2000, Bequest to the Indiana University Art Museum from Bernhard Heiden, Bloomington, IN
1934–2000, Collection of Bernhard Heiden (1910–2000) and Cola Heiden (1910–1999), Bloomington, IN (gift of the artist) [1]
1933–1934, Possession of the artist [2]
Notes:
[1] Bernhard Heiden (né Levi) and his wife Cola (née de Joncheere) Heiden emigrated to the United States in 1935 to escape persecution under the Third Reich’s antisemitic laws. They settled in Bloomington in 1946, where Bernhard was a member of the music school faculty until his retirement in 1981 (per museum donor files). Although the Heidens inherited much of their art collection from Bernhard’s parents, the present painting was Beckmann’s wedding gift to Bernhard and Cola, whom he had first befriended when all three were still living in Germany (Bernhard Heiden in conversation with Kathleen Foster, former Indiana University Art Museum curator of Western art after 1800, on November 15, 1999; transcript in museum files).
[2] Beckmann completed the painting in 1933 and had it in his possession until the Heidens married the following year (Max Beckmann: The Watercolors and Pastels, cat. rais., Frankfurt: Schirm Kunsthalle, 2006, cat. no. 60).
Provenance research is ongoing for this and many other items in the Eskenazi Museum of Art permanent collection. For more information about the provenance of this artwork, please contact the department curator with specific questions.
October 6–December 23, 2012, “Pioneers and Exiles: German Expressionism at the Indiana University Art Museum,” Indiana University Art Museum, Bloomington, IN (cat. no. 39)
March 3–September 17, 2006, “Max Beckmann: The Watercolors and Pastels,” Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, March 3–May 28, 2006; Fundación del Museo Guggenheim Bilbao, Spain, June 26–September 17, 2006 (cat. no. 60)
September 17–December 10, 2000, “A Legacy of German Expressionism – Gifts from Bernhard and Cola Heiden,” Indiana University Art Museum, Bloomington, IN
September 25, 1998–May 9, 1999, “Max Beckmann and Paris,” Kunsthaus Zürich, September 25, 1998–January 3, 1999; Saint Louis Art Museum, St. Louis, MO, February 6–May 9, 1999 (cat. no. 61; wrong dimensions)
September 7, 1984-February 3, 1985, “Max Beckmann: Retrospective,” Haus der Kunst, Munich, February 25–April 23, 1984; Nationalgalerie, Berlin, Germany, May 18–July 29, 1984; Saint Louis Art Museum, St. Louis, MO, September 7–November 4, 1984; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA, December 9, 1984–February 3, 1985 (cat. no. 180)
October 16, 1977–May 21, 1978, “Max Beckmann: Aquarelle und Zeichnungen 1903 bis 1950,” Kunsthalle Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Germany, October 16–December 11, 1977; Kunsthalle Tübingen, Germany, January 7–February 26, 1978; Städtische Galerie im Städelschen Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt am Main, March 18-May 21, 1978 (cat. no. 142)
May 11–June 15, 1974, “18th–20th Century Drawings from Bloomington Collections,” Indiana University Art Museum, Bloomington, IN
October 1–22, 1958, “German Art in Our Time,” Indiana University Art Center Gallery, Bloomington, IN (cat. no. 4, as "King of Snakes")
