The Enchanted World of Lyonel Feininger by Moeller Fine Art

The Enchanted World of Lyonel Feininger

Table of Contents

The Enchanted World of Lyonel Feininger Achim Moeller

From the Harz Mountains to the Bauhaus: Drawings for Woodcuts

From the Harz Mountains to the Bauhaus Achim Moeller

Drawings for Woodcuts

From Papileo, with Love: Toys, Figurative Works, and Ghosties

From Papileo, with Love Sebastian Ehlert

Toys: Carved and Painted Wooden Houses and Figures

102

Figurative Works

114

Ghosties

132

Chronology

136

Related Works

164

Checklist

169

A Lifetime of Learning about Lyonel Feininger Achim Moeller

Dedicated to the memory of my friend Tomas Feininger (September 21, 1935â&#x20AC;&#x201C; November 25, 2019), son of Andreas Feininger and grandson of Lyonel Feininger. Achim Moeller New York, November 26, 2019

The Enchanted World of Lyonel Feininger Achim Moeller

The Enchanted World of Lyonel Feininger focuses on a selection of special and intimate works created by Lyonel Feininger at various points in his career. These works reveal his warmth and testify to his innate sense of humor. As early as 1963, before he went on to become the director of the Department of Painting and Sculpture at The Museum of Modern Art in New York, William S. Lieberman (1924–2005) curated an exhibition titled, The Intimate World of Lyonel Feininger. Lieberman noted that the artist “is less known for personal expressions of sentiment and humor, strains which formed an essential phase of his early career and later, often provided inspiration for highly cultivated works. His portrayals of the human figure… are also a less familiar aspect of his work.” 1 With this sentiment in mind, we are delighted to present 50 mostly unpublished drawings that Feininger made for his woodcuts in 1918 and 1919, a selection of figurative drawings called “Ghosties,” and 68 hand-carved, painted wooden figures and houses. In 1918, Feininger took out a small notepad and began to make pencil drawings of ships and seascapes. These subjects, which often appear to be drawn from memory, were soon supplemented by depictions of small figures wearing top hats. The figures may have been inspired by his children’s drawings and his observations of life in Braunlage, a picturesque town in the Harz Mountains where the artist and his family spent their summer vacation in 1918. Feininger translated many of these drawings into woodcuts (see related works, p. 136), a medium he had first taken up in the spring of 1918. His subsequent use of plain lines and black and white contrasts, and his overall simplification of form, likely can be ascribed to his intense preoccupation with woodcuts. The result of this formal distillation may well have led Feininger to develop the distinctive crystalline, prismatic pictorial language characteristic of his Bauhaus years. These rarely seen, spontaneous drawings for his woodcuts thus form an essential part of his body of work. Several of the works feature quaint figures (some only rendered in outline) enaging with their surroundings in dynamic, miniature narratives that Feininger sometimes expanded upon later and that reappear in his drawings and paintings. Feininger re-created the top-hatted figures in his drawings in three-dimensions, as carved wooden toys, which would become part of the “City at the Edge of the World” collection. Every year around

William S. Lieberman, The Intimate World of Lyonel Feininger (New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1963), 2.

Installation of the "City at the Edge of the World" with watercolors (on left, cat. no. 71; on right, cat. 65), at the home of Andreas and Wysse Feininger, New York, 1998 Photograph: Achim Moeller

Christmas, from about 1919 onwards, Feininger carved scraps of wood into little characters and houses to give as gifts to his children and close friends—a tradition he continued until his death. Over the years, he presented 68 hand-carved, painted figures, houses, animals, and a bridge to Andreas, his eldest son, and Wysse, Andreas’s wife. These became the “City at the Edge of the World” collection, which is the largest grouping of such works. They are unique in that they were given directly to Andreas by his father. Andreas treasured them and kept them together as a set. A renowned photographer in his own right, he photographed his wooden toys for a book he titled, City at the Edge of the World, which he published together with his brother, Theodore Lux (T. Lux), in 1965. Though often whimsical, Feininger’s carved figures and houses should be taken seriously as three-dimensional representations of the cubist elements that appear in his celebrated paintings, drawings, and prints. Perhaps the most intimate of all the works in this exhibition, however, are Feininger’s “Ghosties,” which he made from the late 1940s until his death in 1956. Offering a glimpse into his personal world, the "Ghosties” are small drawings that Feininger gave to his friends and family for their private enjoyment. These imaginative, colorful drawings, featuring linear figures in lively configurations, express the artist’s affection. I’m particularly pleased to include 15 of these works in this exhibition and catalogue.

From the Harz Mountains to the Bauhaus: Drawings for Woodcuts

From the Harz Mountains to the Bauhaus Achim Moeller

In 1919, Lyonel Feininger carved a dynamic woodcut: a cathedral crowned with three stars (fig. 1). This renowned black-and-white image served as the cover design for the Bauhaus manifesto and embodies the vision of architect and Bauhaus founder Walter Gropius. While this extraordinary print has become an emblem of modernity, Feininger had only begun making woodcuts the year before, in the spring of 1918, at his home in Berlin. He prepared for his woodcuts by making small pencil drawings in a sketchpad. Now, for the first time, 50 of the drawings Feininger made from 1918 to 1919 have been reproduced together in this publication. In the summer of 1918, Feininger went on vacation with his wife, Julia, and their three sons, Andreas, Laurence, and Theodore Lux (T. Lux), to the scenic town of Braunlage in the Harz mountains. It was not his first visit, and he found the bucolic setting to be a stimulating environment for his avid work on his newly learned medium. In a letter to Elisabeth Mayer on June 6, he wrote of his plan to work on woodcuts during his stay there: “In Braunlage I will work diligently, producing primarily woodcuts; I plunged into this graphic art very late but all the more eagerly for that.” 1 Though Feininger was inspired by the natural surroundings of the Harz mountains and their magnificent spruce trees, not all of his pictures were based on the scenery. His subjects also emerged from his imagination and from pictures his children made. He produced inventive drawings of ships, locomotives, and hunting lodges. He populated his compositions with bugle playing characters and ghostlike figures in top hats, rendered in pencil as simple, two-dimensional forms on pocket-sized pieces of paper. Feininger was so sure of these compositions that he immediately took up his pocketknife and carved their motifs into wooden blocks. Soon “woodblock fever” gripped the entire family, and by the end of 1918, the artist had completed an impressive 117 woodblocks. Feininger conveyed his ardent preoccupation with the medium in a letter to his friend, Alfred Kubin, in March 1919, writing, “I have hardly painted at all, nor made any drawings. The only thing I have done is take up woodcuts.… This technique gives me so much pleasure and I just dropped everything else. But now it’s time for me to move forward enthusiastically with painting!” 2 We can infer from his remark that this concentrated period of making woodcuts was instrumental in helping

Lyonel Feininger to Elizabeth Mayer, Berlin, June 6, 1918, in Florence Deuchler, Lyonel Feininger: Sein Weg zum Bauhaus-Meister (Leipzig: E.A. Seemann, 1996), 163. (translated from German by the author).

Björn Egging, “Vom Kubismus zum Holzschnitt. Feiningers Aufenthalte in Braunlage im Harz,” in Feininger im Harz, ed. Björn Egging (Bielefeld: Kerber Verlag, 2009), 23. (translated from German by the author).

fig. 1

(Cathedral, title page for the Programm des Staatlichen Bauhaus in Weimar) 1919 Published edition Image: 12 × 7 3/8 in. (30.5 × 18.9 cm) Prasse W 144, Private collection fig. 2

(Railroad Viaduct) 1918 Woodcut on yellow Kozo paper Image: 13 1/8 × 16 7/8 in. (33.3 × 42.8 cm) Prasse W 163, Moeller Fine Art, New York

Feininger return to painting and drawing with renewed vigor. It also suggests that his engagement with woodcuts allowed him to work out difficult aesthetic questions. His translation of his drawings into woodcuts should therefore be appreciated as an influential step in his artistic development (fig. 2). While Feininger made many of the drawings featured here into woodblock prints, some relate to later drawings and paintings with the same or similar motifs. They indicate a shift in his pictorial language, spurred by the radical reduction of form that woodcut required. In these drawings we can detect the nucleus of a distinct style that would come to fruition during his Bauhaus years. The drawings also demonstrate Feininger’s extraordinary ability to take up an unfamiliar medium and quickly master it. Gropius, who appointed Feininger the first master at the newly founded Bauhaus, clearly recognized his peer’s virtuosity. Feininger’s portfolio of 12 woodcuts (Zwölf Holzschnitte von Lyonel Feininger) became the first commercially available print product of the Bauhaus. It includes compositions that can be traced back to his small drawings of 1918, like Rainy Day on the Beach (4 A, cat. 4) and Locomotive on the Bridge (24 A, cat. 24). In the following decades, Feininger returned to the motifs of his woodcuts in his oil-on-canvas paintings, indicating the influence of the technique on his entire body of work. In a 1987 interview, T. Lux, who as a little boy of eight was an observer of and participant in his father’s passion for woodcuts, stated: That was a very memorable year [1918] in his life because that's when he began his graphic production—partly out of necessity, because paint materials were hard to come by and you couldn't travel with them anyway. But the production, which began in 1918, has done as much as anything to make him the man he is in art history now. 3 Feininger’s small drawings of 1918 and 1919 turned out to be a tremendous catalyst for his art. I am delighted to present a selection of them in this exhibition and publication.

