KÄTHE KOLLWITZ | Sitzende Mütter mit Kindern (Sitting Mother with Children)

Erich Cohn, New York
Mrs Pola Pasvolsky, Cape Town (sale: Christie's, London, 7th October 1999, lot 149)
Sale: Galerie Kornfeld, Bern, 17th June 2010, lot 411

Carl Zigrosser, Käthe Kollwitz, New York, 1946, illustrated p.32
Werner Schumann, Ein Herz schlägt für die Mütter. 100 Handzeichnungen von Käthe Kollwitz, Hanover, 1953, no. 84
Herbert Bittner, Käthe Kollwitz. Drawings, New York and London, 1959, no. 80, illustrated
Otto Nagel & Werner Timm (ed.), Käthe Kollwitz. Die Handzeichnungen, Berlin, 1980, no. 875, illustrated p. 365

Executed on a thin sheet of cream wove paper, not laid down and hinged to the mount in three places along the upper edge. The sheet is time-stained and very brittle. There are artist's pinholes to all four corners. There are small spots of paper loss along the right edge, in the lower left corner, to the lower part of the left edge and in the upper left corner; as well as, several further small nicks to the extreme edges of the sheet. There are several tears, the largest of which is to the left part of the upper edge (approximately 3cm). Some have been repaired, notably that running from the upper part of the left edge (approximately 2.5cm long). Small losses to the sheet have also been consolidated in places. The largest of these repairs is a spot to the upper part of the left edge (approximately 2cm in diameter). There are some flattened creases to the sheet, also noticeably along the lower edge. This work is in stable 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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Sitzende Mütter mit Kindern are preparatory drawings for the prints In der Sprechstunde des Kinderartztes and for Beim Artz, each published in 1920. The present work was formerly in the collection of Erich Cohn who emigrated from Germany to New York in 1912. He befriended Käthe Kollwitz in the 1920s and became an avid collector of her art. In the 1930s, he tried to secure Kollwitz' safe passage to America but she gratefully refused, fearing reprisals against her family.