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• Auction House:
  Deutscher and Hackett
• Sale Name:
  Important Australian + International Fine Art
• Sale Date:
  01 Dec 2022 ~ 7pm (AEDT)
• Lot #:
  80
• Lot Description:
  Ludwig Hirschfeld-Mack
  (German/Australian, 1893 - 1965)
  Untitled (Seated Female Figure With Long Yellow Hair), 1921 - 22
  oil on canvas
  77.0 x 53.5 cm
• Provenance:
  The estate of the artist; Private collection, Italy
• Exhibited:
  Bauhaus e visioni, Museum of Modern Art, Bolzano, Italy, 2000 ? 01, cat. 39; Jewish Museum of the City of Vienna, Austria and Jewish Museum Frankfurt, Germany
• References:
  Stasny, P., Ludwig Hirschfeld?Mack: Bauhaus e visioni, Hatje Cantz Verlag, Germany, 2000, cat. 39, pp. 53 (illus.), 56
• Notes:
  The arrival of Ludwig Hirschfeld-Mack in Australia in 1940 established a direct link between avant-garde European modernism and twentieth century Australian art. Interned in England, where he had sought refuge from the rise of Nazism in Germany, Hirschfeld-Mack was one of more than two and half thousand men transported to Australia on board the HMT Dunera. Many of the ship's passengers were highly educated, skilled professionals who went on to make significant contributions to the cultural, economic and social life of their new country. In the creative fields of art and design alone, the 'Dunera Boys' included the photographer Henry Talbot, the sculptor Erwin Fabian, and Fred Lowen and Ernst Rodeck, founders of FLER furniture. Hirschfeld-Mack was one of the most well-trained artists on the Dunera. His studies began in 1913 when, with the support of a monthly allowance from his father, he enrolled at the Debschitz School in Munich, while undertaking compulsory military training.1 Progressive in its approach, the school welcomed female students (including Hirschfeld-Mack's sister, Emmy, who established a career in costume design) and staff, and encouraged the application of the visual and applied arts to everyday life.2 This approach aligned with the philosophy of the Bauhaus, where Hirschfeld-Mack continued his studies between 1919 - 25. Founded by architect Walter Gropius in Weimar in 1919, the Bauhaus counted among its teachers some of the most innovative and influential artists of the time, including Paul Klee, Josef Albers, Wassily Kandinsky and Oskar Schlemmer. Reflecting the idealism and desire for a better world which was shared by so many following the devastating experience of the First World War, the school's manifesto proposed a radical challenge: 'Let us create a new guild of craftsmen, without the class distinctions which raise an arrogant barrier between craftsman and artist. Together let us conceive and create the new building of the future, which can embrace architecture and sculpture and painting in one unity.'3 Painted in oil on canvas, Untitled (Seated female figure with long yellow hair), 1921 – 22 was made mid-way through Hirschfeld-Mack's years at the Bauhaus. Sophisticated in its technical realisation and complex in composition, the painting reflects the work of a skilled artist who is absorbing and distilling a range of creative influences. Art historian, Peter Stasny, suggests that the artist's wife, Elenor, may have provided the inspiration for this image which, although strikingly abstract, describes a female figure with long, blonde hair, seated and holding a book on her lap.4 Stasny also identifies the influence of Johannes Itten, one of the Bauhaus masters, in the rhythmic repetition of form that animates the surface design.5 Pattern is a distinctive element of the work, as is the focus on texture, from hard-edged, angular forms, to translucent veils of colour, which are beautifully expressed, highlighting Hirschfeld-Mack's deft control of his brush and medium. Juxtaposed and layered, colour is also a critical element, not surprising for an artist who taught a seminar on colour theory at the Bauhaus in the winter of 1922 – 23 and was renowned for his experiments with colour and innovative Farbenlichtspiele (colour-light plays), which combined original musical scores with dynamic projections of coloured light.6 Recognising the danger and volatility of the political situation in Europe, Gropius had moved to the United States in 1937. Holding Hirschfeld-Mack in high esteem, he encouraged him to do the same, recommending him for a teaching position in Boston and when this fell through, promising to help him find employment. Indeed, they remained close throughout their lives, and Gropius and his wife, Ise, visited Geelong Grammar with Hirschfeld-Mack during their trip to Australia in 1954. In early 1940, Hirschfeld-Mack's immigration to America seemed certain with the firm offer of a job at Black Mountain College, North Carolina, however plans were derailed once again, when he was interned following the fall of France in May 1940, as a result of the escalation of suspicion and distrust of Germans and Austrians living in England, even if, like Hirschfeld-Mack, they had Jewish heritage.7 The rest, as they say, is history. 1. For a detailed biographical account of Hirschfeld-Mack's life, see Schwarzbauer, R. with Bell, C., Ludwig Hirschfeld-Mack: More Than a Bauhaus Artist, HistorySmiths, Melbourne, 2021; 2. ibid., p. 23; 3. Cited in Schwarzbauer, ibid., pp. 36 – 37; 4. Stasny, P., 'At the Bauhaus', Ludwig Hirschfeld-Mack: Bauhaus e visioni, Hatje Cantz Verlag, Germany, 2000, p. 57; 5. ibid.; 6. See Schwarzbauer, op. cit. ch. 5 and McNamara, A., 'The Bauhaus in Australia: Interdisciplinary Confluences in Modernist Practices' in Stephen, A., Goad, P., & McNamara, A., (eds.), Modern Times: The Untold Story of Modernism in Australia, The Miegunyah Press, Carlton, 2008, pp. 12 – 13; 7. Schwarzbauer, op. cit., pp. 131 – 32 and p. 144 KIRSTY GRANT
• Estimate:
  A$40,000 - 60,000
• Realised Price:
  *****
  

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• Category:
  Art

This Sale has been held and this item is no longer available. Details are provided for information purposes only.