Oral history interview with T. Lux Feininger, 1987 May 19-1988 Mar. 17. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Drawings for Woodcuts

(Anglers) 1918 Pencil on paper 2 13/16 × 3 7/8 in. (7 × 10 cm)

(Figures on the Shore and Sun) 1918 Pencil on paper 2 13/16 × 3 7/8 in. (7 × 10 cm)

(Figures on the Shore and Steamer) 1918 Pencil on paper 2 13/16 × 3 7/8 in. (7 × 10 cm)

(Rainy Day at the Beach) 1918 Pencil on paper 2 13/16 × 3 7/8 in. (7 × 10 cm)

(Figures on the Beach and Ships on the Horizon) 1918 Pencil on paper 2 7/8 × 3 7/8 in. (7.4 × 9.8 cm)

(Sidewheeler) 1918 Pencil on paper 2 13/16 × 3 7/8 in. (7 × 10 cm)

(Outbound Steamer Odin) 1918 Pencil on paper 2 13/16 × 3 7/8 in. (7 × 10 cm)

(Sailing Ships near the Pier) 1918 Pencil on paper 2 11/16 × 4 1/8 in. (6.8 × 10.5 cm)

(Bark at Sea) 1918 Pencil on paper 2 13/16 × 3 7/8 in. (7 × 9.8 cm) Dated verso: 16. Okt. 1918

(Sailing Ships and Steamer) 1918 Pencil on paper 2 13/16 × 3 7/8 in. (7 × 10 cm) Dated lower right: 23. IX. 18

(In the War Harbor) 1918 Pencil on paper 2 13/16 × 3 7/8 in. (7 × 10 cm) Dated verso: 8. X. 18

(Sailing Boat near the Shore under Rainy Clouds) 1918 Pencil on paper 2 13/16 × 3 7/8 in. (7 × 9.8 cm) Dated lower left: 4. IX. 18

(Sailing Ships and Angler on the Shore) 1918 Pencil on paper 2 13/16 × 3 7/8 in. (7 × 10 cm) Dated upper right: 7. Okt. 1918

(Figures on the Shore and Sailing Ships) 1918 Pencil on paper 2 13/16 × 3 7/8 in. (7 × 10 cm)

(Wreck) 1918 Pencil on paper 2 13/16 × 3 7/8 in. (7 × 9.8 cm)

(Beacon and Sailing Ship) 1918 Pencil on paper 4 1/8 × 2 11/16 in. (10.5 × 6.8 cm) Verso: (Rooftops)

(Volcano) 1918 Pencil on paper 2 13/16 × 3 7/8 in. (7 × 9.8 cm)

(Sailing Ship near the Coast in the Rain) 1919 Pencil on paper 2 11/16 × 4 3/16 in. (6.8 × 10.6 cm) Dated lower left: 15 VII 19

(Windmill and Figure) 1918 Pencil on paper 2 13/16 × 3 7/8 in. (7 × 9.8 cm)

(Windmill in the Rain) 1918 Pencil on paper 2 13/16 × 3 7/8 in. (7 × 10 cm) Dated lower left: 17. VIII. 18

(Bridge with Cart) 1918 Pencil on paper 2 13/16 × 3 7/8 in. (7 × 9.8 cm)

(Bridge with Cart and Sailing Boat) 1918 Pencil on paper 2 13/16 × 3 7/8 in. (7 × 9.8 cm)

(Train on a Bridge) 1918 Pencil on paper 2 13/16 × 3 7/8 in. (7 × 9.8 cm)

(Train on a Bridge by Night) 1918 Pencil on paper 2 13/16 × 3 7/8 in. (7 × 10 cm) Dated lower right: 24 VIII 18

(Carriage on a Bridge with Crescent Moon) 1918 Pencil on paper 3 7/8 × 2 13/16 in. (9.8 × 7 cm)

(Bridge in a City) c. 1919 Pencil on paper 4 3/16 × 2 11/16 in. (10.6 × 6.8 cm)

(Fiddler before Houses) 1918 Pencil on paper 3 7/8 × 2 13/16 in. (10 × 7 cm)

(Path in the Woods, Harz Mountains) 1918 Pencil on paper 6 3/16 × 4 1/16 in. (15.7 × 10.2 cm)

(Manor House in the Woods, Harz Mountains) 1918 Pencil on paper 4 1/8 × 6 3/8 in. (10.3 × 16.2 cm)

(Hunting Lodge Brunnenbach, Harz Mountains) 1918 Pencil on paper 3 5/16 × 4 7/8 in. (8.5 × 12.5 cm)

(House in the Woods, Harz Mountains) 1918 Pencil on paper 4 1/8 × 6 5/16 in. (10.3 × 16.1 cm)

(Hunting Lodge Brunnenbach, Harz Mountains) 1918 Pencil on paper 3 5/16 × 4 7/8 in. (8.5 × 12.4 cm) Dated lower left: Donnerst. 4. VII. 18

(Village Church) 1918 Pencil on paper 2 13/16 × 3 7/8 in. (7 × 9.8 cm)

(View of Braunlage, Harz Mountains, with Sun) 1918 Pencil on paper 4 1/8 × 6 5/16 in. (10.3 × 16.1 cm)

(View of Braunlage, Harz Mountains, with St. Trinitatis Church) 1918 Pencil on paper 4 1/8 × 6 3/8 in. (10.3 × 16.2 cm)

(St. Trinitatis Church in Braunlage, Harz Mountains) 1918 Pencil on paper 3 7/8 × 6 3/16 in. (10 × 15.8 cm)

(Braunlage in the Harz Mountains with St. Trinitatis Church) 1918 Pencil on paper 4 1/8 × 6 5/16 in. (10.3 × 16 cm) Dated upper left: 11. VIII 18

(Town Hall Square) 1918 Pencil on paper 3 7/8 × 2 13/16 in. (9.8 × 7 cm)

(St. Trinitatis Church in Braunlage, Harz Mountains) 1918 Pencil on paper 3 7/8 × 2 13/16 in. (10 × 7 cm)

(Village) c. 1919 Pencil on paper 2 11/16 × 4 3/16 in. (6.8 × 10.6 cm)

(Street) 1919 Pencil on paper 4 5/16 × 2 11/16 in. (10.8 × 6.8 cm) Dated upper right: 20 VII 19

(The Studio Window, Weimar) 1919 Pencil on paper 2 11/16 × 4 3/16 in. (6.8 × 10.6 cm) Dated upper right: 21 VII 19

(Figures in front of Church) 1919 Pencil on paper 4 1/8 × 2 11/16 in. (10.5 × 6.8 cm) Dated lower right: 31 VII 19

(Sick Child in Bed) 1918 Pencil on paper 2 13/16 × 3 7/8 in. (7 × 9.8 cm) Verso: (Rooftops)

(Procession) 1918 Pencil on paper 3 7/8 × 2 13/16 in. (10 × 7 cm)

(Figures) 1918 Pencil on paper 2 13/16 × 3 7/8 in. (7 × 9.9 cm) Dated upper center: 2. VIII. 18

(Large Figure with Cane and Small Figures with Hats) 1918 Pencil on paper 3 7/8 × 2 13/16 in. (10 × 7 cm) Verso: (Large Figure with Cane and Small Figures with Hats)

(Man with Horn and Child before Buildings) 1918 Pencil on paper 3 7/8 × 2 13/16 in. (9.8 × 7 cm)

(Man with Horn and Old Man with Cane) 1918 Pencil on paper 3 7/8 × 2 13/16 in. (10 × 7 cm)

(Old Shellbacks) 1918 Pencil on paper 3 7/8 × 6 3/16 in. (10 × 15.8 cm)

From Papileo, with Love: Toys, Figurative Works, and Ghosties

fig. 1

Liebespaar (Lovers) 1916 Oil on canvas 17 3/8 × 15 13/16 in. (44.2 × 40.2 cm) Moeller 167, Bequest of Nina Kandinsky, Centre Pompidou, Musée national d'art moderne Centre de création industrielle, Paris (AM 81-65-870)

