Walter Hoefner (1903-1968) - 1935 Watercolour Tree in Mountain Landscape

Description

A charming study depicting a tree in a barren landscape. The artist uses earthy tones and sweeping brush strokes, creating a great sense of movement within the scene. Signed and dated to the lower right. On laid.

Condition

There is light foxing.

Size

41.9 x 52.4cm (16.5" x 20.6")
Sheet: 45.4 x 56.4cm (17.9" x 22.2")

Collection Information

This striking collection from Walter Hoefner is both dynamic in style and rich in history. Inspired by his time living on the island of Korcula during the Second World War, this body of work captures the natural beauty of the island in Hoefner's signature expressive technique. From swirling landscapes to bold animal studies, these paintings encapsulate the artists' awe of his new found island home.

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Artist Biography

Walter Hoefner (1903-1968) was born in Hamburg, Germany. Before Hitler came into power in 1933, Hoefner was a painter and graphic artist working and studying in Berlin, Frankfurt and Munich. In 1934, he emigrated to Dalmatia, Yugoslavia (modern day Croatia), distancing himself from the Nazi regime that he fiercely opposed. Living on the island of Korcula, he continued to produce and sell work.

With the Nazi regime being thoroughly implemented under Hitler's rule, the art world was not exempt from the changes that were happening in German culture. Many modern artist started to be associated with a so-called 'decline in culture' and the term 'degenerate art' was coined. Works by artists who worked in a more primitive style were consequently taken out of public institutions, only to be shown again in 'Degenerate Art' exhibitions that were controlled by the German government under Hitler, in the context of ridiculing work that did not morally coincide with Nazi values.

In 1938, Hoefner was included in the 'Exhibition of Twentieth Century German Art' in London. This exhibition included works branded by the German Government as 'degenerate' that had been previously exhibited in Munich, where these carefully curated shows used the artists and their work as an example of the Nazi idea of 'moral decline' in society. The exhibition in London aimed to take these pieces out of the context of degeneracy and highlight the importance of the last hundred years of German art. Hoefner's catalogue entry was No.258, entitled 'Boat, Watercolours, 1937'. Other artists in the exhibition included Max Ernst, Paul Klee, Wassily Kandinsky, Otto Dix and many other prolific German artists of the period.

Hoefner was recorded to have visited England at the time of this exhibition, and stayed in the country for enough time to be classed as 'living in England' according to documents. Following this visit, he remained on the Island of Korcula until the Nazi's invaded Yugoslavia. Anticipating the invasion, Hoefner sent many of his works to a friend in England for safekeeping before fleeing across the mountains. His quick thinking in transporting the paintings are the reason that these artworks have survived, including this remarkable watercolour collection.

Walter Hoefner returned to Germany before his death in 1968, continuing to produce artwork despite his ill health. Lawrence's of Crewkerne sold this collection at auction in 1975. Both dynamic in style and rich in history, this body of work captures the natural beauty of the island of Korcula, in the artist's signature expressive technique.