662 - Lyonel Feininger (1871 – New York – 1956)

Lyonel Feininger (1871 – New York – 1956) “By the Railroad Embankment” Watercolor and ink on washed handmade paper. 1916. Approx. 24.5 x 32 cm. Signed lower left, dated “Tuesday, Sept. 26, 1916” lower right, and titled lower center. • The motif of trains appears throughout Feininger’s career; he had a particular fascination with them • Feininger renders his expressive landscape using only shades of brown • The precise, day-specific dating attests to Feininger’s meticulous working process The theme of railroads runs through Feininger’s entire body of work: Even as a teenager, he was fascinated by trains and drew them time and again. In New York, he was able to observe the steam locomotives at Grand Central Station and would remain captivated by them throughout his life. In 1913–14, when Feininger was already living in Germany, he designed wooden toys in a railroad theme. In the decades that followed during his artistic career, he returned to this theme time and again, with his memories permeating these images; the trains and locomotives depicted are—despite his modern and dynamic visual language—often the machines of his childhood. On September 26, 1916—during World War I—Feininger created “Am Bahndamm,” a work that stands out from his series of train paintings: Rendered in brown tones of ink and watercolor, it depicts a small settlement next to a massive railroad embankment that not only borders the settlement but also cuts through and separates both the pictorial space and the landscape. Here, the artist focuses not on the trains themselves, but on the necessary infrastructure and its impact on the environment. This infrastructure, which certainly came to the fore not least due to the movement of troops during the war, has permanently altered and shaped the landscape. Thus, even in the absence of a train itself, Feininger succeeds in making the “railroad” as such the subject of his work. Bibliography: Luckhardt, Ulrich/Faass, Martin (eds.), Lyonel Feininger. The Drawings and Watercolors, Cologne 1998, p. 211, b/w ill.; Schulz-Vanselow, Hans, Lyonel Feininger and Pomerania, Kiel 1999, pp. 103 and 105, b/w ill. no. 45, p. 347. Exhibition: Lyonel Feininger. Drawings and Watercolors, Serge Sabarsky Gallery, New York 1979, cat. no. 11, color ill.; Lyonel Feininger. Drawings, Watercolors, Woodcuts, Kulturhaus der Stadt Graz, Graz, et al., 1991/92, cat. no. 12, color ill.; Lyonel Feininger. Drawings, Watercolors, and Graphic Works, Collections of Casts of Ancient Sculptures, Berlin/Musée-Galerie de la Seita, Paris 1993/94, color ill.; Lyonel Feininger. Drawings, Watercolors, Prints, and Paintings, Herforder Kunstverein at the Daniel-Pöppelmann-Haus, Herford 1994, color ill.; Lyonel Feininger. Watercolors, Drawings, and Prints, Egon Schiele Art Centrum, Český Krumlov, among others, 1995/96, color ill. Provenance: Allan Frumkin Gallery, New York; Serge Sabarsky Gallery, New York; Antonio Gebauer, New York; Serge Sabarsky Collection/Estate, New York; Vally Sabarsky Collection/Foundation, New York. Taxation: subject to regular taxation (VAT: Regular Taxation).