From Papileo, with Love Sebastian Ehlert

“From Papileo with much love.” This dedication appears on the back of The Watch Tower, 1947 (cat. 58), a watercolor that Lyonel Feininger gave to his daughter-in-law, Jeanne, wife of his youngest son, Theodore Lux (T. Lux), as a Christmas present in 1947. Not only the gift, but also the dedication reveals the artist’s caring and playful nature. Soon after the birth of his first son, Andreas, Feininger became known as “Papileo” to his family and friends, a nickname combining an affectionate abbreviation of his first name with the German word for father. While Feininger is best known for the crystalline paintings of his Bauhaus period, full of images composed of translucent, geometric planes of color, there is also a humorous thread running through his body of work. A caricaturist by trade, he was celebrated as “the first of the Berlin draftsmen” with a “tendency to burlesque exaggeration.” 1 This whimsical side, his “abounding sense of fantasy,” 2 was reignited as he watched his three sons draw, which led him to make paintings like Liebespaar (Lovers), 1916 (fig. 1). 3 In 1918, when Feininger took up woodcutting, he made pencil drawings with a variety of small figures (cat. 44–50). These same flattened figures appear in his watercolors from 1918 (fig. 2, 3), and then re-enter his work in the 1920s, when he began to carve small wooden toys for his boys. T. Lux later referred to their toy collection as the “City at the Edge of the World” (cat. 51). The wooden toys are expressions of the loving bond between “Papileo” and his children. Feininger made these toys every year around Christmas. As early as November 1921, he wrote to his wife, Julia, that “the time for my periodical craze for making toys for Christmas is approaching. Every year I get the urge to saw wood into bits and paint them in bright colors. The boys take it for granted that I shall make ‘mannequins’ for them.“ 4 Over the next decade, the “City at the Edge of the World” became increasingly populated. Carvings of the American eagle, the castle bridge in Weimar, and gabled houses from Lüneburg took their places next to the figures. Then Feininger stopped making toys, as T. Lux wrote: “His saw and chisel began a long rest, not to be broken until he had entered his old age.” 5 Feininger returned to carving in the 1940s, when he was in his seventies. After living in Germany for nearly 50 years, he moved back to his native New York. In his small, two-room apartment and studio,

Georg Hermann, Die deutsche Karikatur im 19. Jahrhundert (Bielefeld: Velhagen & Klasing, 1901), 127. (translated from German by the author).

Ernst Scheyer, Lyonel Feininger: Caricature and Fantasy (Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1964), 6.

Feininger had three sons, Andreas Bernhard (1906–1999), Laurence Karl Johann (1909–1976), and Theodore Lux (T. Lux) (1910–2011), with his second wife, Julia (born Lilienfeld) (1880–1970). He had two daughters, Eleonore (Lore) (1901–1991) and Marianne (1902–1999), with his first wife, Clara (born Fürst) (1879–1944).

Lyonel Feininger to Julia Feininger, Weimar, November 19, 1921, in T. Lux and Andreas Feininger, Lyonel Feininger: City at the Edge of the World (New York: Frederick A. Praeger, 1965), 53f.

Feininger, Lyonel Feininger: City at the Edge of the World, 54.

fig. 2

Leute auf See-Steg (People on the Jetty) 1918 Watercolor and ink on paper 7 5/8 × 11 1/2 in. (19.4 × 29.2 cm) Gift of Julia Feininger, The Museum of Modern Art, New York (127.1966) fig. 3

Der Regenbogen (The Rainbow) 1918 Watercolor and ink on paper 9 3/8 × 12 1/4 in. (23.8 × 31.1 cm) Gift of Julia Feininger, The Museum of Modern Art, New York (128.1966)

he made wooden figures again. He also made paintings, like Spook I, 1940 (fig. 4), evoking the imaginative characters in his earlier preparatory drawings for his woodcuts, which had originally influenced his carved toys. This journey back in time awakened nostalgic childhood memories in Feininger: Blackwell Island prison was exactly opposite the point from which I could watch the paddle steamers—and often I saw the prisoners in their striped suits taking exercise in chain-step. This made a wretched impression on me—in consequence, I took to drawing ghosts for a while, and this subconsciously may have laid the foundation for my later work, fantastic figures and caricatures. 6 Such recollections of his experiences growing up in New York in the 1870s and 1880s led to a new set of watercolors, his so-called “Ghosties.” Here, “the prankish but benign goblins,” as Ernst Scheyer has written, “do not seem to be fully corporealized; they give the impression that they will disappear before one’s eyes before they have ever fully existed.” 7 The ephemeral quality of Feininger’s “Ghosties,” which he once tried to capture in an unfinished painting (fig. 5), is echoed in the linear style of his paintings of this time, in which he sought to picture his fleeting memories of his beloved Baltic Sea and the villages surrounding Weimar. When he sent his drawings as Christmas greetings to friends and family in Germany (cat. 62, 75), Feininger must have been painfully aware that he would never again see his many distant loved ones, or the German landscapes that had so greatly inspired him. What remains are the memories held by those who were close to Feininger. His private side, the affectionate, generous, humorous man they called “Papileo,” is expressed in his carved wooden toys, the “Ghosties,” and in his many loving dedications on the works he gave as gifts (e.g. cat. 58, 60, 64). Feininger’s daughter, Lore, probably described it best when she wrote: His calm, refined humor, his loving understanding for friends and the hardships within his family, his charming, intelligent, and pleasant way of engaging with us and his friends, which was at the same time humble and extremely discrete, made him beloved [by] everyone. All his life he was ‘Papileo,’ not only for his children, but to everybody who knew him. 8

Letter from Lyonel Feininger to Alfred H. Barr, Jr., Falls Village, July 20, 1944, Alfred H. Barr Papers, The Museum of Modern Art, New York (AHB 3a.A.[4]).

Scheyer, Lyonel Feininger: Caricature and Fantasy, 148.

Lore Feininger, Aus der Werkstatt Vater Lyonels: 25 Zeichnungen und Holzschnitte (Berlin: Archivarion, 1957), unpaginated.

fig. 4 (left page)

Spook l

1940 Oil on canvas 21 × 21 in. (53.3 × 53.3 cm) Moeller 408, The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C. fig. 5

(Spooky Figures) c. 1950–55 Oil on canvas 15 × 24 in. (38.1 × 61 cm) Moeller 572, Private collection

Toys: Carved and Painted Wooden Houses and Figures

City at the Edge of the World c. 1948-52 68 hand-carved, painted wooden figures, houses, animals, and a bridge max. height 3â&#x20AC;&#x2030;7/8 in. (10 cm)

100

101

Figurative Works

102

(Figures on the Seashore) 1911 Crayon and pencil on paper 7 5/8 × 9 1/2 in. (19.2 × 24 cm) Dated lower left: Thurs. Aug. 10. 1911

103

Eisenbahner (Railroad Workers) 1915 Watercolor and ink on paper 9 3/8 × 12 11/16 in. (23.8 × 32.3 cm) Inscribed and signed lower left: X L.F. Feininger Dated lower right: Freitag d. 26 Nov. 1915 Titled lower center: EISENBAHNER

104

105

(Bathers and Sea) 1916 Ink on paper 6 5/16 × 8 in. (15.9 × 20.3 cm) Signed lower left: Feininger Dated lower right: 3. VI. 16

106

(Quay with Four Figures)

(Six Figures) 1934 Ink on paper 8 13/16 × 11 15/16 in. (22.4 × 30.2 cm) Signed and dated lower left: Feininger 1934

1934 Ink on paper 8 × 11 5/16 in. (20.2 × 28.7 cm) Signed and dated lower left: Feininger 1934 Dated lower left verso: 10 I 34

107

Figures 1936 Watercolor and ink on paper 10 5/16 × 8 in. (26.2 × 20.2 cm) Signed lower left: Feininger Dated lower right: 1936 Titled lower center: Figures

108

109

The Watch Tower 1947 Watercolor and ink on paper 7 7/8 × 11 3/16 in. (20 × 28.3 cm) Signed lower left: Feininger Titled and dated verso on mount: “The Watch Tower” 1947 Inscribed and dated verso: “MERRY XMAS!” To Jeanne, from Papileo with much love. 1947

110

111

Silhouettes 1950 Watercolor and ink on paper 7 13/16 × 10 3/16 in. (19.8 × 25.9 cm) Signed lower left: Feininger Dated lower right: 17. 9. 50 Titled lower center: Silhouettes

112

(Cityscape) 1951 Watercolor and ink on paper 5 11/16 × 9 1/8 in. (14.5 × 23 cm) Signed and dated lower left: Feininger 1951 Inscribed lower left: to Marianne, with love from “Papileo” Private collection

113

Ghosties

114

(Two Figures) c. 1950s Watercolor and ink on paper 11 × 8 1/2 in. (27.9 × 21.6 cm)

115

Frohes Fest (Merry Christmas) c. 1950 Watercolor and ink on paper 5 1/8 × 3 5/16 in. (13 × 8.5 cm) Signed lower left: Feininger Titled lower right: FROHES FEST! Private collection

116

Sympathetic Gallery Visitors c. 1952 Watercolor, ink, and gold paint on paper 3 × 5 1/2 in. (7.7 × 14 cm) Titled upper center: Sympathetic Gallery visitors

117

Be My Valentine 1953 Watercolor and ink on paper 4 1/2 × 6 11/16 in. (11.4 × 16.9 cm) Signed and dated lower left: Feininger 14. II. 53 Titled lower right: "Be my Valentine!" Inscribed verso: s.l. Curt [Valentin], April 22. 1953 Private collection

118

(Six Bathers) 1954 Watercolor and ink on paper 6 3/16 × 9 3/8 in. (15.7 × 23.8 cm) Signed and dated lower right: Feininger 1954 Private collection

119

Merry Christmas c. 1953 Watercolor and ink on paper 3 5/16 × 4 1/8 in. (8.3 × 10.5 cm) Titled upper center (typewritten): M E R R Y C H R I S T M A S !

