Max Beckmann

Graphische Kabinett Günther Franke, Munich

Galerie I.B. Neumann, Munich

Nierendorf Gallery, New York

Dr. Stephan Lackner

Dr. & Mrs. Gerhard Straus, Milwaukee (1971)

Serge Sabarsky Gallery, New York

Paris, Galerie de la Renaissance, Max Beckmann, 1931, not listed in the catalogue

Berlin, Preussische Akademie der Künste, Fruhjars Ausstellung, 1931, no. 35

Munich, Galerie I. B. Neumann & Günther Franke, Fünfundsiebzigste Ausstellung des Graphischen Kabinetts: Sommer-Ausstellung, 1931, no. 5

Pittsburg, Museum of Art, Carnegie Institute, Thirtieth Annual International Exhibition of Paintings, 1931, no. 363

Milwaukee Art Museum, Wisconsin Collects, 1964, no. 4

New York, Serge Sabarsky Gallery, An Exhibition of Works by Max Beckmann, illustrated in color on the invitation

New York, Serge Sabarsky Gallery, Expressionists: Major Paintings, Watercolors, Drawings and Sculptures by 17 German Expressionists, 1972, no. 3, illustrated in color in the catalogue

New York, Serge Sabarsky Gallery, Summer Show of Expressionists, 1978

New York, Serge Sabarsky Gallery, Works by German Expressionists, 1982, no. 13

New York, Serge Sabarsky Gallery, German Expressionists, 1984, no. 16

New York, Serge Sabarsky Gallery, Expressionists: Watercolours and Drawings by 12 German Expressionists, 1985, no. 1,  illustrated in color in the catalogue

New York, Serge Sabarsky Gallery, German Expressionists, 1985, no. 16

Bari, Castello Svevo, Kandinsky a Dix, Dipinti dell'Espressionismo, 1989, no. 4, illustrated in color in the catalogue

Roslyn Harbor, Nassau County Museum of Art, From Kandinsky to Dix, 1989-90

Waldemar George, "Beckmann L'Européen," Formes, no. 13, March 1931, p. 50

Die Weltkunst 5, no. 24, 1931, p. 11

I.B. Neumann's Bilderhefte, Artlover, vol. 3, no. 4, 1936, p. 53

Serge Sabarsky, Lagerkatalog, Cologne, 1972, illustrated in color in the catalogue

Erhard Göpel & Barbara Göpel, Max Beckmann, Katalog der gemalde, vol. 1, Bern, 1976, no. 336, catalogued p. 238; vol. 2, illustrated pl. 116

Serge Sabarsky, Malerei des deutschen Expressionismus, Stuttgart, 1987, illustrated in color p. 217

Serge Sabarsky, La Peinture expressioniste allemande, Paris, 1990, illustrated in color p. 209

Max Beckmann and Paris (exhibition catalogue), The St. Louis Museum of Art, 1999, mentioned p. 199

The canvas is lined. Under UV light, there is an area of retouching next to the curtain, right of center, as well as some spots and areas of retouching to the white and yellow pigment in the center of the composition, and three spots of retouching by the man's shoulder on the left. The surface is lightly dirty and would respond well to a clean. This work is in good condition.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The Claridge Hotel was Beckmann's base of activity during his frequent travels to Paris between 1928 and leading up to his retrospective exhibition at Galerie de la Renaissance in 1931. During these years the artist was attempting to establish himself among the avant garde, some of whom viewed him dismissively as a 'German' artist.  His trips to Paris to meet with dealers and mingle with the artistic luminaries of the city had a pronounced impact on the subjects he depicted, and the Claridge Hotel was the fulcrum of this activity.   Even after purchasing a residence in the city, Beckmann conducted most of his business meetings and appointments at the salon of the hotel, where the comings and goings of its patrons inspired many of his compositions.  

The present canvas is one of two depictions of life at the Claridge, not long before his important exhibition.  Both versions would be exhibited at that show, although only one was listed in the catalogue.   While the first version, now in the collection of the Bayerische Staatsgemaldesammlungen in Munich, depicts the fashionable women patrons of the hotel, the present version focuses on a waiter who roams silently amidst the crowd.  It is perhaps this picture, which presents a theme with which the outsider Beckmann was most familiar, that is the more poignant of the two. "Thinking of you in the Claridge," Beckmann wrote to Quappi, "where I am just having a quiet hour of meditation" (quoted in Max Beckmann and Paris, op. cit., p. 199).