Max Pollak: portraits of Albert M. Bender and Monroe Emanuel Deutsch identified.

Albert M. Bender
 (1866-1941)

was also known as "the best known Jew in San Francisco" in the 1930's, he was the leading patron of the Arts in San Francisco in the 1920-30's. Born in Dublin as the son of Rabbi Philip and Augusta Bender, both from Germany he'd  emigrated to the US in 1881 made his fortune as an insurance broker. With his wealth he helped launch the career of many artists including Ansel Adams (and probably also Max Pollak). He had a significant impact on the cultural development of the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond. 

Dr. Leon Kolb

(1890 -  )

was born in Vietnam in 1890, studied medicine and settled in San Francisco in 1937. He worked as a Professor of Pharmacology at the Stanford School of Medicine, and he wrote several novels. However, his great passion, which he shared with his wife Hilda, was prints by artists well known and unknown from the Renaissance to the early 20th century. The Kolbs collected thousands of prints by print masters such as Francesco Bartolozzi, Albrecht Durer, Martin Engelbrecht, Jan Wierix, William Hogarth, Anthony van Dyck, Lucan van Leyden, Bernard Picart, and Martin de Vos.

Monroe E. Deutsch

 (1879-1955) 

Monroe Emanuel Deutsch, professor of classics and Vice-President and provost of the University of California, was born in 1879 of a Jewish family in San Francisco. An excellent student, he graduated from Lowell High School in San Francisco, and then worked his way through the University of California, receiving his bachelor's degree in 1902 and his Master's Degree in 1903. He first taught for a year in the Mission High School in San Francisco, and later in the Berkeley High School where he remained until 1907, when he became an assistant in Greek at the University of California and worked for his doctorate. This he received in 1911. He attained full professorship in Latin in 1922.

Pollak and his wife Friedl moved to San Francisco in 1938.

Within 24 hours after publication reader Tom has send the solution for this portrait, thank you 

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Judge and Mrs. Max C. Shloss 

(1941) Max Schloss was a noted San Francisco judge. I could not find any biographical data.

Max Pollak and his wife Friedl moved to San Francisco in 1938. Most, maybe all portraits I've found so far all seem to be of persons of German origin, even those created after emigrating in 1926 to America and before: the Vienna portraits. It seems to me all Pollaks portraits are of Jewish people. Remarkable.    

These last portraits were found in the database of the San Francisco Fine Arts Museums and shared here for friendly, educational and non commercial use only. 

Max Pollak: Vienna portraits.

Max Pollak

(Prag 1886-1970 San Francisco)

Austrian-American painter and etcher.

Palermo

I'm a great admirer of Max Pollak. To admire one does not have to actually own a work: I don't. But wouldn't I ? I'm always on the look out. His technique (aquatint, soft ground etching) to create atmosphere in his city views of New-York, San Francisco, Paris, Vienna etc.. with "simple" washes of gray or light purple coloring is quite unique.   

But it is the sparse and delicate use of just a few "Japanese" color accents, a detail used in all his city- and landscapes making him immediately recognizable. I wonder how he came to it: Emil Orlik's influence perhaps ? In America he's probably best known by his New-York Views, commissioned by Theodor Dreiser's for his limited edition "My City" in 1929. The Annex Gallery recently announced their newest in stock here* : many city views. I will show more of those later. Pollak had only arrived in New-York two years before. 

This etched portrait above was simply described as "a pianist". It took me some time on a rainy day, but I've figured it out. It is concert pianist and composer Alfred Grünfeldt (Prag 1852-1924), friend of Johannes Brahms and Johann Strauss sr. He was also the first pianist in history to make commercial recordings. He travelled all over Europe and the United States performing often with the Vienna Philharmonic.

Pollak and his wife Friedl emigrated to the US in 1927 being already established and successful in the 1920's in Vienna as a society (actors, writers, dancers, musicians and scientists) portrait artist. He'd been a student of the "great" William Unger (1837-1932) and Ferdinand Schmutzer (1870-1928).

Portrait of Arnold Rose (Rosenblum) (1863-1946) the legendary Wiener Philharmonie  conductor who'd led this orchestra for over 50 years. 

He married Justine, Gustav Mahler's sister, his brother marrying the other  one. Arnold Rose sat also for Ferdinand Schmutzer as did Gustav Mahler for Emil Orlik (below).   

Vienna was the home of three contemporary and successful aquatint etchers: Pollak, Luigi Kasimir (1881-1962) and Hans Figura (1898-1978). Both Kasimir and Figura (who had been Kasimir's student) travelled to New-York and it wouldn't surprise me if Pollak invited them to celebrate his succes, he had a solo exhibition in New York in 1928. Kasimir and Figura never tried at portraits by the way. (*)

 Brooklyn bridge by Luigi Kasimir and by Hans Figura,  

 and by Tavik Frantisek Simon 

(*) The fourth and probably most famous aquatint and portrait etcher from Czech descent of that period was Tavik Frantisek Simon (1877-1942) but he, after working in Paris 1905-1913, had returned to Prag in 1917. 