120

(Four Dogs and One Owl) c. 1953 Watercolor and ink on paper 3 × 6 1/8 in. (7.6 × 15.6 cm) Signed upper left: Feininger

121

(Six Figures) c. 1954 Watercolor and ink on paper 6 3/8 × 10 3/16 in. (16.2 × 25.9 cm)

122

(Three Figures) c. 1954 Watercolor and ink on paper 6 1/2 × 3 5/16 in. (16.5 × 8.3 cm) Signed lower left: Feininger

123

124

(Five Figures) c. 1954 Watercolor and ink on paper 3 1/8 × 6 1/8 in. (7.9 × 15.6 cm) Signed upper left: Feininger

125

(Four Figures) 1954 Watercolor and ink on paper 8 × 6 5/16 in. (20.3 × 15.9 cm) Signed and dated lower left: Feininger 1954

126

127

The King Goes Incognito 1954 Watercolor and ink on paper 4 5/16 × 5 3/8 in. (11 × 13.6 cm) Signed and dated lower left: Feininger 1954 Titled lower center: The King goes Incognito Private collection

128

What’s the Big Idea 1954 Watercolor and ink on paper 3 1/8 × 6 5/16 in. (7.9 × 15.9 cm) Signed and dated lower left: Feininger 1954 Titled lower center: WHAT’S THE Big Idea?

129

(Five Figures) 1955 Watercolor and ink on paper 3 1/8 × 6 5/16 in. (7.9 × 15.9 cm) Signed and dated upper left: Feininger ‘55

130

Merry XMas 1955 Watercolor, ink, and gold paint on paper 5 1/8 × 6 1/8 in. (13 × 15.5 cm) Signed and dated lower left: Feininger 1955 Titled lower center: MERRY XMAS! Private collection

131

Chronology

132

1871

1906

1918

1937

1887

1907

1919

1939

Lyonel Feininger is born on July 17 in New York to Karl and Elizabeth Feininger; he is the first of three children.

Leaves for Germany and begins studying at the General Vocational and Crafts School in Hamburg.

Moves with Julia to Paris; birth of son Andreas. Works on two comic strips for The Chicago Sunday Tribune.

Starts making woodcuts; produces 117 woodblocks by the end of the year. Returns to Braunlage for the summer.

Makes his first oil painting. 1908

Marries Julia in London; returns to Berlin.

1888

Moves to Berlin and begins studying at the Royal Academy of Arts.

1909

Birth of son Laurence.

Appointed the first master of the Staatliches Bauhaus in Weimar. Cuts 76 woodblocks.

Leaves the Academy and moves to Paris.

Becomes master of form and head of the printing workshop at the Bauhaus. Composes his first fugue.

Moves back to Berlin and starts working as a freelance cartoonist and illustrator.

1926

Moves with the Bauhaus to Dessau as master without teaching duties.

1901

Marries Clara Fürst; birth of daughter Eleonora. 1902

Birth of daughter Marianne. 1905

Meets Julia Berg (born Lilienfeld) and separates from Clara. Starts making etchings and lithographs with Julia’s encouragement.

Six paintings included in the Salon des Indépendants in Paris. 1913

1929

Works on a series of paintings for the City of Halle (Saale).

Teaches a summer course at Black Mountain College in Asheville, North Carolina.

1931

1950

Completes Halle series. Retrospectives in Dresden, Essen, and at the Nationalgalerie in Berlin.

Starts making “Ghosties,” drawings of little figures for his family and friends. 1953

The National Socialists declare his art “degenerate.”

Works on designs for a mural for the lobby of the Magdalene and Charles Klingenstein Maternity Pavilion, Mount Sinai Hospital, New York, which was not carried out.

1936

1956

1934

Moves to Berlin-Siemensstadt. 1935

First solo exhibition at Galerie Der Sturm. Spends summer vacation in Braunlage in the Harz Mountains.

Retrospective with Marsden Hartley at The Museum of Modern Art in New York. 1945

Five paintings included in the Erster Deutscher Herbstsalon, organized by Galerie Der Sturm in Berlin. Develops a series of wooden toy trains for mass production. Works intensively on the trains during the summers of 1913 and 1914 in Weimar, but the project is ultimately halted by the outbreak of World War I. 1917

One of his paintings is awarded a purchase prize by The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. 1944

Birth of son Theodore Lux (T. Lux). 1911

1893

Works on murals for the 1939–1940 New York World’s Fair. 1942

1921

1910 1892

Leaves Germany, teaches another summer course at Mills College, then settles in New York City.

Teaches a summer course at Mills College in Oakland, California.

133

Dies on January 13 at home in New York.

T. Lux, Andreas, Lyonel, and Laurence Feininger (left to right) in Braunlage, Harz Mountains, 1918

Julia reading and Lyonel Feininger working on a woodblock on the terrace of their house in Weimar, 1919

Printing workshop at the Bauhaus in Weimar, 1920

Lyonel Feininger, Wassily Kandinsky, Oskar Schlemmer, Georg Muche, and Paul Klee (left to right) in Kleeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s studio in Weimar, 1925

Lyonel Feininger working on wooden toys in his studio in New York, 1951 Photograph: Andreas Feininger

134

135

Related Works

Alphabetical numbering refers to related works. Prasse Lyonel Feininger: A Definitive Catalogue of His Graphic Work. Etchings, Lithographs, Woodcuts by Leona E. Prasse (Berlin, 1972) Moeller Lyonel Feininger: The Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings by Achim Moeller (feiningerproject.org)

(Anglers) 1918 Pencil on paper 2 13/16 × 3 7/8 in. (7 × 10 cm) 1A

Angler mit blauem Fisch II (Angler with Blue Fish II) 1912 Oil on canvas 22 1/2 × 29 5/8 in. (57 × 75 cm) Moeller 080, Private collection

(Figures on the Shore and Sun) 1918 Pencil on paper 2 13/16 × 3 7/8 in. (7 × 10 cm) 2A

(On the Quay) 1918 Woodcut on tissue paper Image: 6 5/8 × 8 5/16 in. (16.7 × 21 cm) Prasse W 93, Private collection

136

1A 2A

137

138

(Rainy Day at the Beach) 1918 Pencil on paper 2 13/16 × 3 7/8 in. (7 × 10 cm) 4A

(Rainy Day on the Beach) 1918 Woodcut on carbon-copy paper Image: 5 3/8 × 8 3/8 in. (13.6 × 21.4 cm) Prasse W 39 I, Private collection

(Figures on the Beach and Ships on the Horizon) 1918 Pencil on paper 2 7/8 × 3 7/8 in. (7.4 × 9.8 cm)

(Fishing Boats) 1918 Woodcut on carbon-copy paper Image: 4 7/8 × 6 3/8 in. (12.4 × 16.3 cm) Prasse W 98 II, Private collection 5B

Fishing Smacks (Divertissement) 1946 Oil on canvas 17 1/8 × 23 in. (43.5 × 58.4 cm) Moeller 487, Estate of T. Lux Feininger, Cambridge, MA

(Sidewheeler) 1918 Pencil on paper 2 13/16 × 3 7/8 in. (7 × 10 cm) 6A

(Sidewheeler) 1918 Woodcut on paper Image: 2 11/16 × 4 5/8 in. (6.8 × 11.8 cm) Prasse W 83 I, Private collection

139

140

(Outbound Steamer Odin) 1918 Pencil on paper 2 13/16 × 3 7/8 in. (7 × 10 cm) 7A

(Outbound Steamer Odin) 1918 Woodcut on white tissue paper Image: 3 1/8 × 4 1/2 in. (7.9 × 11.3 cm) Prasse W 75, Moeller Fine Art, New York 7B

Dampfer Odin (Steamer Odin) 1924 Watercolor and ink on paper 11 3/16 × 16 1/8 in. (28.3 × 40.8 cm) Kunstmuseum Moritzburg, Halle (Saale)

Leviathan (Dampfer Odin I) (Leviathan [Steamer Odin I]) 1927 Oil on canvas 26 1/2 × 39 1/2 in. (67.3 × 100.3 cm) Moeller 287, Acquired through the Lillie P. Bliss Bequest (by exchange), The Museum of Modern Art, New York (751.1943)

8A 8

(Sailing Ships near the Pier) 1918 Pencil on paper 2 11/16 × 4 1/8 in. (6.8 × 10.5 cm) 8A

(Ships in Port) 1918 Woodcut on European handmade-laid paper Image: 3 3/16 × 4 5/8 in. (8.2 × 11.8 cm) Prasse W 74, Private collection

141

11A 9A

142

(Bark at Sea) 1918 Pencil on paper 2 13/16 × 3 7/8 in. (7 × 9.8 cm) Dated verso: 16. Okt. 1918 9A

(Bark at Sea) 1918 Woodcut on carbon-copy paper, mounted on paper Image: 7 × 8 5/8 in. (17.7 × 21.8 cm) Prasse W 66, Private collection

(In the War Harbor) 1918 Pencil on paper 2 13/16 × 3 7/8 in. (7 × 10 cm) Dated verso: 8. X. 18

11A

(In the War Harbor) 1918 Woodcut on paper Image: 4 3/8 × 6 7/8 in. (11.2 × 17.5 cm) Prasse W 102, Private collection

