The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of October 1, 2023

The Letter

1934

Karl Hofer

(German, 1878–1955)

Germany, 20th century

Oil on canvas

Unframed: 90.7 x 70 cm (35 11/16 x 27 9/16 in.)

Hinman B. Hurlbut Collection 1939.750

© Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Location

not on view

Description

Hofer's art is filled with disillusionment and pessimism, expressing his dark vision of modern life through a limited range of themes that the artist repeated obsessively. Born in Karlsruhe, Hofer settled in Berlin in 1913. Condemned by the Nazis as a "degenerate artist," in 1933 he was dismissed from his teaching post. In 1943 Hofer's studio and most of his work were destroyed by bombing.

Inscriptions

Inscription

signed lower right: CH34 [monogram]

Provenance
(Karl Nierendorf, Berlin and New York).
Exhibition history

The Silver Jubilee Exhibition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 23-September 28, 1941).

19th and 20th Century French Art and Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Loans. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 22-September 1, 1943).

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1939.750