90 - WERNER DREWES (GERMAN-AMERICAN 1899-1985)

WERNER DREWES (GERMAN-AMERICAN 1899-1985) Winter Woods, circa 1947-49 oil on canvas 56.2 x 86.3 cm (22 1/8 x 34 in.) framed dimensions: 69.2 x 99.7 cm (27 1/4 x 39 1/4 in.) signed lower right; signed on stretcher, numbered 445 and dated with the artist’s peace cipher on verso LOT NOTES Trained at the Bauhaus under Kandinsky and Klee, Drewes brought European modernism with him to New York, where he became a founding member of the American Abstract Artists group and served as director of graphic art for the WPA Federal Art Project in 1940. Throughout his career he moved between abstraction and figurative work, and the present canvas shows both: a snowbound forest broken into rhythmic, faceted planes of white, slate blue and rose. The verso bears Drewes’ distinctive peace-sign date cipher and inventory number 445. Another work in the series, Potter’s Workshop, dated 1948, is inscribed with inventory number 446, placing the present work within the same period. Keywords: Werner Drewes, Bauhaus Artist, American Abstract Artists, Modernist Winter Landscape, Mid-Century American Modernism, Drewes Oil Painting N.B. Condition reports are available upon request. All lots are sold in as-is condition at the time of sale. Please note that any condition statement regarding works of art is given as a courtesy to our clients in order to assist them in assessing the condition. The report is a genuine opinion held by Shapiro Auctions & Appraisals LLC and should not be treated as a statement of fact. The absence of a condition report or a photograph does not preclude the absence of defects or restoration, nor does a reference to particular defects imply the absence of any others. Shapiro Auctions & Appraisals, LLC., including its consultants and agents, shall have no responsibility for any error or omission.