GEORGE GROSZ* (Berlin 1893 - 1959 Berlin) Berlin Streets,...

Estimate

€15,000 - €25,000

GEORGE GROSZ*
(Berlin 1893 - 1959 Berlin)
Berlin Streets, around 1920
indian ink/paper, 38 x 27 cm
signed Grosz, verso titled Begegnung, numbered 282, A84; certificate of authenticity by Ralph Jentsch is included
German-American painter, graphic artist and caricaturist of the 20th century. Main representative of Verism and New Objectivity. Counts among the so-called exile art. Studied at the Art Academy in Dresden from 1909 to 1911, and at the School of Applied Arts with Emil Orlik in Berlin from 1912 to 1916. Worked in Colarossi's studio in Paris from 1913. Volunteered for World War I in 1914, incapacitated for war after illness. Became an opponent of the war, like his friend John Heartfield. 1916 Founds the first Dada magazine Neue Jugend with Franz Jung and Wieland Herzfelde. 1918 First Dadaist lecture evening at the Berlin Secession together with Raoul Hausmann and Richard Huelsenbeck. 1919 and 1920 founds several art magazines, including die Pleite, der blutige Ernst. Satirical caricatures by Grosz lead to protests and convictions for pornography and blasphemy. 1933 emigration to the USA, teaching at the Art Students League of New York. In 1937 his works were classified by the Nazis as degenerate art. His students in the USA included Jackson Pollock and James Rosenquist. Created social and socio-critical works, scenes from the underworld and the red light milieu, nudes, caricatures and illustrations. Stylistically to be assigned to Verism and New Objectivity, comparable to Otto Dix, Christian Schad, Rudolf Schlichter, Karl Hubbuch, Georg Scholz and Jeanne Mammen.
Grosz studied from 1909 to 1911 at the Art Academy in Dresden and from 1912 to 1916 at the Kunstgewerbeschule in Berlin, where he was taught by Emil Orlik. From 1913 he also worked in the Colarossi studio in Paris. Grosz volunteered for World War I in 1914, but became unfit for war after falling ill. In 1916 he founded the first Dada magazine "Neue Jugend" together with Wieland Herzfelde and Franz Jung. In 1917 the "Kleine Grosz-Mappe" was published, which is regarded as an early example of Dadaism in Berlin. In 1918, together with Raoul Hausmann and Richard Huelsenbeck, Grosz took part in the first Dadaist evening of lectures at the Berlin Secession. Between 1919 and 1920 he founded other art magazines such as "Die Pleite" and "Der blutige Ernst". His satirical caricatures led to a number of lawsuits against Grosz, and the content of his graphic series brought him convictions for pornography and blasphemy. In 1922 he stayed in Russia for six months. In the 1920s he took part in several exhibitions, such as the "Neue Sachlichkeit" exhibition in Mannheim in 1925 and the "Novembergruppe" exhibition in 1929. He met the boxer Max Schmeling, who was often available to him as a model. In the early 1930s, Grosz traveled to New York as a guest lecturer. After the Nazis took power, he moved to the United States. In Germany his works were defamed as degenerate and 285 of his works were confiscated from German museums. From 1940 he worked as a professor at Columbia University in New York and founded his own private art school in Long Island in 1953. In 1959 Grosz returned to Berlin, where he died that same year.

SCHÄTZPREIS/ESTIMATE °€ 15.000 - 25.000