Café
- Artist
- George Grosz, German, 1893–1959, German (active United States), 1893–1959
- Date
- 1916
- Material
- Oil on canvas
- made in
- Berlin, Berlin state, Germany, Europe
- Classification
- Paintings
- Collection
- Modern and Contemporary Art
- Current Location
- Not on view
- Dimensions
- 19 × 12 3/4 in. (48.3 × 32.4 cm)
framed: 29 1/8 × 23 3/16 in. (74 × 58.9 cm) - Credit Line
- Bequest of Morton D. May
- Rights
- Public Domain
- Object Number
- 889:1983
NOTES
In this satirical painting, George Grosz presents three card-playing men in a Berlin café illuminated by an eerie red glow. The bloated figures represent the well-fed, greedy leaders of capitalist society, whom the artist saw as the source of many social ills. Two of the men glance sideways with beady eyes while the third collects his winnings. Painted in the midst of World War I, this work reveals the artist’s keen sense of social injustice while also showing his fascination with metropolitan nightlife.
Provenance
by 1941 - 1949
Victor Steiner (d.1949), New York, NY, USA, acquired from the artist [1]
1949 - 1959
George Grosz (1893-1959), Long Island, New York, NY, acquired from Victor Steiner
1959 - 1961
Richard Feigen Gallery (Richard L. Feigen), Chicago, IL, purchased from the artist [2]
1961 - 1983
Morton D. May (1914-1983), St. Louis, MO, purchased from Richard Feigen Gallery [3]
1983 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, bequest of Morton D. May [4]
Notes:
[1] Victor Steiner was married to the artist's sister, Cläre. In 1941, Dr. Victor Steiner lent the painting, entitled "Card Players," to an exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York ["Paintings, drawings, prints, by George Grosz." New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1941]. Ralph Jentsch of the George Grosz Estate assumes that Cläre returned the painting to Grosz upon her husband's death in 1949 [letter from Ralph Jentsch dated September 8, 2005, SLAM document files].
[2] George Grosz and Richard Feigen had been negotiating the sale of this painting beginning in March 1959. On May 3, 1959 Feigen notified Grosz that the picture arrived safely in the gallery [correspondence between Grosz and Feigen provided by Ralph Jentsch of the George Grosz Estate, SLAM document files].
[3] Morton D. May acquired the painting from Richard Feigen Gallery on April 6, 1961 [invoice, May Archives, Saint Louis Art Museum].
[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 the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, September 20, 1983.
Victor Steiner (d.1949), New York, NY, USA, acquired from the artist [1]
1949 - 1959
George Grosz (1893-1959), Long Island, New York, NY, acquired from Victor Steiner
1959 - 1961
Richard Feigen Gallery (Richard L. Feigen), Chicago, IL, purchased from the artist [2]
1961 - 1983
Morton D. May (1914-1983), St. Louis, MO, purchased from Richard Feigen Gallery [3]
1983 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, bequest of Morton D. May [4]
Notes:
[1] Victor Steiner was married to the artist's sister, Cläre. In 1941, Dr. Victor Steiner lent the painting, entitled "Card Players," to an exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York ["Paintings, drawings, prints, by George Grosz." New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1941]. Ralph Jentsch of the George Grosz Estate assumes that Cläre returned the painting to Grosz upon her husband's death in 1949 [letter from Ralph Jentsch dated September 8, 2005, SLAM document files].
[2] George Grosz and Richard Feigen had been negotiating the sale of this painting beginning in March 1959. On May 3, 1959 Feigen notified Grosz that the picture arrived safely in the gallery [correspondence between Grosz and Feigen provided by Ralph Jentsch of the George Grosz Estate, SLAM document files].
[3] Morton D. May acquired the painting from Richard Feigen Gallery on April 6, 1961 [invoice, May Archives, Saint Louis Art Museum].
[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 the 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.