(Sailing Ships and Angler on the Shore) 1918 Pencil on paper 2 13/16 × 3 7/8 in. (7 × 10 cm) Dated upper right: 7. Okt. 1918

13A

(Bark and Brig at Sea) 1918 Woodcut on carbon-copy paper Image: 7 1/8 × 7 5/16 in. (18 × 18.5 cm) Prasse W 99 I, Private collection

143

(Figures on the Shore and Sailing Ships) 1918 Pencil on paper 2 13/16 × 3 7/8 in. (7 × 10 cm) 14A (Marine [with Sun]) 1918 Woodcut on European machine-made paper Image: 5 13/16 × 6 7/8 in. (14.6 × 17.6 cm) Prasse W 100, Moeller Fine Art, New York

(Wreck) 1918 Pencil on paper 2 13/16 × 3 7/8 in. (7 × 9.8 cm) 15A

(Wreck) 1919 Woodcut on carbon-copy paper Image: 4 5/8 × 6 5/16 in. (11.8 × 16.1 cm) Prasse W 121, Private collection

(Beacon and Sailing Ship) 1918 Pencil on paper 4 1/8 × 2 11/16 in. (10.5 × 6.8 cm) Verso: (Rooftops)

14A

16A

(Lighthouse) 1919 Woodcut on Oriental laid paper Image: 6 3/16 × 5 5/8 in. (17.8 × 14.3 cm) Prasse W 172, Private collection

144

15A

16A

145

17A 17B

17C

146

(Volcano) 1918 Pencil on paper 2 13/16 × 3 7/8 in. (7 × 9.8 cm) 17A

(Volcano) 1919 Woodcut on Mino copy paper Image: 3 3/16 × 4 13/16 in. (8 × 12.1 cm) Prasse W 132 II, Private collection 17B

Volcano 1942 Oil on canvas 19 1/8 × 19 11/16 in. (48.5 × 50 cm) Moeller 444, Private collection

17C

From Lyonel Feininger’s personal collection of prints: Friedrich Weber (1792–1847) Stromboli n.d. Colored engraving on paper Sheet: 12 11/16 × 17 1/16 in. (32.2 × 43.3 cm) Moeller Fine Art Projects | The Lyonel Feininger Project, New York– Berlin

(Sailing Ship near the Coast in the Rain) 1919 Pencil on paper 2 11/16 × 4 3/16 in. (6.8 × 10.6 cm) Dated lower left: 15 VII 19

18A

(The Departure) 1919 Woodcut on yellow tissue paper Image: 6 11/16 × 7 5/8 in. (17.1 × 19.4 cm) Prasse W 161, Private collection

147

(Windmill in the Rain) 1918 Pencil on paper 2 13/16 × 3 7/8 in. (7 × 10 cm) Dated lower left: 17. VIII. 18 20A

(Windmill in the Rain) 1918 Woodcut on blue-green tissue paper, mounted on paper Image: 4 13/16 × 6 3/8 in. (12.1 × 16.2 cm) Prasse W 107, Private collection 20B

Mill in Snow 1944 Oil on canvas 15 × 22 in. (38 × 55.8 cm) Moeller 465, Private collection

(Bridge with Cart and Sailing Boat) 1918 Pencil on paper 2 13/16 × 3 7/8 in. (7 × 9.8 cm) 22A

(Wagon Crossing a Bridge) 1918 Woodcut on carbon-copy paper, mounted on paper Image: 3 3/16 × 4 3/8 in. (8 × 11.2 cm) Prasse W 82, Moeller Fine Art, New York

20A

22B

Brücke über Fluss (Bridge over River) 1921 Watercolor and ink on paper 8 5/8 × 11 3/16 in. (21.8 × 28.5 cm) Private collection 22C

Bridge over the River 1940 Watercolor and ink on paper 11 3/8 × 14 3/8 in. (28.9 × 36.5 cm) Private collection

20B

148

22A

22B

22C

149

(Train on a Bridge) 1918 Pencil on paper 2 13/16 × 3 7/8 in. (7 × 9.8 cm) 23A

Rangierzug (Railroad-Train) 1921 Watercolor and ink on paper 7 5/16 × 12 5/8 in. (18.5 × 32 cm) Private collection 23B

Railroad-Train 1941 Oil on canvas 19 × 28 1/8 in. (48.2 × 71.3 cm) Moeller 425, Stiftung Sammlung Ziegler, Kunstmuseum Mülheim an der Ruhr, Mülheim an der Ruhr

23A

23B

150

(Train on a Bridge by Night) 1918 Pencil on paper 2 13/16 × 3 7/8 in. (7 × 10 cm) Dated lower right: 24 VIII 18 24A

(Locomotive on the Bridge) 1918 Woodcut on tissue paper Image: 3 5/8 × 4 5/8 in. (9.2 × 11.7 cm) Prasse W 81 I, Moeller Fine Art, New York 24B

The Night Express 1931 Oil on canvas 14 × 17 1/8 in. (35.5 × 43.3 cm) Moeller 428, Private collection

24A

24B

151

(Bridge in a City) c. 1919 Pencil on paper 4 3/16 × 2 11/16 in. (10.6 × 6.8 cm) 26A

Die grüne Brücke (The Green Bridge) 1909 Watercolor and ink on paper 13 × 9 13/16 in. (33 × 24.8 cm) Private collection 26B

(The Green Bridge) 1910/11 Etching on paper Image: 10 5/8 × 7 13/16 in. (27 × 19.9 cm) Prasse E 22, Private collection 26C

(Street under a Bridge)

1920 Woodcut on Mino copy paper Image: 6 1/2 × 5 13/16 in. (16.4 × 14.8 cm) Prasse W 209, Private collection

26C

26D

(Grüne Brücke I) (Green Bridge I) 1909 Oil on canvas 39 7/8 × 31 13/16 in. (101.3 × 80.7 cm) Moeller 051, Private collection 26E

Grüne Brücke II (Green Bridge II)

26A

26D

26B

26E

1916 Oil on canvas 49 3/8 × 39 1/2 in. (125.4 × 100.3 cm) Moeller 173, Gift of Mrs. Ferdinand Möller, North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh (G.57.38.1)

152

(Fiddler before Houses) 1918 Pencil on paper 3 7/8 × 2 13/16 in. (10 × 7 cm) 27A

(The Red Fiddler) c. 1908 Crayon on paper 8 3/8 × 5 3/8 in. (21.3 × 13.7 cm) Moeller Fine Art, New York 27B

(The Red Fiddler) 1915 Watercolor and ink on paper 12 5/8 × 9 3/16 in. (32 × 23.4 cm) Private collection 27C

Der rote Geiger (The Red Fiddler) 27

1921 Watercolor and ink on paper 12 1/8 × 9 1/2 in. (30.8 × 24 cm) Private collection

27B

27D

Der rote Geiger (The Red Fiddler) 1934 Oil on canvas 39 3/8 × 31 7/8 in. (100 × 81 cm) Moeller 376, Private collection

27A

27C

27D

153

32A

33A

154

(Hunting Lodge Brunnenbach, Harz Mountains) 1918 Pencil on paper 3 5/16 × 4 7/8 in. (8.5 × 12.4 cm) Dated lower left: Donnerst. 4. VII. 18 32A

(The Hunter’s Lodge) 1918 Woodcut on carbon-copy paper Image: 4 3/8 × 5 1/2 in. (11.1 × 14 cm) Prasse W 40, Moeller Fine Art, New York

(Village Church) 1918 Pencil on paper 2 13/16 × 3 7/8 in. (7 × 9.8 cm)

33A

(Village Church) 1918 Woodcut on paper Image: 8 3/16 × 10 5/8 in. (20.8 × 26.8 cm) Prasse W 52, Private collection

(Braunlage in the Harz Mountains with St. Trinitatis Church) 1918 Pencil on paper 4 1/8 × 6 5/16 in. (10.3 × 16 cm) Dated upper left: 11. VIII 18

37A

Harzer Dorf II (Harz Village II) 1918 Woodcut on yellow tissue paper Image: 6 × 8 7/8 in. (15.3 × 22.6 cm) Prasse W 63, Loebermann Collection, Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz

155

38A

39A

156

(Town Hall Square) 1918 Pencil on paper 3 7/8 × 2 13/16 in. (9.8 × 7 cm) 38A

(Town Hall Square) 1918 Woodcut on carbon-copy paper, mounted on paper Image: 8 5/16 × 6 1/2 in. (21 × 16.5 cm) Prasse W 88, Private collection

(St. Trinitatis Church in Braunlage, Harz Mountains) 1918 Pencil on paper 3 7/8 × 2 13/16 in. (10 × 7 cm)

39A

(Village and Church) 1920 Woodcut on carbon-copy paper Image: 4 5/16 × 2 7/8 in. (10.8 × 7.3 cm) Prasse W 222 II, Moeller Fine Art, New York

(Village) c. 1919 Pencil on paper 2 11/16 × 4 3/16 in. (6.8 × 10.6 cm)

