105 - [20TH-CENTURY ART - AVANT-GARDE] - [COLLECTIVE] / BUCHHOLZ GALLERY

[20TH-CENTURY ART - AVANT-GARDE] - [COLLECTIVE] / BUCHHOLZ GALLERY The Blue Four: Feininger, Jawlensky, Kandinsky, Paul Klee New York, Buchholz Gallery [Curt Valentin], October 31 – November 25, 1944 Stapled in-12° booklet. Illustrated cover. A first edition of major historical significance for the reception of European Expressionism and Surrealism in the United States. This memorable exhibition, organized in the midst of World War II by the renowned art dealer Curt Valentin (in close collaboration with Galka Scheyer, the group’s long-time American agent), was the very last major project to bring together the masterpieces of “Die Blaue Vier.” Founded in Germany in 1924, this quartet of leading Bauhaus and European avant-garde artists — Lyonel Feininger, Alexej von Jawlensky, Wassily Kandinsky, and Paul Klee — presented a final juxtaposition of their works here, even though two of its members had already passed away (Klee in 1940, Jawlensky in 1941) and Kandinsky would pass away just a few days after the exhibition closed, in December 1944. The brochure contains statements, manifestos, or brief theoretical writings by the artists, followed by a methodical descriptive list of the 63 works displayed on the gallery walls, all illustrated with five black-and-white insert plates. A valuable record of the history of the modern art market. Provenance: from the Errera family library