The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of July 15, 2026

A lithograph portrait in rough black ink depicts a boy from the chest up, looking toward our right. He wears a wide-brimmed hat with a large feather. His face is rendered in sketchy lines, his mouth set in a line and eyes looking away. He wears a collared jacket over a patterned tie. These black strokes contrast with the light gray paper. Handwritten text at the bottom identifies the subject as Young Bavarian.

Young Bavarian

late 1920s–early 1930s

Edwin Kaufman

(American, 1906–1939)
America, Ohio, Cleveland
lithograph
Platemark: 22.1 x 15.4 cm (8 11/16 x 6 1/16 in.)
Gift of Robert Hays Gries 1942.918
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

Kaufman’s travels to Germany were possible because he won the Cleveland School of Art’s Agnes Gund European Traveling Scholarship in 1929.

Description

During his studies in Europe from 1929 to 1930, Kaufman documented the people and places he encountered. The young boy here, potentially sketched in Munich, wears traditional attire that suggests the impact of the region’s enduring heritage on younger generations. However, this image belies the political unrest occurring in Bavaria at the time this print was made, particularly the rise of Nazism.
  • Studio of the artist, Cleveland, OH, sold to Robert Hays Gries
    1942
    Robert Hays Gries, Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1942-
    Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Edwin Kaufman Entry Card to 1930 May Show. Cleveland Museum of Art May Show Records, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives. archive.org
  • {{cite web|title=Young Bavarian|url=false|author=Edwin Kaufman|year=late 1920s–early 1930s|access-date=15 July 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1942.918