Schokoladenzwerg (Chocolate Gnome)
- Date
- 1969
- Material
- Garden gnome, chocolate, and glass
- made in
- Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg state, Germany, Europe
- Classification
- Sculpture
- Collection
- Modern and Contemporary Art
- Current Location
- Not on view
- Dimensions
- glass cylinder: 17 15/16 x 7 3/8 in. (45.5 x 18.8 cm)
- Credit Line
- Partial and promised gift of Betsy Millard, the Earl and Betsy Millard Collection
- Rights
- © Dieter Roth Estate, courtesy Hauser & Wirth
- Object Number
- 96:2003
NOTES
In this wry sculpture, a garden gnome drowns in chocolate leaving only the tip of its hat visible. Dieter Roth made art from everyday materials to address issues of culture and commerce within post-World War II society. In the 1960s, he began to use perishable food, demonstrating art’s inherent instability and transience. Roth worked extensively with chocolate between 1968 and 1970. Often associated with pleasure and as a major consumer good of Switzerland, where Roth was raised, here it assumes a more sinister character.
Provenance
Kurt Kalb, Vienna, Austria [1]
- 1990
Galerie Daniel Buchholz, Cologne, Germany [2]
1990 - 1991
Nolan Eckman Gallery, New York, NY, USA, purchased from Galerie Daniel Buchholz [3]
1991 -
Betsy and Earl Millard (d. 1996), Saint Louis, MO, purchased from Nolan Eckman Gallery [4]
2003 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, partial and promised gift from Betsy Millard [5]
Notes:
The main source of this provenance is an email from Katherine Chan of the Nolan Eckman Gallery in New York City, dated March 9, 2004 [SLAM document files]. Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[1] The Nolan Eckman Gallery indicated that Kurt Kalb was a previous owner, but the gallery could not provide dates of ownership.
[2] Daniel Buchholz could not remember when or where he purchased the chocolate gnome, but he recalled that he did not buy it from Kurt Kalb, as suggested by the Nolan Eckman Gallery [fax from Daniel Buchholz, dated April 5, 2004, in SLAM document files].
[4] Betsy Millard indicated that she purchased the gnome from the Nolan Eckman Gallery in 1991 on the "Information for Appraisals" worksheet she filled out in May 2004 [SLAM document files].
[5] Minutes of the Collections Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, June 3, 2003.
- 1990
Galerie Daniel Buchholz, Cologne, Germany [2]
1990 - 1991
Nolan Eckman Gallery, New York, NY, USA, purchased from Galerie Daniel Buchholz [3]
1991 -
Betsy and Earl Millard (d. 1996), Saint Louis, MO, purchased from Nolan Eckman Gallery [4]
2003 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, partial and promised gift from Betsy Millard [5]
Notes:
The main source of this provenance is an email from Katherine Chan of the Nolan Eckman Gallery in New York City, dated March 9, 2004 [SLAM document files]. Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[1] The Nolan Eckman Gallery indicated that Kurt Kalb was a previous owner, but the gallery could not provide dates of ownership.
[2] Daniel Buchholz could not remember when or where he purchased the chocolate gnome, but he recalled that he did not buy it from Kurt Kalb, as suggested by the Nolan Eckman Gallery [fax from Daniel Buchholz, dated April 5, 2004, in SLAM document files].
[4] Betsy Millard indicated that she purchased the gnome from the Nolan Eckman Gallery in 1991 on the "Information for Appraisals" worksheet she filled out in May 2004 [SLAM document files].
[5] Minutes of the Collections Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, June 3, 2003.
We regularly update records, which may be incomplete. If you have additional information, please contact us at provenance@slam.org.
Related Content
Events
Aug14
Member Lecture—Death by Chocolate: Dieter Roth’s Chocolate Gnome
- Event Date / Time
- 6–7 pm
- Event Category
- Lectures