40A

(Street) 1920 Woodcut on Mino copy paper Image: 4 × 5 1/2 in. (10.2 × 14 cm) Prasse W 230 Ia, Moeller Fine Art, New York

157

(The Studio Window, Weimar) 1919 Pencil on paper 2 11/16 × 4 3/16 in. (6.8 × 10.6 cm) Dated upper right: 21 VII 19 42A

Studie für "Das Atelierfenster“ (Preliminary Sketch for “The Studio Window”) 1914 Pencil on paper 8 × 6 5/16 in. (20.3 × 15.9 cm) Harvard Art Museums/ Busch-Reisinger Museum, Gift of Julia Feininger, BR63.1636 42B

Das Atelierfenster II (The Studio Window II) 1930 Pencil on paper 15 13/16 × 11 1/8 in. (40.2 × 28.3 cm) Harvard Art Museums/ Busch-Reisinger Museum, Bequest of William S. Lieberman, 2010.340 42C

Das Atelierfenster (The Studio Window) 1919 Oil on canvas 39 3/8 × 31 1/2 in. (100 × 80 cm) Moeller 213, Stiftung Wilhelm Lehmbruck Museum, Duisburg 42A

42B

42C

158

46A

45A

1918 Pencil on paper 3 7/8 × 2 13/16 in. (10 × 7 cm)

1918 Pencil on paper 2 13/16 × 3 7/8 in. (7 × 9.9 cm) Dated upper center: 2. VIII. 18

(Procession)

(Figures)

45A

(Da-Da, 2)

46A

1918 Woodcut on magenta tissue paper, mounted on paper Image: 3 1/2 × 4 11/16 in. (8.9 × 11.9 cm) Prasse W 92, Private collection

1919 Woodcut on tissue paper Image: 3 5/16 × 4 1/2 in. (8.5 × 11.3 cm) Prasse W 134, Private collection

(Ghosts)

159

(Large Figure with Cane and Small Figures with Hats) 1918 Pencil on paper 3 7/8 × 2 13/16 in. (10 × 7 cm) Verso: (Large Figure with Cane and Small Figures with Hats) 47A

(Da-Da I) 1918 Woodcut on tissue paper, mounted on paper Image: 4 5/8 × 3 1/2 in. (11.6 × 8.8 cm) Prasse W 91, Private collection

(Man with Horn and Child before Buildings) 1918 Pencil on paper 3 7/8 × 2 13/16 in. (9.8 × 7 cm) 47

48A

(Trumpeter and Child) 1919 Woodcut on yellow tissue paper Image: 4 5/8 × 3 1/2 in. (11.7 × 9 cm) Prasse W 73, Private collection

(Man with Horn and Old Man with Cane) 1918 Pencil on paper 3 7/8 × 2 13/16 in. (10 × 7 cm) 49A

47A

(Trumpeter) 1918 Woodcut on red tissue paper Image: 8 3/8 × 7 1/8 in. (21.5 × 18 cm) Prasse W 47, Private collection

48A

49B

(Trumpeter with Hat) 1918 Woodcut on red tissue paper Image: 8 1/2 × 6 7/8 in. (21.7 × 17.6 cm) Prasse W 48 I, Private collection

160

50A

49A 50

(Old Shellbacks) 1918 Pencil on paper 3 7/8 × 6 3/16 in. (10 × 15.8 cm) 50A

Groteske (Alte Seebären) (Grotesqueness [Old Shellbacks]) 1919 Woodcut on Mino copy paper Image: 5 × 7 5/16 in. (12.8 × 18.6 cm) Prasse W 124, Private collection

49B

161

Men Moving Freight Car 1940 Oil on canvas 23 5/8 × 30 11/16 in. (60 × 78 cm) Moeller 419, Private collection

53 54

(Bathers and Sea) 1916 Ink on paper 6 5/16 × 8 in. (15.9 × 20.3 cm) Signed lower left: Feininger Dated lower right: 3. VI. 16 54A

Bathers (Bathers on the Beach I) 1912 Oil on canvas 19 7/8 × 25 7/8 in. (50.5 × 65.7 cm) Moeller 078, Harvard Art Museums/ Busch-Reisinger Museum, Association Fund, BR54.7

53A

54B

(Bathers on the Beach II) 1913 Oil on canvas 28 13/16 × 35 13/16 in. (73 × 90.8 cm) Moeller 119, Whereabouts unknown

Silhouettes 1950 Watercolor and ink on paper 7 13/16 × 10 3/16 in. (19.8 × 25.9 cm) Signed lower left: Feininger Dated lower right: 17. 9. 50 Titled lower center: Silhouettes 59A

(Three-Master and Eight Men in a Harbor) c. 1937 Woodcut on paper Image: 2 1/8 × 2 7/8 in. (5.3 × 7.4 cm) Prasse W 305, Private collection

162

59A 54A

54B

163

Checklist

164

(Anglers)

(Bark at Sea)

(Wreck)

(Train on a Bridge)

1918 Pencil on paper 2 13/16 × 3 7/8 in. (7 × 10 cm)

1918 Pencil on paper 2 13/16 × 3 7/8 in. (7 × 9.8 cm) Dated verso: 16. Okt. 1918

1918 Pencil on paper 2 13/16 × 3 7/8 in. (7 × 9.8 cm)

(Figures on the Shore and Sun)

(Beacon and Sailing Ship)

(Train on a Bridge by Night)

1918 Pencil on paper 2 13/16 × 3 7/8 in. (7 × 10 cm)

1918 Pencil on paper 2 13/16 × 3 7/8 in. (7 × 10 cm) Dated lower right: 23. IX. 18

1918 Pencil on paper 4 1/8 × 2 11/16 in. (10.5 × 6.8 cm) Verso: (Rooftops)

1918 Pencil on paper 2 13/16 × 3 7/8 in. (7 × 10 cm) Dated lower right: 24 VIII 18

(Volcano)

(Carriage on a Bridge with Crescent Moon)

(Sailing Ships and Steamer)

(Figures on the Shore and Steamer)

1918 Pencil on paper 2 13/16 × 3 7/8 in. (7 × 10 cm)

1918 Pencil on paper 2 13/16 × 3 7/8 in. (7 × 10 cm) Dated verso: 8. X. 18

(Rainy Day at the Beach) 1918 Pencil on paper 2 13/16 × 3 7/8 in. (7 × 10 cm) 5

(Figures on the Beach and Ships on the Horizon) 1918 Pencil on paper 2 7/8 × 3 7/8 in. (7.4 × 9.8 cm) 6

(Sidewheeler) 1918 Pencil on paper 2 13/16 × 3 7/8 in. (7 × 10 cm) 7

(Outbound Steamer Odin) 1918 Pencil on paper 2 13/16 × 3 7/8 in. (7 × 10 cm) 8

(Sailing Ships near the Pier) 1918 Pencil on paper 2 11/16 × 4 1/8 in. (6.8 × 10.5 cm)

(In the War Harbor)

(Sailing Boat near the Shore under Rainy Clouds) 1918 Pencil on paper 2 13/16 × 3 7/8 in. (7 × 9.8 cm) Dated lower left: 4. IX. 18 13

(Sailing Ships and Angler on the Shore) 1918 Pencil on paper 2 13/16 × 3 7/8 in. (7 × 10 cm) Dated upper right: 7. Okt. 1918 14

(Figures on the Shore and Sailing Ships) 1918 Pencil on paper 2 13/16 × 3 7/8 in. (7 × 10 cm)

1918 Pencil on paper 2 13/16 × 3 7/8 in. (7 × 9.8 cm) 18

1918 Pencil on paper 3 7/8 × 2 13/16 in. (9.8 × 7 cm)

(Sailing Ship near the Coast in the Rain)

1919 Pencil on paper 2 11/16 × 4 3/16 in. (6.8 × 10.6 cm) Dated lower left: 15 VII 19

c. 1919 Pencil on paper 4 3/16 × 2 11/16 in. (10.6 × 6.8 cm)

(Fiddler before Houses)

(Windmill and Figure) 1918 Pencil on paper 2 13/16 × 3 7/8 in. (7 × 9.8 cm) 20

(Windmill in the Rain)

(Bridge in a City)

1918 Pencil on paper 3 7/8 × 2 13/16 in. (10 × 7 cm) 28

(Path in the Woods, Harz Mountains)

1918 Pencil on paper 2 13/16 × 3 7/8 in. (7 × 10 cm) Dated lower left: 17. VIII. 18

1918 Pencil on paper 6 3/16 × 4 1/16 in. (15.7 × 10.2 cm)

(Bridge with Cart)

(Manor House in the Woods, Harz Mountains)

1918 Pencil on paper 2 13/16 × 3 7/8 in. (7 × 9.8 cm)

1918 Pencil on paper 4 1/8 × 6 3/8 in. (10.3 × 16.2 cm)

(Bridge with Cart and Sailing Boat) 1918 Pencil on paper 2 13/16 × 3 7/8 in. (7 × 9.8 cm)

165

(Hunting Lodge Brunnenbach, Harz Mountains)

(St. Trinitatis Church in Braunlage, Harz Mountains)

(Figures in front of Church)

(Man with Horn and Old Man with Cane)

