Masters Of German Expressionism

At ACA Galleries Through June 2

[both at 1 1/2  cols]

George Grosz, “Dieses ist mein lieber Freund Erich Cohn,” 1936, oil on canvas, 35½ by 27½ inches.

 

Paul Kleinschmidt, “Im Theatre (At the Theater),” 1931, oil on canvas, 39¼ by 313/8  inches.

MUST RUN 5-18

MASTERS OF GERMAN EXPRESSIONISM, ACA GALLERIES, GROSZ, KLEINSCHMIDT;

ak/lsb set 5/10 #699616

NEW YORK CITY — “Masters of German Expressionism: Witness to an Era,” at the ACA Galleries through June 2, reveals the works of two of two of Germany’s most iconic masters of the era: George Grosz (1893–1959) and Paul Kleinschmidt (1883–1949).

George Grosz, recognized as a found member of the Berlin Dade movement for his scathing social and political satire, chronicled the decadence, despair and futility of World War I and the pre-Nazi era.

In 1932 he was invited to teach at the Art Students League in New York. On his return to Germany, Hitler’s regime labeled him “Bolshevik Number 1,” so he returned to the United States and became an American citizen in 1938.

In contrast to his earlier German works, the art he produced while in New York, and later in Cape Cod, celebrates the American experience and the excitement of urban life.

His work is in museums around the world, including: the Art Institute of Chicago; Fine Art Museums of San Francisco.; Kunsthalle, Hamburg; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Whitney Museum of American Art and the Museum of Modern Art, New York; Nationalgalerie, Berlin; and Tate Gallery, London.

Paul Kleinschmidt, known for his sensual landscapes, crowded still lifes and exaggerated portraits of voluptuous women in theatrical settings, grew up in and was influenced by the theaters of Germany. After concluding his studies at the Berlin Akademie and the Munich Akademie he returned to Berlin and participated in the Berlin Sezession shows in 1909–1911. His first solo exhibition of graphics in 1923 at Euphorion-Verlag, Berlin, was followed by an exhibition of oil paintings in 1928 at Galerie Flechtheim, Berlin.

The Art Institute of Chicago held a retrospective of his work in 1933, which traveled to the Philadelphia Museum of Art in 1934. But as his career soared, Hitler’s regime came into power and his artwork was labeled E“ntartete Kunst (Degenerate Art).” Many of his works were confiscated by the Nazis.

He is in the collections of many museums, including the Art Institute of Chicago; Fine Arts Gallery of San Diego, Calif.; the Museum of Modern Art, New York; Galerie der Stadt, Esslingen/Neckar and Stuttgart; and Staatsgalerie, Stutthgart.

ACA Galleries are at 529 West 20th Street, fifth floor. For information, 212-206-8080 or www.acagalleries.com.