Kasimir, famous for his city-views had also been a William Unger student at Vienna Art Academy (as was printmaker Norbertine von Bresslern-Roth (1891-1978). 

Portrait of Emil (von) Sauer (1862-1942), he was knighted in 1917, a famous Vienna concert pianist and had been a student of Anton Rubinstein and Franz Lizst. 

Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) Vienna neurologist and psychiater, portrait  by Max Pollak,

and portraits by Ferdinand Schmutzer, who was also a keen photographer using his negatives in his etchings work as I mentioned in before postings (follow the link below). 

This posting is what I was able to scratch together concerning Max Pollak's Vienna portrait etchings. Sadly a few are "hidden" and can not be digitally revealed (by me). 

After settling in America Pollak almost exclusively turned his attention to city views and landscapes. Before, he'd travelled through Europe and sketched extensively as he did later in South America when he lived in San Francisco. 

A young Yehudi Menuhin

Yehudi Menuhin (1916-1999) also played with the Vienna Philharmonic in America, from 1926/27. 

Until his departure in 1927 together with Ferdinand Schmutzer and Emil Orlik these three etchers seem to have portrayed and etched many of  Austria's  celebrities, the rich and famous, of the 1920's. 

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Portraits of unidentified persons.
(Wouldn't it be great to identify them).

Portrait of M..?... Deutsch.
(See next posting for identifcation)

Portrait of "a man". Probably in his 70's in the mid 1920's.

I would like very much to identify these two persons above, any clues or help is welcomed. Also portraits that I've missed of course. My email in the link above.

a "Dutch Study"

All pictures borrowed freely from the internet for friendly, educational and non commercial use only. 

Doris von Mohl, another forgotten printmaker.

Mohl, Doris von 

(later Doris Herrmann) 

(Neustadt/Orla 1894-1959 Neustadt/Orla) 

another forgotten German printmaker   

Ebay besides being an auction site also is like a shore line washing up forgotten and obscured artist like Doris von Mohl, a recent new to me name in my German women printmakers (born before 1900) Index (160 names). For the occasion I share my her newly composed short-biography ("Kurz-biografie"). Like many of her artistic printmaking sisters she has a (very) well-to-do background. Only these three prints shown here are known to me. I'll bet, while studying in Berlin with Lovis Corinth (see below) she was a student of  Emil Orlik (below) too.   

Born in Neustadt an der Orla (50 miles south of Leipzig) she grew up in Cairo (Egypt) from 1897 until 1909 as the daughter of Ottmar von Mohl (1846-1922) a diplomat recruited by the Meiji period Japanese Government (1868-1912) as a foreign adviser from 1887 to 1889. She had an older brother Waldemar von Mohl (1885-1966), a lawyer.

Von Mohl and his wife, Wanda countesse van der Groetsen serving with the Japanese Imperial Household Ministry in Tokyo to introduce European Court ceremonials to Japanese Emperor Meiji and his court.  He was stationed in Cincinatti Ohio (USA) in 1879, as a consul in St. Petersburg (Russia) in 1885 and in Cairo (1887-1917).

Her Grandfather Robert von Mohl (1794-1875) was  a professor of political sciences and an ambassador to the royal court.

Doris studied with Heinrich Knirr(*) (1862-1944) in his private painting school in 1916/17 in Munich, later at the Bauhaus school in Weimar and with Lovis Corinth (1858-1925) in Berlin-Charlottenburg. She started her career exhibiting in 1918 in her native Neustadt, lived and worked from 1934 in Arnshaugk (Neustadt/Orla). She married painter and sculptor Karl Herrmann (1893–1962) in 1920.

Castle Arnshaugk is the von Mohl family seat. Tthe family brought forth many influential and high placed intellectuals, officials, military and scientists.

(*) Heinrich Knirr also taught at Munich Fine Art Academy from 1898-1910 and besides Paul Klee (1879-1940) he'd also taught Emil Orlik (1870-1932).  

All pictures borrowed from the Internet fror friendly, educational and non commercial use only. 

Paul Berger Bergner: Dore Hoyer

Paul Berger Bergner

(Prag 10-02-1904 - 18-07-1978 Mannheim 

German expressionist painter, etcher and printmaker 

Reader Archimandrill (again) solved the mystery printmaker in before posting. Thank you ! Here are some of the things I've assembled trying to understand the times, people and circles to place Steven's woodcut portrait of Dore Hoyer. 

Paul Berger Bergner was born in Prag as son of Paul Bergner and his wife Maria Tadler. Paul sr. was a restaurator and later the museum director of the Rudolfinum the famous Museum building, Concert Hall and House of Parliament from 1918-1939 in Prag overlooking river Moldau. 

When his father died young Paul Jr. went to study in the painting studio of the  porcelain factory in Schlackenwirth near Karlsbad (Karlovi Vary) and later with Walter Klemm (1883-1957). Klemm had started with his friend Carl Thiemann (1881-1966) a studio in Prag in 1908. Both men were born in Karlsbad by the way. Klemm had been taught by Emil Orlik (1870-1932) and later in Vienna by Kolo Moser (1868-1918). He was appointed professor in Berlin in 1910.