1918 Pencil on paper 3 5/16 × 4 7/8 in. (8.5 × 12.5 cm) 31

(House in the Woods, Harz Mountains) 1918 Pencil on paper 4 1/8 × 6 5/16 in. (10.3 × 16.1 cm) 32

(Hunting Lodge Brunnenbach, Harz Mountains) 1918 Pencil on paper 3 5/16 × 4 7/8 in. (8.5 × 12.4 cm) Dated lower left: Donnerst. 4. VII. 18 33

(Village Church) 1918 Pencil on paper 2 13/16 × 3 7/8 in. (7 × 9.8 cm) 34

(View of Braunlage, Harz Mountains, with Sun) 1918 Pencil on paper 4 1/8 × 6 5/16 in. (10.3 × 16.1 cm) 35

(View of Braunlage, Harz Mountains, with St. Trinitatis Church) 1918 Pencil on paper 4 1/8 × 6 3/8 in. (10.3 × 16.2 cm)

1918 Pencil on paper 3 7/8 × 6 3/16 in. (10 × 15.8 cm)

1919 Pencil on paper 4 1/8 × 2 11/16 in. (10.5 × 6.8 cm) Dated lower right: 31 VII 19

(Braunlage in the Harz Mountains with St. Trinitatis Church)

(Sick Child in Bed)

(Old Shellbacks)

1918 Pencil on paper 2 13/16 × 3 7/8 in. (7 × 9.8 cm) Verso: (Rooftops)

1918 Pencil on paper 3 7/8 × 6 3/16 in. (10 × 15.8 cm)

City at the Edge of the World

1918 Pencil on paper 4 1/8 × 6 5/16 in. (10.3 × 16 cm) Dated upper left: 11. VIII 18 38

(Town Hall Square) 1918 Pencil on paper 3 7/8 × 2 13/16 in. (9.8 × 7 cm) 39

(St. Trinitatis Church in Braunlage, Harz Mountains) 1918 Pencil on paper 3 7/8 × 2 13/16 in. (10 × 7 cm) 40

(Village) c. 1919 Pencil on paper 2 11/16 × 4 3/16 in. (6.8 × 10.6 cm) 41

(Street) 1919 Pencil on paper 4 5/16 × 2 11/16 in. (10.8 × 6.8 cm) Dated upper right: 20 VII 19 42

(Procession) 1918 Pencil on paper 3 7/8 × 2 13/16 in. (10 × 7 cm) 46

(Figures) 1918 Pencil on paper 2 13/16 × 3 7/8 in. (7 × 9.9 cm) Dated upper center: 2. VIII. 18 47

(Large Figure with Cane and Small Figures with Hats) 1918 Pencil on paper 3 7/8 × 2 13/16 in. (10 × 7 cm) Verso: (Large Figure with Cane and Small Figures with Hats) 48

(Man with Horn and Child before Buildings) 1918 Pencil on paper 3 7/8 × 2 13/16 in. (9.8 × 7 cm)

(The Studio Window, Weimar)

1918 Pencil on paper 3 7/8 × 2 13/16 in. (10 × 7 cm)

c. 1948-52 68 hand-carved, painted wooden figures, houses, animals, and a bridge max. height 3 7/8 in. (10 cm) 52

(Figures on the Seashore) 1911 Crayon and pencil on paper 7 5/8 × 9 1/2 in. (19.2 × 24 cm) Dated lower left: Thurs. Aug. 10. 1911 53

(Bathers and Sea) 1916 Ink on paper 6 5/16 × 8 in. (15.9 × 20.3 cm) Signed lower left: Feininger Dated lower right: 3. VI. 16

1919 Pencil on paper 2 11/16 × 4 3/16 in. (6.8 × 10.6 cm) Dated upper right: 21 VII 19

166

(Quay with Four Figures)

(Cityscape)

(Six Bathers)

(Four Figures)

1934 Ink on paper 8 × 11 5/16 in. (20.2 × 28.7 cm) Signed and dated lower left: Feininger 1934 Dated lower left verso: 10 I 34

1951 Watercolor and ink on paper 5 11/16 × 9 1/8 in. (14.5 × 23 cm) Signed and dated lower left: Feininger 1951 Inscribed lower left: to Marianne, with love from “Papileo” Private collection

1954 Watercolor and ink on paper 6 3/16 × 9 3/8 in. (15.7 × 23.8 cm) Signed and dated lower right: Feininger 1954 Private collection

1954 Watercolor and ink on paper 8 × 6 5/16 in. (20.3 × 15.9 cm) Signed and dated lower left: Feininger 1954

The King Goes Incognito

(Six Figures) 1934 Ink on paper 8 13/16 × 11 15/16 in. (22.4 × 30.2 cm) Signed and dated lower left: Feininger 1934 57

Figures 1936 Watercolor and ink on paper 10 5/16 × 8 in. (26.2 × 20.2 cm) Signed lower left: Feininger Dated lower right: 1936 Titled lower center: Figures 58

Silhouettes 1950 Watercolor and ink on paper 7 13/16 × 10 3/16 in. (19.8 × 25.9 cm) Signed lower left: Feininger Dated lower right: 17. 9. 50 Titled lower center: Silhouettes

Merry Christmas

c. 1950s Watercolor and ink on paper 11 × 8 1/2 in. (27.9 × 21.6 cm)

c. 1953 Watercolor and ink on paper 3 5/16 × 4 1/8 in. (8.3 × 10.5 cm) Titled upper center (typewritten): MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Frohes Fest

(Four Dogs and One Owl)

c. 1950 (Merry Christmas) Watercolor and ink on paper 5 1/8 × 3 5/16 in. (13 × 8.5 cm) Signed lower left: Feininger Titled lower right: FROHES FEST! Private collection

c. 1953 Watercolor and ink on paper 3 × 6 1/8 in. (7.6 × 15.6 cm) Signed upper left: Feininger

(Two Figures)

Sympathetic Gallery Visitors

(Six Figures) c. 1954 Watercolor and ink on paper 6 3/8 × 10 3/16 in. (16.2 × 25.9 cm) 69

c. 1952 Watercolor, ink, and gold paint on paper 3 × 5 1/2 in. (7.7 × 14 cm) Titled upper center: Sympathetic Gallery visitors

(Three Figures)

(Five Figures)

c. 1954 Watercolor and ink on paper 6 1/2 × 3 5/16 in. (16.5 × 8.3 cm) Signed lower left: Feininger 70

c. 1954 Watercolor and ink on paper 3 1/8 × 6 1/8 in. (7.9 × 15.6 cm) Signed upper left: Feininger

167

1954 Watercolor and ink on paper 4 5/16 × 5 3/8 in. (11 × 13.6 cm) Signed and dated lower left: Feininger 1954 Titled lower center: The King goes Incognito Private collection 73

What’s the Big Idea 1954 Watercolor and ink on paper 3 1/8 × 6 5/16 in. (7.9 × 15.9 cm) Signed and dated lower left: Feininger 1954 Titled lower center: WHAT’S THE Big Idea? 74

(Five Figures) 1955 Watercolor and ink on paper 3 1/8 × 6 5/16 in. (7.9 × 15.9 cm) Signed and dated upper left: Feininger ‘55 75

Merry XMas 1955 Watercolor, ink, and gold paint on paper 5 1/8 × 6 1/8 in. (13 × 15.5 cm) Signed and dated lower left: Feininger 1955 Titled lower center: MERRY XMAS! Private collection

A Lifetime of Learning about Lyonel Feininger Achim Moeller

I organized my very first exhibition of Lyonel Feininger’s works in 1957, at the age of 14. The show opened at the Institut Montana Zugerberg, a boarding school above the town of Zug, Switzerland. It was comprised of small copies of the artist’s works clipped from magazines and catalogues, and it was hung not in a gallery but on the walls around my dormitory bed. Visitors were limited to my roommate and myself. It was a modest show, and seems hardly worth mentioning, except that my passion for Feininger’s art has grown ever since—indeed, it came to influence much of the next decades of my life and career. Ten years later, I started work at the Marlborough-Gerson Gallery in New York. I often stayed later than my colleagues, not because I was unusually ambitious but because I played the violin and the gallery’s acoustics were rewarding. One evening in April 1968, my boss, Francis K. Lloyd, called me into his office. He had exciting news: the gallery had just made an agreement to represent the estate of Lyonel Feininger. He also believed that since I was fluent in German I would be the best suited of the staff to take charge of the estate. Needless to say, I was overjoyed to be asked to represent the work of a major Bauhaus artist who I had deeply admired since my school years in Switzerland. My first task was to organize an exhibition. Hoping to piece together a more complete picture of Feininger and his work, I began to meet regularly with his widow, Julia. Speaking to me with great tenderness and conviction about her late husband (her beloved “Papileo”), Julia always used English. This initially struck me as odd, since German was our shared native language. I realized, however, that this was the careful decision of a wife who had always been deeply invested in her husband’s legacy. Early in their relationship, in fact, she had given up her own artistic career to focus entirely on his, becoming his confidante, critic, and agent. Julia’s deliberate use of English in our conversations clearly imparted to me that despite having spent almost 50 years of his life in Germany, Feininger was to be remembered not as a German artist but as an American one. My first official Feininger exhibition opened almost exactly one year after that memorable evening of violin practice. The Marlborough-Gerson Gallery, with its interior designed by Marcel Breuer, was the perfect space for such a show. The art historian Peter Selz, who had met Feininger in the early 1950s, wrote a stunning essay for the event, titled

