522 - Herbert Gurschner (1901 Innsbruck – London 1975)

Herbert Gurschner (1901 Innsbruck – London 1975) “Bean Ingram” Oil on canvas, with relining. 1928. Approx. 107 x 68 cm. Signed, dated, and inscribed “I painted Bean Ingram in 1928 wearing a mask because life demands masks—Herbert Gurschner” in the lower right corner. On the reverse of the canvas is the artist’s label “Herbert Gurschner Tirol” and the added number “43.” • Significant portrait from 1928, dating from Gurschner’s New Objectivity-influenced creative phase • Enigmatic composition featuring a mask and a handwritten inscription addressing the social role of the individual • Exhibited in 2018/19 in the “Magic Realism” exhibition at the Tate Modern, London The 1928 painting “Bean Ingram” is one of Herbert Gurschner’s most characteristic portraits from his period of turning toward New Objectivity. Born in Innsbruck, the artist studied at the Munich Academy and, through his marriage to the English aristocrat Ella Dolores Erskine in 1924, gained access to London’s social and art-collecting circles. In the years that followed, he became a sought-after portraitist whose works went far beyond conventional portraiture. In “Bean Ingram,” Gurschner combines the precise, New Objectivity style with a mysterious, symbolically charged visual language. The young woman is depicted in full face against a stylized mountain landscape, visible through a dark, frame-like window opening. The strictly composed pictorial structure is reminiscent of Italian Renaissance portraits, while the cool color palette and the subject’s peculiarly ethereal appearance create an almost surreal atmosphere. The conspicuously raised hand and the mask in the foreground take on special significance. The artist’s handwritten inscription explains the mask as a symbol of social pretense and lends the portrait an additional psychological dimension. The portrait thus becomes a reflection on identity, outward appearance, and hidden personality. Bibliography: Widder, Claudia/Widder, Roland (eds.), Herbert Gurschner. A Tyrolean in London, Innsbruck/Vienna 2000, no. 103, color ill. p. 112. Exhibition: Magic Realism. Art in Weimar Germany 1919–1933, Tate Modern, London 2018/19, exhibition catalog, ill. p. 57. Provenance: Bonhams, London, Nov. 29, 1995, Lot 106; Im Kinsky, Vienna, May 16, 2006, Lot 117; Private collection, Vienna; The George Economou Collection, Athens; Collection, Rhineland, since 2020. Taxation: subject to regular taxation (VAT: Regular Taxation).