The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of December 18, 2025
Die gute alte Zeit ("The Good Old Days")
1969
(American, 1932–2007)
Gift of the Artist 1984.146
© Marlborough Gallery, New York
Catalogue raisonné: Kinsman 35ii
Location: Not on view
Description
Born in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, R. B. Kitaj designed this 1969 screenprint for a series about London during the Blitz, a prolonged German bombing campaign on British cities in 1940–41 during the Second World War. He juxtaposed old newspaper clippings, ephemera, and vintage wallpaper to evoke a nostalgic response to British solidarity in the face of the enemy. The collaged wallpaper, featuring designs from the war period, suggests both homes lost and cultural survival. A campaign poster for Adolf Hitler alongside another advertisement reading “Die gute alte Zeit,” or “The good old time,” remind viewers of the foe, but also call into question a cheery perception of the past.- Kinsman, Jane, and R. B. Kitaj. The Prints of R.B. Kitaj. Aldershot, Hants, England: Scolar Press, 1994. p. 55-56
- Who RU2 Day: Mass Media and the Fine Art Print. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 18, 2018-March 24, 2019).Urban Vicissitudes. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 2-September 29, 1985).
- {{cite web|title=Die gute alte Zeit ("The Good Old Days")|url=false|author=R. B. Kitaj|year=1969|access-date=18 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1984.146