Nude Girl on a Rug

possibly by May 10, 1924 - 1928
Dr. Alfred Ganz, Lucerne, Switzerland

1928/10/30
In auction of the Ganz collection, at Cassirer-Helbing, Berlin, Germany, October 30, 1928, lot no. 10 [1]

Helcia Täubler, Berlin, Germany [2]

by 1932 - possibly still in 1964
Erich Cohn (1889-1972) and Helene Cohn, New York, NY, USA [3]

- 1965
The J. & B. Weintraub Gallery, New York, NY

1965 - 1983
Morton D. May (1914-1983), St. Louis, MO, purchased from The J. & B. Weintraub Gallery [4]

1983 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, bequest of Morton D. May [5]


Notes:
The main source for this provenance is Berend-Corinth's 1992 catalogue raisonné [Berend-Corinth, Charlotte. "Lovis Corinth, Die Gemälde, Werkverzeichnis." Munich: Bruckmann Verlag, 1992 (originally published 1958), cat. no. 525]. Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.

[1] The painting is included in the 1924 catalogue of an exhibition at the Kunsthaus Zürich and listed as belonging to a private collection in Lucerne [Austellung Lovis Corinth 10. Mai bis 29. Juni 1925. Zurich: Kunsthaus Zürich, 1924., cat. 23.]. The painting is included, and illustrated, in the 1928 auction catalog featuring the Ganz collection at the gallery Cassirer-Helbing, Berlin [Sammlung Dr. Alfred Ganz, St. Niklausen bei Luzern, aus Berliner und anderem Privatbesitz, aus dem Nachlaß Paul M. Robinow, Hamburg. Berlin: Paul Cassirer and Hugo Helbing, October 30, 1928, lot no. 10].

[2] Helcia Täubler was a German art agent who was based in Berlin and worked for the Galerie Neue Kunst Fides. She also acted as advisor for the Kunstmuseum Basel and represented Charlotte Berend-Corinth, the artist's wife. In 1937, Täubler emigrated to Italy [information provided by Esther Tisa Francini, email dated March 23, 2006, SLAM document files].

[3] Erich Cohn, president of A. Goodman & Sons, Inc., manufacturer of noodles, was a notable collector of German Expressionist art and a lender to numerous exhibitions. He and his wife lent the painting to a 1932 exhibition held at the Germanic Museum, Harvard and the Springfield Art Museum. This is supported by a Harvard loan label on the reverse of the painting, and by Harvard University Art Museum staff who provided the title and dates of the exhibition which corresponded to the label's loan number ["Entering the Twentieth Century: Oils, Watercolors, Drawings, Assembled by the College Art Association." Springfield, MA: Springfield Art Museum 1932, cat. no. 10; email dated April 28, 2006 from Lizzy Ramhorst, Busch-Reisinger Museum, Harvard University Art Museums, SLAM document files].

Erich Cohn was friends with the artist's wife, Charlotte Berend-Corinth, and regularly acquired Corinth's artwork directly from her [notes of telephone conversation between Erich Cohn's son, Richard Cohn, and Emmeline Erikson at the Saint Louis Art Museum, April 21, 2006, SLAM document files]. Because of his relationship with Charlotte Berend-Corinth, Cohn may have purchased this work from Helcia Täubler, who represented the artist's wife.

In another telephone conversation, Erich Cohn's son confirmed that this painting was owned by his father for a very long time [notes of telephone conversation between Erich Cohn's son, Richard Cohn, and Emmeline Erikson at the Saint Louis Art Museum, May 9, 2006, SLAM document files]. Although the catalogue raisonné does not include Mr. and Mrs. Erich Cohn in the provenance, it does indicate that the painting was in a private collection in New York. An exhibition catalogue from 1964 which includes this work similarly lists it simply as from an anonymous lender in New York ["Lovis Corinth: A Retrospective Exhibition in the Gallery of Modern Art." New York: The Gallery of Modern Art, September 22 - November 1, 1964, cat. no. 33]. It is probable that the picture was still in Cohn's collection at the time, since he has been identified as the "Anonymous lender" of another painting by Corinth in the 1964 exhibition (cat. no. 67), which is also now in the Museum's collection, "Walchensee, Silverway" (878:1983) [bibliography for 878:1983, SLAM document files].

[4] Morton D. May purchased the painting from The J. & B. Weintraub Gallery on December 7, 1965 [invoice, SLAM document files].

[5] 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 the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, September 20, 1983.