The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 22, 2025

At the Window II

c. 1923

Karl Hofer

(German, 1878–1955)
Germany, 20th century
lithograph
Image: 20.2 x 14.3 cm (7 15/16 x 5 5/8 in.)
Gift of The Print Club of Cleveland 1931.269
© Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Catalogue raisonné: Rathenau 25
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

Just over a decade after this print was made, Karl Hofer was labeled a "Degenerate Artist" by the National Socialists and his works were removed from German museums.

Description

Windows appear frequently throughout the work of Karl Hofer, who created nearly 300 prints. Dating from a period that Hofer spent in his native Germany between the First and Second World Wars, this lithograph reflects the anxiety and chaos that characterized the country during that time. Figures with masklike faces crowd the space of an interior without interacting. It remains unclear whether they block the view to the outside world that the window would otherwise provide or are instead viewed from a building’s exterior. Enhanced by the jagged, sketchy lines used to render the figures, the composition conveys a sense of alienation and unease.
  • 1931
    Print Club of Cleveland, Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
    1931-
    Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • L. E. P. "International Competitive Print Exhibition." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 18, no. 4 (1931): 62-64. Mentioned: p. 64 www.jstor.org
    Catalogue of an exhibition of the art of lithography: commemorating the sesquicentennial of its invention, 1798-1948. Exh. Cat. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1948. Published as: At the Window. Mentioned: p. 41 archive.org
  • Stories from Storage. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 7-May 16, 2021).
    Cross Section: Graphic Art in Germany after the First World War. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 10, 1989-January 7, 1990).
    Contemporary European Prints from the Museum Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 18-September 6, 1939).
    The First International Competitive Print Exhibition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (March 18-April 15, 1931).
    International Competitive Print Exhibition. Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (March 18 - April 21, 1931).
  • {{cite web|title=At the Window II|url=false|author=Karl Hofer|year=c. 1923|access-date=22 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1931.269