Portrait of M.H. (Bildnis M.H.)

1920

Erich Heckel

Associated Names
Erich Heckel

Artist, German, 1883 - 1970

The image shows a line drawing of a man's upper body in a seated pose with his hands clasped together in front of him. His head is turned slightly to the left, giving a partial profile view. The man's facial features are accentuated by sharp lines, depicting a prominent brow, pronounced nose, and wide mouth. His hair is shown as a close-fitting cap, suggesting a receding hairline. He is dressed in a long-sleeved garment that reaches his wrists. There are no visible accessories or objects held by the man. The background displays abstract curved lines resembling trees or foliage, along with shaded streaks creating a rustic impression.
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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    lithograph

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Accession Number

    1950.17.305

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Dube 1965, Vol. (L), no. 261, State only


Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Claude Schaefer [1913-2010], Montevideo, Uruguay; sold 1950 to Lessing J. Rosenwald; [1] gift 1950/1951 to the National Gallery of Art.
[1] In Recollections of a Collector, 1976, p. 56-57, Rosenwald described being approached by a young man in South America who offered to sell his father’s collection of prints that he had brought with him from Germany. Rosenwald gives the year as 1951, but his appointment books confirm that it was actually 1950 - he left for Buenos Aires on 9 February 1950 and returned on 20 March 1950 (Library of Congress, Rosenwald Papers, Box 75). Rosenwald writes that he bought the entire collection of some 1100 prints and drawings, but as they had already been scheduled to be sent to Europe they came to the United States via Antwerp, arriving in the US in late April 1950. Rosenwald decided to keep about a quarter of the collection, destined for the National Gallery of Art, and donate the remainder to other institutions. The inventory log of Alverthorpe indicates that just over 300 works were accessioned there in May of 1950, inventory numbers 50.260-50.530, acquired from Claude Schaefer (Gallery Archives, National Gallery of Art, RG 45A1, Rosenwald Papers, Box 41).

Associated Names

Bibliography

1964

  • Dube, Annemarie and Wolf-Dieter Dube. Erich Heckel; das graphische Werke. 2 vols. New York: Ernest Rathenau, 1964, 1965.

Markings

Verso, stamped in black ink: COMISION NACIONAL DE MUSEOS / Y MONUMENTOS HISTORICOS / JOSE LUIS BUSANICHE / SECRETARIO GENERALE

Wikidata ID

Q65222890

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