Indian and Woman
- Date
- 1910
- Material
- Oil on canvas
- made in
- Berlin, Berlin state, Germany, Europe
- Classification
- Paintings
- Collection
- Modern and Contemporary Art
- Current Location
- On View, Gallery 215
- Dimensions
- 32 1/2 × 26 1/8 in. (82.6 × 66.4 cm)
- Credit Line
- Bequest of Morton D. May
- Rights
- Public Domain
- Object Number
- 926:1983
NOTES
In this work, the sinuous lines of a reclining nude contrast with the vertical forms of the seated Indian and the mirror that reflects his profile. The intense colors of Max Pechstein’s palette—reds juxtaposed with greens and yellows with violets—reflect the influence of Matisse, whose work the German artist had seen on a trip to Paris in 1908. Pechstein was fascinated with Eastern culture, and this work can be seen as an imagined vision of a harem.
Provenance
by 1925 -
Dr. Karl Lilienfeld (1885-1966), Berlin, Germany; New York, NY, USA [1]
- 1951
Van Diemen-Lilienfeld Galleries (Dr. Karl Lilienfeld), New York, NY [2]
1951 - 1983
Morton D. May (1914-1983), St. Louis, MO, purchased from Van Diemen-Lilienfeld Galleries
1983 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, bequest of Morton D. May [3]
Notes:
[1] Karl Lilienfeld was a dealer and collector of German Expressionist art. He had already collected a number of works by Pechstein for his personal art collection in Berlin by 1916. In 1925 he moved to the United States. Several traveling exhibits held between 1932 and 1950 were mounted by Lilienfeld's New York gallery and Van Diemen Gallery, which later combined as Van Diemen-Lilienfeld Galleries. These exhibitions were comprised solely of works from Karl Lilienfeld's personal collection. This painting was apparently the first major work to be sold from the Lilienfeld collection [Moeller, Magdalena M. "Max Pechstein: Sein Malerisches Werk." Munich: Hirmer Verlag, 1996, p. 34-35; May Archives, Saint Louis Art Museum]. It is probable that Lilienfeld acquired the painting directly from the artist.
The painting was exhibited in 1932 at Lilienfeld Galleries in New York ["Exhibition of Paintings by Max Pechstein." New York: Lilienfeld Galleries, December 12 - 31, 1932, cat. 2]. Although no lender list is provided in the 1932 exhibition catalogue, a letter from Margarete Lilienfeld of Van Diemen-Lilienfeld Galleries states that this painting was from Dr. Lilienfeld's private collection of German Expressionist artwork. Her letter also indicates that the painting was exhibited at the gallery in 1932, and was lent to the Germanic Museum, Harvard University for two years beginning in 1935, and again lent to the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts until 1950 [letter from Margarete Lilienfeld dated May 3, 1968, SLAM document files]. Karl Lilienfeld clearly maintained ownership of the painting from at least 1925 until 1951, although it is not clear whether the painting may have been transferred to Van Diemen-Lilienfeld Galleries' stock, despite the fact that Karl Lilienfeld used his company letterhead when he made the sale to Morton D. May in 1951 (see note [2]).
[2] According to the invoice from Karl Lilienfeld of Van Diemen-Lilienfeld Galleries, May purchased the painting on February 26, 1951 [May Archives, Saint Louis Art Museum].
[3] 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.
Dr. Karl Lilienfeld (1885-1966), Berlin, Germany; New York, NY, USA [1]
- 1951
Van Diemen-Lilienfeld Galleries (Dr. Karl Lilienfeld), New York, NY [2]
1951 - 1983
Morton D. May (1914-1983), St. Louis, MO, purchased from Van Diemen-Lilienfeld Galleries
1983 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, bequest of Morton D. May [3]
Notes:
[1] Karl Lilienfeld was a dealer and collector of German Expressionist art. He had already collected a number of works by Pechstein for his personal art collection in Berlin by 1916. In 1925 he moved to the United States. Several traveling exhibits held between 1932 and 1950 were mounted by Lilienfeld's New York gallery and Van Diemen Gallery, which later combined as Van Diemen-Lilienfeld Galleries. These exhibitions were comprised solely of works from Karl Lilienfeld's personal collection. This painting was apparently the first major work to be sold from the Lilienfeld collection [Moeller, Magdalena M. "Max Pechstein: Sein Malerisches Werk." Munich: Hirmer Verlag, 1996, p. 34-35; May Archives, Saint Louis Art Museum]. It is probable that Lilienfeld acquired the painting directly from the artist.
The painting was exhibited in 1932 at Lilienfeld Galleries in New York ["Exhibition of Paintings by Max Pechstein." New York: Lilienfeld Galleries, December 12 - 31, 1932, cat. 2]. Although no lender list is provided in the 1932 exhibition catalogue, a letter from Margarete Lilienfeld of Van Diemen-Lilienfeld Galleries states that this painting was from Dr. Lilienfeld's private collection of German Expressionist artwork. Her letter also indicates that the painting was exhibited at the gallery in 1932, and was lent to the Germanic Museum, Harvard University for two years beginning in 1935, and again lent to the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts until 1950 [letter from Margarete Lilienfeld dated May 3, 1968, SLAM document files]. Karl Lilienfeld clearly maintained ownership of the painting from at least 1925 until 1951, although it is not clear whether the painting may have been transferred to Van Diemen-Lilienfeld Galleries' stock, despite the fact that Karl Lilienfeld used his company letterhead when he made the sale to Morton D. May in 1951 (see note [2]).
[2] According to the invoice from Karl Lilienfeld of Van Diemen-Lilienfeld Galleries, May purchased the painting on February 26, 1951 [May Archives, Saint Louis Art Museum].
[3] 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.