Karl Schmidt-Rottluff

Karl Schmidt-Rottluff 1884 - 1976 Scheune (Jershöft). 1921. Oil on canvas. Signed in center right. Inscribed with the work number “21i4” on the reverse. 97.5 x 112 cm (38.3 x 44 in). The reverse of the canvas features an oil painting that has been painted over by the artist. [CH]. • RADICAL Jagged forms, vibrant colors, and strong contours. • A PLACE OF LONGING Beginning in 1920, Jershöft on the Baltic Sea became a source of inspiration and an important creative retreat for the artist. • RARE Paintings by the artist of this outstanding quality are extremely rare on the auction market. • PROVENANCE A complex, international provenance history; part of the outstanding collection of Berthold and Else Beitz, Essen, for nearly 65 years. The work is documented in the archive of the Karl and Emy Schmidt-Rottluff Foundation, Berlin. PROVENANCE: Ferdinand Möller Collection, Berlin (acquired directly from the artist no later than 1928; with a gallery label on the stretcher, partially inscribed by hand). Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, Michigan (taken into custody in March 1938 as a loan from the aforementioned owner; confiscated in December 1940 as “enemy property” by the U.S. government). U.S. government property (1950–1957; ownership of the aforementioned seizure transferred on October 30, 1950, via “Vesting Order 15411” issued by the Office of Alien Property at the Department of Justice). Maria Möller-Garny, Cologne (repurchased from the U.S. government in 1957; held by the Stuttgart Kunstkabinett until 1961). Berthold and Else Beitz Collection, Essen (acquired from the above through the mediation of Galerie Grosshennig, Düsseldorf, in 1961; remained in the family’s possession until 2025). Dietmar Manke Collection, Schleswig-Holstein (acquired from the above in 2025, Ketterer Kunst, Munich). EXHIBITION: Presumably: A Collection of Modern German Art, New York, Anderson Galleries, Oct. 1–20, 1923, cat. no. 230. 50 Selected Works of Contemporary Art. Exhibition at the Reckendorfhaus, Hedemannstrasse 24, Berlin (publishing house of the “Kunstblatt”), November 1928 (no catalog). Schmidt-Rottluff traveling exhibition, Galerie Möller, Berlin; Museum Danzig, November 1928–March 1929 (no catalog for either). Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, Paintings, Watercolors, Prints, Amber Jewelry, Art Collections of the City of Königsberg / Königsberg Art Association, December 30, 1928–January 20, 1929, cat. no. 19. Frauen in Not, exhibition by the International Workers’ Aid (IAH), Haus der Juryfreien, Berlin, October 9–November 1, 1931, cat. no. 322 (Female Farmworker). Pomeranian State Museum, Greifswald (permanent loan, 2015–2024). Zwei Männer – ein Meer. Pechstein und Schmidt-Rottluff an der Ostsee, Pomeranian State Museum, Greifswald, March 29–June 28, 2015, cat. no. 10 (with illu.). LITERATURE: Will Grohmann, Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, Stuttgart 1956, p. 266 (with b&w illustration) and p. 292. - - Paul Westheim (ed.), 50 ausgewählte Werke heutiger Kunst. Exhibition at the Reckendorfhaus, Hedemannstrasse 24, in: Das Kunstblatt, vol. 13, no. 1, January 1929, pp. 365. Stuttgarter Kunstkabinett, Stuttgart, 36th Auction, 1961, lot 462 (with color illustration, plate 109). Eberhard Roters, Galerie Ferdinand Möller. Die Geschichte einer Galerie für Moderne Kunst in Deutschland 1917–1956, Berlin 1984, pp. 156 and 227. Gisela Schirmer, Käthe Kollwitz und die Kunst ihrer Zeit. Positionen zur Geburtenpolitik, Weimar 1998 (with illustration, no. 277: View of the exhibition “Frauen in Not”). Ketterer Kunst, Munich, 590th Auction, Evening Sale, June 6, 2025, lot 38 (with illustration). ARCHIVE MATERIALS (selection): Index card from the art collection of Galerie Ferdinand Möller (“Scheune, oil on canvas” by Karl Schmidt-Rottluff), Berlinische Galerie, Berlin, Ferdinand Möller Estate, BG-KA-N/F.Möller-KK3,74 (https://sammlung-online.berlinischegalerie.de/de/collection/item/226939/, accessed Oct. 9, 2026). Application documents from various artists for the exhibition “Modern German Art” (Oct. 1–20, 1923) at Anderson Galleries in New York City (USA), Berlinische Galerie, Berlin, Ferdinand Möller Estate, BG-GFM-D I,86 (https://sammlung-online.berlinischegalerie.de/de/collection/item/281905/, accessed Oct. 9, 2026). Business correspondence between Galerie Ferdinand Möller and the Art Collections of the Free City of Danzig, Berlinische Galerie, Berlin, Ferdinand Möller Estate, BG-GFM-C, II 1, 587f. (https://sammlung-online.berlinischegalerie.de/de/collection/item/211952/, accessed October 9, 2026). Business correspondence between the Ferdinand Möller Gallery and Dr. Wilhelm Reinhold Valentiner, Director of the Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit (USA), Berlinische Galerie, Berlin, Ferdinand Möller Estate, BG-GFM-C, II 1, 115 (among others) (https://sammlung-online.berlinischegalerie.de/de/collection/item/211478/, accessed October 9, 2026). Customs invoice and customs declaration for the import of 18 oil paintings from Galerie Ferdinand Möller to the Detroit Institute of Arts, 1938, Berlinische Galerie, Berlin, Ferdinand Möller Estate, BG-KA-N/F.Möller-66-M66,18-23 (https://sammlung-online.berlinischegalerie.de/de/collection/item/248308/, accessed Oct. 9, 2026). Department of Justice, Office of Alien Property, Washington, D.C., and others: Purchase agreement between the Office of Alien Property of the U.S. Department of Justice and Maria Möller-Garny regarding the repurchase of 19 paintings in custody at the Detroit Institute of Arts, Berlinische Galerie, Berlin, Ferdinand Möller Estate, BG-KA-N/F.Möller-68-M68,88-89 (https://sammlung-online.berlinischegalerie.de/de/collection/item/248263/, accessed October 9, 2026). Heise Estate, Schönebeck District Museum, view of the exhibition “Frauen in Not” featuring works by Katharina Heise; on the wall, Schmidt-Rottluff’s paintings “Frau am Meer” and “Scheune”. Called up: December 4, 2026 - ca. 17.52 h +/- 20 min.

Estimation:300.000€

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