In 1925 Paul entered the Art Academy in Dresden (connection with Dore Hoyer ) to study with painter Robert Sterl (1867-1932). His studio and most of his work was lost in the anglo-american destruction of Dresden in 1945. The same faith struck his friend artist printmaker Maj Hemberg (1906-1992).

After the war he moved to Mannheim and became a painting teacher at Mannheim "Fach-hochschule" to become its director in 1957. He had a relationship with Thea Piekara and they had a son Paul who was born in 1939. 

Paul Berger Bergner's etched portrait of Josef Paul Hodin (Prag 1905 - 1995 London) a famous aesthete and art critic (Tate Museum) who'd fled to London in 1944. Hodin was about the same age as Paul and also born in Prag. 

Portraits of Josef Hodin by Oskar Kokoschka (1886-1980) from a Prag family and who'd recovered in Dresden meeting expressionist circles after WW1 (left) and Ulli Nimptsch RA (1897-1977) (right) a German sculptor-painter who'd emigrated to London before WW2. He'd studied in Berlin Arts and Craft School for applied arts in Berlin 1915-1917. 

This posting now becoming a "who is who" in Expressionism: Nimptsch by Kokoschka.

And a book by Josef Paul Hodin on Paul Berger-Bergner  

All pictures borrowed freely from the Internet for friendly, educational and non commercial use only.

Dore Hoyer, 1949 woodcut, Holzschnitt by ?

Dore Hoyer

(Dresden 12th Dec. - 31th Dec. 1967 Berlin) 

German expressionist dancer. 

Reader Steven from in Sacramento, California USA asked me to help him with identifying the maker of this great 1949 German expressionist woodcut that he's found in a sale. My books and archive did not reveal the identity of this (probably) female printmaker. It's made very much in the style of those famous expressionist artists Emil Nolde, Erich Heckel, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner and Karl Schmidt-Rotluff. A great and potentially historically important find. Digging in I learned about her fascinating person and her amazing world and the people in it: what a beautiful woman, what a tragical life !    

Above: Portait of Dore Hoyer by photographer Lenka von Koerber (1888-1958) who also wrote a book commemorating Kathe Kollwitz in 1957. 

Dora Hoyer in a double exposure by Dresden photographer by Edmund Kesting (1892-1970). Over the years he made several iconic portraits of Dore Hoyer.  

Photo removed 

Dore Hoyer began her dance and rhythmic training at Hellerau-Laxenburg School in Dresden in 1927. After passing the examination for dance teachers, she studied with Gret Palucca (Margaretha Paluka, 1902-1993) and in 1933 she presented her first solo concert. These dancers maybe considered the equivalent of Madonna in the roaring 20's; athletic, iconic and avant garde. 

Above: Gret Palucca by Franz Fiedler (1885-1956) one of my favorite photographers.  

She worked for a short time as a ballet mistress in Oldenburg, but returned to Dresden to become a member of Mary Wigman’s (1886-1973) dance group in 1935 after her lover Peter Cieslak had committed suicide: aged 21, what a waste ! 

Above: Mary Wigman by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1880-1938) this woodcut auction estimated 10.000-15.000$. 

Above dancer "Nelly" who really was Turkish Elli Secaidari (1899-1998) besides a great dancer in the Mary Wigman group later to become a famous photographer, who made fame with her nudes on the Acropolis in Athens.

  
Dore Hoyer took over the former Wigman School after World War II and formed her own dance group. The group gained notoriety, but Hoyer left to continue her solo work. 

In 1947 she and her dancers impersonated the graphic works of Käthe Kollwitz (1867-1945) on stage. (Portrait and woodcut selfportait above) 

Portait etching of Dora Hoyer by Lea Grundig-Langer (1906-1977) 

From 1949 to 1951 Dore Hoyer served as director of the Hamburg State Opera Ballet, but had greater success abroad. She presented a number of solo performances in South American and in 1957 made her debut with the American Dance Festival at Connecticut College. 

"Tanz" (dance) by Carl Rotky (1891-1977)

1966 marked her last dance performance. She had no school––no income, and committed suicide in 1967.  While Hoyer is less known than many modern dance artists, some historians believe her work emerged from a period of stagnating dance and set in motion innovations that underlay American modern and postmodern dance.

Finnish Sara Jankelow-Rung (1891-1974) another performer-dancer from the Mary Wigman group spectacularly photographed by Franz Fiedler in 1926. 

All artists mentioned in this article in one way or another belonging in the artistic circles around Dore Hoyer so there must be enough clues to link this fine  woodcut portrait to the unidentified printmaker. 

Send in your suggestions for sharing please !

"Tanz" 1913, by Emil Nolde (1867-1956)

All pictures borrowed freely from the internet for friendly, educational and non commercial use only.