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Details
- Other Titles
- Old woman in ermine
Old lady with daughter - Alternative title
- Alte dame mit Tochter
- Place where the work was made
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Amsterdam
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The Netherlands
- Date
- 1946
- Media category
- Painting
- Materials used
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 150.5 x 80.5 cm stretcher; 172.4 x 102.9 x 6.5 cm frame
- Signature & date
Signed and dated l.c., black oil "Beckmann / ... 46".
- Credit
- Art Gallery of New South Wales Foundation Purchase 1987
- Location
- None
- Accession number
- 400.1987
- Copyright
- © Max Beckmann/Bild-Kunst. Licensed by Copyright Agency
- Artist information
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Max Beckmann
Works in the collection
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About
Although associated with German expressionism and the New Objectivity movement, Max Beckmann occupies his own category as a moral fabulist. His proclivity was for symbolic narratives, often large in scale and complex in iconography, that highlight the tragicomic fate of humanity. The triptych, with its sacred associations, was the format he favoured for important projects, producing a significant number of them at the time of his forced flight from Nazism in 1937. Beckmann's portraits, still-life subjects, nudes and smaller genre pieces are equally invested with a sense of the sacramental. Ever the sceptical recorder of the follies of the world, even his most affectionate works have a cynical edge. 'Mother and daughter' [invested with Beckham's sense of the sacramental]: might be read as a prostitute presented for our inspection by the madam of the brothel. Or perhaps the older woman signifies exhausted Europe, counterpoised with the vital New World of America. Beckmann relocated to the United States in 1947 after a decade spent in Holland.
AGNSW Handbook, 1999.
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Exhibition history
Shown in 10 exhibitions
Beckmann, Buchholz Gallery Curt Valentin, New York, 17 Nov 1947–06 Dec 1947
Seven decades, 1895-1965: crosscurrents in modern art, Galleria Odyssia, New York, New York, 26 Apr 1966–21 May 1966
Twelve paintings of women by Max Beckmann, Catherine Viviano Gallery, New York, 07 Feb 1967–04 Mar 1967
Max Beckmann: paintings & sculpture, Grace Borgenicht Gallery, New York, 17 Oct 1981–19 Nov 1981
Max Beckmann: paintings and works on paper, Grace Borgenicht Gallery, New York, 03 Feb 1984–29 Feb 1984
Max Beckmann, Alpha Gallery, Boston, 05 May 1984–30 May 1984
Works by Max Beckmann, Nassau County Museum of Fine Art, Roslyn, 21 Oct 1984–13 Jan 1985
aus privaten Sammlungen, Galerie Beyeler, Switzerland, 08 Feb 1986–19 Apr 1986
(National Gallery of Australia collection display), National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, 01 May 2010–31 Aug 2010
MOTHER!, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Denmark, 27 Jan 2021–30 May 2021
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Bibliography
Referenced in 21 publications
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Alpha Gallery, Max Beckmann, Boston, 1984, (illus.).
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Art Gallery of New South Wales, Great gifts, great patrons: an exhibition celebrating private patronage of the Gallery, Sydney, 1994, (colour illus.). no catalogue numbers
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Max Beckmann, Diary, Unknown, 1946. 1946: 30 April, 7 May, 30 July, 10 August, 11 September, 3 October, 14 November
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Peter Beckmann and Peter Selz, Max Beckmann. Sichtbares und Unsichtbares, Stuttgart, 1965, 101 (colour illus.).
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Buchholz Gallery Curt Valentin, Beckmann, New York, 1947, (illus.).
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Edmund Capon AM, OBE, Art Gallery of New South Wales Foundation Annual Report 1997, Sydney, 1997, 12 (colour illus.).
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Catherine Viviano Gallery, Twelve paintings of women by Max Beckmann, New York, 1967, (illus.). cat.no. 8
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Renée Free, Art Gallery of New South Wales handbook, 'European', pg. 36-56, Sydney, 1988, 52 (colour illus.).
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Renée Free, AGNSW Collections, 'The Western Heritage, Renaissance to Twentieth Century', pg. 108-172, Sydney, 1994, 168 (colour illus.).
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Renee Free, Look, 'Acquisitions: Old Woman in Ermine', Heidelberg, Oct 1987, 9 (colour illus.).
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Galerie Beyeler, aus privaten Sammlungen, Basel, 1986, (colour illus.). cat.no. 4
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Erhard Göpel and Barbara Göpel, Max Beckmann: Katalog der Gemälde, Band II, Bern, 1976, Tafel 268 (illus.). cat.no. 730
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Erhard Göpel and Barbara Göpel, Max Beckmann: Katalog der Gemälde, Band I, Bern, 1976, 437. cat.no. 730
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Grace Borgenicht Gallery, Max Beckmann: paintings and works on paper, New York, 1984, (illus.).
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Grace Borgenicht Gallery, Max Beckmann: paintings & sculpture, New York, 1981, (illus.).
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Bruce James, Art Gallery of New South Wales handbook, 'Western Collection: Paintings and Sculpture', pg. 17-77, Sydney, 1999, 62 (colour illus.).
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Simon Kent, The Sydney Morning Herald, 'Gallery boss jumps to Old Woman's defence', Sydney, 25 Aug 1987, 7 (illus).
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Nassau County Museum of Fine Art, Works by Max Beckmann, Roslyn, 1984, (illus.).
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Fritz Neugass, Die Weltkunst, article, Munich, 1967, 590.
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Peter Selz, Seven decades 1895-1965: crosscurrents in modern art, California, 1966, (illus.). cat.no. 263
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Michael Wardell, Look, 'Foundation building', pg.14-17, Sydney, Sep 2004, 15.
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Provenance
Max Beckmann, New York/New York/United States of America
Buchholz Gallery Curt Valentin, 04 Feb 1947-1955, New York/New York/United States of America, with Buchholz Gallery 1947-1955
Mathilde Quappi Beckmann, 27 Dec 1950-1967, New York/New York/United States of America, by descent
Catherine Viviano Gallery, 1955-1967, New York/New York/United States of America, with Catherine Viviano Gallery 1955 - approx. 1967; in commission
Private Collection, 1976, New York/New York/United States of America, Listed in 'Max Beckmann: Katalog der Gemälde' Band I, 1976, pg. 437, as New York, Privatbesitz
Grace Borgenicht Gallery, Oct 1981-1985, New York/New York/United States of America, by Oct 1981; in commission. Purchased by Galerie Beyeler from Grace Borgenicht Gallery 1985
Galerie Beyeler, 1985-01 May 1987, Basel/Switzerland, Purchased by the AGNSW from Galerie Beyeler 1987. Galerie Beyeler stock no. 10714
