
Lyonel Feininger (1871–1956)
(Bleak House), 1891
Ink on paper
5 3/4 x 6 2/4 in. (14.6 x 17.2 cm)
Signed, dated, and inscribed verso: Composed by Leonell Feininger 1891. The subject is from Dickens’ “Bleak House”
"Feininger refers to his charcoal drawings as 'formulating of the subject for solutions of space;' the watercolors are solutions of 'volumes of light.' But such 'solutions' are not simply answers to be used in later works. The watercolors have an independent existence and, in their own right, they are among his most successful works."
Thomas B. Hess, Feininger Paints a Picture, 1949
On July 17, 1871, 150 years ago today, Lyonel Feininger was born in New York City. In celebration of this anniversary of his birth, it is my pleasure to present Lyonel Feininger: "Seeing Is Everything!" A Small Retrospective of Drawings and Watercolors, an exhibition showcasing a selection of rare drawings and watercolors by this seminal artist.
The exhibition includes 45 works that Feininger made between 1908 and 1955. Together, they provide a fresh, comprehensive look at the range of his oeuvre by showing the development of his style and motifs, from his formative years in Paris to his success as a master at the Bauhaus to his return to his native New York in 1937.
While Feininger's paintings were often intellectual and rigorous, his drawings and watercolors were freer, more expressive of his curiosity and drive to experiment. Through his drawings and watercolors, he explored different approaches. He made playful figurative works like Paris (Newspaper Readers), 1908, Die Angler (The Anglers), 1915, and Men Working, 1910; geometric compositions like (Church in the Woods), 1952, and (Dunes), 1954; and fantastical late figure drawings, which he called “Ghosties.”
By providing an overview of five decades of his work in charcoal, ink, and watercolor, our small retrospective offers insight into Feininger’s growth as an artist. As he put it in a letter to his friend and fellow artist Alfred Kubin (1877–1959):
"Only our perceptions of objects in nature are mystical. Therefore we must have, and give, the form to express this mystical quality. The mere object is nothing; seeing is everything! And here I want to say that art can only progress with increasing understanding, with the inner growth of the artist."
Portrait Lyonel Feininger, Dessau, 1928
1871
Lyonel Feininger is born on July 17 in New York to Karl and Elizabeth Feininger; he is the first of three children.
1887
Leaves for Germany and starts studying at the General Vocational and Crafts School in Hamburg.
1888
Moves to Berlin and begins studying at the Royal Academy of Arts.
1892
Leaves the Academy and moves to Paris.
1893
Moves back to Berlin and starts working as a freelance cartoonist and illustrator.
1901
Marries Clara Fürst, birth of daughter Eleonora.
1902
Birth of daughter Marianne.
1905
Meets Julia Berg (née Lilienfeld) and separates from his wife.
1906
Moves with Julia to Paris and their son Andreas is born. Works on two comic strips for The Chicago Sunday Tribune.
1907
Executes his first oil painting.
1908
Marries Julia in London, returns to Berlin.
1909
Birth of son Laurence.
1910
Birth of son Theodore Lux (T. Lux).
1911
Six paintings are shown at the Salon des Indépendants in Paris.
1913
Five paintings are shown at the Erster Deutscher Herbstsalon, organized by the Galerie Der Sturm in Berlin.
1917
First solo exhibition at the Galerie Der Sturm.
1919
Is appointed the first master of the Staatliches Bauhaus in Weimar.
1921
Composes his first fugue.
1926
Moves with the Bauhaus to Dessau as master without teaching duties.
1929
Works on a series of paintings for the City of Halle (Saale).
1931
Completes his Halle series. Retrospectives in Dresden, Essen, and at the Nationalgalerie in Berlin.
1934
Moves to Berlin-Siemensstadt.
1935
The National Socialists declare his art “degenerate.”
1936
Teaches a summer course at Mills College in Oakland, California.
1937
Leaves Germany, teaches another summer course at Mills College and then settles in New York City.
1939
Works on murals for the 1939/1940 New York World’s Fair.
1942
One of his paintings is awarded a purchase prize by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
1944
Retrospective with Marsden Hartley at The Museum of Modern Art in New York.
1945
Teaches a summer course at Black Mountain College in Asheville, North Carolina.
1956
Dies on January 13 in his New York apartment.
Achim Moeller founded The Lyonel Feininger Project in 1987 to prepare the catalogues raisonné, provide certificates of authenticity as well as exhibition consultation, and to conduct and support research related to the artist. The Lyonel Feininger Project, with premises in New York and Berlin, organizes scholarly exhibitions and maintains a 20,000-volume reference library.
Lyonel Feininger: The Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings by Achim Moeller can be accessed at feiningerproject.org.