrical performance started in Europe in the 1400s and became popular again in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Harlequin and Columbine were traditionally dancers in a ballet, but here Heinrich Campendonk depicted them as a seated couple rather than performers. It is possible they are portraits of Campendonk himself and his wife, Adda Deichmann. They married around the time this work was painted.
Provenance
- 1945
Kurt Feldhäusser (1905-1945), Berlin, Germany [1]
1945 -
Marie Luise Feldhäusser (1876-1967), Berlin, Germany, by inheritance [2]
- 1954
Feigl Gallery (Hugo Feigl), New York, NY, USA [3]
1954/01/11 - 1983
Morton D. May (1914-1983), St. Louis, MO, purchased from Feigl Gallery
1983 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, bequest of Morton D. May [4]
Notes:
[1] Kurt Feldhäusser died in a bombing raid in Nürnberg in January 1945. His mother, Marie Luise Feldhäusser, inherited his collection and subsequently sold much of it through E. Weyhe Gallery in New York [letter from Wolfgang Schöddert, Ferdinand-Möller-Stiftung, dated November 20, 2002, SLAM document files].
According to Andrew Robison, Marie Luise Feldhäusser moved to Brooklyn, NY in May 1948 to join her other son Erwin and his family. She brought nearly all of Kurt's collection with her, with the exception of three sculptures and five rolled paintings (presumably oversized). She left these few pieces in the care of Fritz Kolb, an artist and friend of Kurt Feldhäusser in Stuttgart, Germany [Robison, Andrew. "Kirchner Collector Kurt Feldhäusser" in "Festschrift für Eberhard W. Kornfeld zum 80. Geburtstag." Bern: Galerie Kornfeld, 2003]. Among the works she left in Germany was a painting by Campendonk, which quite possibly may have been this picture, as it is a very large canvas.
[2] See note [1].
[3] The invoice dated January 11, 1954 from Feigl Gallery to Morton D. May indicates that this work is from the Feldhäusser collection [May Archives, Saint Louis Art Museum]. A letter to Morton D. May from Hugo Feigl of Feigl Gallery refers to some artwork he purchased "from the famous Feldthaeusser [sic] collection, where I bought them directly" [letter dated October 24, 1960, SLAM document files]. Although this painting is not mentioned in the letter, it is quite possible that Feigl Gallery acquired this work directly from the Feldhäusser collection as well.
According to the Feigl Gallery invoice, Morton D. May also bought another work from the Feldhäusser collection at this time, which is now in the Museum's collection – Ernst Ludwig Kirchner's sculpture "Standing Nude" (402:1955) – which Marie Luise Feldhäusser seems to have also left in the care of Kurt's friend, Fritz Kolb [Robison, p. 252].
[4] Last Will and Testament of M. D. May dated June 11, 1982 [copy, May Archives, Saint Louis Art Museum]. Minutes of the Acquisitions and Loans Committee of Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, September 20, 1983.
Kurt Feldhäusser (1905-1945), Berlin, Germany [1]
1945 -
Marie Luise Feldhäusser (1876-1967), Berlin, Germany, by inheritance [2]
- 1954
Feigl Gallery (Hugo Feigl), New York, NY, USA [3]
1954/01/11 - 1983
Morton D. May (1914-1983), St. Louis, MO, purchased from Feigl Gallery
1983 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, bequest of Morton D. May [4]
Notes:
[1] Kurt Feldhäusser died in a bombing raid in Nürnberg in January 1945. His mother, Marie Luise Feldhäusser, inherited his collection and subsequently sold much of it through E. Weyhe Gallery in New York [letter from Wolfgang Schöddert, Ferdinand-Möller-Stiftung, dated November 20, 2002, SLAM document files].
According to Andrew Robison, Marie Luise Feldhäusser moved to Brooklyn, NY in May 1948 to join her other son Erwin and his family. She brought nearly all of Kurt's collection with her, with the exception of three sculptures and five rolled paintings (presumably oversized). She left these few pieces in the care of Fritz Kolb, an artist and friend of Kurt Feldhäusser in Stuttgart, Germany [Robison, Andrew. "Kirchner Collector Kurt Feldhäusser" in "Festschrift für Eberhard W. Kornfeld zum 80. Geburtstag." Bern: Galerie Kornfeld, 2003]. Among the works she left in Germany was a painting by Campendonk, which quite possibly may have been this picture, as it is a very large canvas.
[2] See note [1].
[3] The invoice dated January 11, 1954 from Feigl Gallery to Morton D. May indicates that this work is from the Feldhäusser collection [May Archives, Saint Louis Art Museum]. A letter to Morton D. May from Hugo Feigl of Feigl Gallery refers to some artwork he purchased "from the famous Feldthaeusser [sic] collection, where I bought them directly" [letter dated October 24, 1960, SLAM document files]. Although this painting is not mentioned in the letter, it is quite possible that Feigl Gallery acquired this work directly from the Feldhäusser collection as well.
According to the Feigl Gallery invoice, Morton D. May also bought another work from the Feldhäusser collection at this time, which is now in the Museum's collection – Ernst Ludwig Kirchner's sculpture "Standing Nude" (402:1955) – which Marie Luise Feldhäusser seems to have also left in the care of Kurt's friend, Fritz Kolb [Robison, p. 252].
[4] Last Will and Testament of M. D. May dated June 11, 1982 [copy, May Archives, Saint Louis Art Museum]. Minutes of the Acquisitions and Loans Committee of Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, September 20, 1983.
We regularly update records, which may be incomplete. If you have additional information, please contact us at provenance@slam.org.