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fig. 1

Cover of the catalogue accompanying the exhibition, Lyonel Feininger, at the Marlborough-Gerson Gallery, New York, April-May, 1969 fig. 2

Card announcing the launch of Lyonel Feininger: The Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings by Achim Moeller, Moeller Fine Art Projects, New York, 2018

LYONEL FEININGER THE CATALOGUE RAISONNÉ OF PAINTINGS by Achim Moeller

PART 1: 1907-1918 available online: www.feiningerproject.org Part 2: 1919-1936 and Part 3: 1937-1956 in progress

35 East 64th Street, New York, NY 10065 +1 (212) 644-2133 To submit works please contact mail@feiningerproject.org

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“Lyonel Feininger: Precision and Fantasy.” To this day the exhibition remains one of the most comprehensive of the artist’s work (fig. 1). Over the next two years, I continued to organize smaller Feininger exhibitions at the Marlborough galleries in London and Rome. During that time, I connected with Feininger’s three sons: Andreas, Laurence, and Theodore Lux (T. Lux). Andreas, the eldest, was a photographer who had worked for Life magazine. I was fortunate to form friendships with him and his wife, Gertrude (known informally as Wysse). Andreas would occasionally invite me to spend the weekend at their country house in New Milford, Connecticut, where we would go for long walks in the woods, talking about his father and about Andreas’s own work. He would often stop mid-conversation to point to a particularly beautiful leaf or a remarkable stone on the path and ask, “Look, did you see that?” Of course, I had not. In many ways my friendship with Andreas taught me how to see and to walk in nature with my eyes wide open. Laurence, Feininger’s middle son, had become a Catholic priest and lived in Trento, Italy. He was also a musicologist who made considerable academic contributions to the field of Catholic liturgical music. Because he lived so far away, I regret that I saw much less of him than I would have liked. He died tragically in a car accident in early 1976. T. Lux taught art at Harvard. As a teenager he had proved a skilled photographer of daily life at the Bauhaus. He then became a painter in his own right, initially working in the styles of Neue Sachlichkeit (New Objectivity) and magic realism. After teaching geometric design at Harvard, he came to perfect a remarkable stencil technique. My wife and I are fortunate to have been able to acquire a small collection of his work over the years. As I grew to know T. Lux, I noticed a certain affinity between him and his father, perhaps due to their shared interest in art making. During our conversations, T. Lux became my teacher and mentor. He always imparted to me a sensitive and expert understanding of his father’s life and work. In 1971, I left the Marlborough Gallery and moved to London. The following year, I opened my own gallery there, Achim Moeller Ltd., at 8 Grosvenor Street, Mayfair. I remained in touch with the Feininger family while I was in London and continued to include the artist’s work in exhibitions. My friend Florens Deuchler (then the director of the Medieval Department at The Metropolitan Museum of Art), who I had introduced to Feininger’s work, wrote essays for several of the shows, including Lyonel Feininger: Visions of City and Sea (1975), to which T. Lux also contributed. This particular exhibition, realized with the

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help of the Paris dealer Heinz Berggruen, commemorated the recent death of the art historian Hans Hess, who had written an important monograph on Feininger in 1959. In the early 1980s, I received a phone call from the lawyer for the Feininger estate, who asked if I would consider becoming its representative. After about 12 years of promoting the artist in my gallery work, I felt significantly complimented to be approached about this role. I had become much more deeply involved with Feininger’s work, and had begun to see how underappreciated he was compared to some of the other Bauhaus artists. When I accepted the role of representative, I felt a keen sense of duty to be more than just an art dealer. I also wanted to make a positive impact on Feininger scholarship. In 1984, I moved back to New York and opened my new gallery, Achim Moeller Fine Art Ltd., at 52 East 76th Street in Manhattan. Rereading Hess’s 1959 monograph, I began to envision what my impact could be. The back pages of Hess’s book were devoted to a collection of small black-and-white photographs of Feininger’s paintings compiled by Julia. For many years, these pages had served as the only reference to his paintings. Accompanying the images were short written entries, which I realized were mostly out-of-date or even occasionally incorrect. This inspired me, providing me with the ideal starting point to create a new archive of Feininger’s complete works and to publish a definitive catalogue raisonné of the artist’s paintings. This has been the mission of The Lyonel Feininger Project LLC, which I launched in 1987. In connection with the Project, I took charge of authenticating Feininger’s works for auction houses, galleries, and collectors, and began assisting museums in their research, tasks previously performed by T. Lux. Today, authentication remains a central activity of the Project, and it both relies upon and informs our expansive archive. In 2018, we culminated 30 years of work when we published Lyonel Feininger: The Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings (fig. 2). Over the course of its creation, I have been fortunate to have assistants who made this accomplishment possible. I am particularly grateful to Stefan Hauser, who worked on the catalogue raisonné for almost three years, and to Sebastian Ehlert, who started 10 years ago as an intern and rose to become the project’s manager. I believe that Sebastian probably knows as much as anyone today about Feininger and his work. I also maintain frequent contact with Feininger’s grandchildren Tomas, Conrad, Lucas, and Charles. I feel very grateful to be working with the next generation to further their grandfather’s work and would like to thank them for their support.

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The catalogue raisonné is a work in progress. Although it focuses mainly on Feininger’s paintings, over the years I have also collected and archived information on his works in other mediums. Sebastian and I, together with other staff members, will therefore continue to add to the catalogue, which will grow to encompass these other works. Online publication allows the catalogue to be constantly updated, reflecting the fact that scholarship on Feininger is alive and growing. It is with considerable satisfaction that I can make my lifetime passion for Feininger bear fruit in this way. Over the course of The Lyonel Feininger Project, I have amassed what may be the largest private archive of his work. More importantly, however, the catalogue raisonné promises to raise awareness of the artist and to solidify his rightful place in art history. I am certain that this will benefit Feininger’s legacy, his market, and future scholars.

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Acknowlegments I would like to thank everyone who participated in the realization of this exhibition and publication, especially my assistant and project manager of The Lyonel Feininger Project, Sebastian Ehlert, our senior director, MichĂ¨le Wijegoonaratna, and gallery manager, Tamara Vassilidze. Our junior gallery assistant, Isabelle Sakelaris, also contributed enthusiastically to the exhibition and catalogue. Philippe Apeloig of Studio Apeloig and his assistants, Tom Vidalie and Romane Hupel, designed this beautiful catalogue, which Karen Kedmey skillfully edited and H. Heeneman GmbH & Co. KG successfully printed. The exhibition was expertly installed by Gregg Martin. Achim Moeller

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Moeller Fine Art

The Lyonel Feininger Project

Achim Moeller Ltd., founded in London in June 1972, moved to New York in October of 1984 as Moeller Fine Art Ltd. The gallery specializes in Nineteenth and Twentieth Century masterworks, and regularly organizes museum-quality exhibitions, including From Daumier to Matisse: French Master Drawings from the John C. Whitehead Collection, Howard Wise: Exploring the New, and Between Friends: Giacomo Balla + Piero Dorazio, Lyonel Feininger + Mark Tobey.

Achim Moeller founded The Lyonel Feininger Project in 1987 to prepare the catalogues raisonné, provide certificates of authenticity as well as exhibition consultation, and to conduct and support research related to the artist. The Lyonel Feininger Project, with premises in New York and Berlin, organizes scholarly exhibitions and maintains a 20,000-volume reference library. Lyonel Feininger: The Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings by Achim Moeller can be accessed at feiningerproject.org.

Moeller Fine Art also assists individuals and institutions with collection management, insurance valuation, tax and estate planning, and auction representation. For more than forty years, Achim Moeller, the gallery's principal, has helped build important and substantial private and public collections that are coherent in concept, period, and quality.

The Lyonel Feininger Project LLC 35 East 64th Street New York, NY 10065 T + 1-212-644-2133 Glinkastrasse 42 10117 Berlin T + 49 (0) 30 252 940 83 mail@feiningerproject.org feiningerproject.org

Moeller Fine Art Ltd. 35 East 64th Street New York, NY 10065 T + 1-212-644-2133 mail@moellerfineart.com moellerfineart.com

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This publication accompanies the exhibition The Enchanted World of Lyonel Feininger November 7, 2019– January 31, 2020 Photograph credits Alistir Alexander, Camerarts, Inc. Christopher Burke Studio Ludger Paffrath Copy editor Karen Kedmey Design Philippe Apeloig assisted by Tom Vidalie Typeface Foundry Sterling Paper Sappi Magno Matt 170g Printing and photo engraving H. Heenemann GmbH & Co. KG, Berlin Moeller Fine Art Ltd. 35 East 64th Street New York, NY 10065 T + 1-212-644-2133 mail@moellerfineart.com moellerfineart.com © 2019 Moeller Fine Art Ltd., New York All rights reserved. Private publication. Most works are for sale, subject to availability. Printed in Germany