Hermann Max Pechstein

Dr. Karl Lilienfeld, New York
Margarete Lilienfeld, New York (by descent from the above in 1966)
Kunsthandel Wolfgang Werner KG, Berlin
Mrs. Frederick Haviland, New York (acquired from the above in 1983 and sold: Sotheby's, London, June 28, 1988, lot 43)
Acquired at the above sale by A. Alfred Taubman

Magdalena M. Moeller ed., Max Pechstein, Sein malerisches Werk, Munich, 1996, no. 74, illustrated in color n.p.
Aya Soika, Max Pechstein, Das Werkverzeichnis der Ölgemälde, 1905-1918, vol. I, Munich, 2011, illustrated p. 400

This work is in very good condition. The canvas is lined. Executed on canvas laid down on canvas. The work has been re-stretched and the edges of the original canvas are visible. The surface is richly textured and the pigments are bright and fresh. Some shrinkage to areas of the thickest impasto with associated tiny flecks of paint loss. This is most visible in the upper half of the blue tree at left and in the green foliage as upper right. Some vertical lines of craqueluere visible in the yellow and orange pigments at center left, upper center and lower right. Under UV light some original pigments fluoresce but no inpainting is apparent. It should be noted that he inner lining of the frame is nailed in to the edge of the stretcher, although this does not affect the original canvas.
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.

Drei Badende Akte was painted in Nidden in 1912. It was only in September of that year that Pechstein could travel to the remote fishing village on the Baltic coast; the previous months had been occupied with the decoration of the dining room at the Villa Hugo Perls in Berlin-Zehlendorf. Pechstein first visited Nidden in 1908 and returned to this pine-forested coastal village for several summers. Max Osborn comments that Nidden was "a forgotten human settlement, whose inhabitants have maintained their life and work, the flow of time, in a state just as unaltered as the ocean... Pechstein identified with these primitives, invaluable and serious companions" (Max Osborn, Max Pechstein Erinnerungen, Berlin, 1922, p. 88).

The present work is a powerful reflection of Pechstein's search for the bond between man and nature, both in his life and in his art. Whilst he was the first Brücke artist to move to Berlin in 1908, attracted by the dynamic life of that great urban center, he never lost his need and his romantic desire for the primitive. In Nidden, Pechstein was able to pursue his study of the harmony of the nude in nature, a theme that he had begun to explore with his fellow Brücke artists Heckel and Kirchner in 1910 in Moritzburg and Dangast. The theme of the nude moving freely and uninhibited in a landscape was a key preoccupation of these artists, who were fascinated by the potential for freedom of expression and closeness to nature, unfettered by the constraints of Western civilization.