Max Beckmann

One of Germany’s leading 20th-century artists, painter, draftsman, and printmaker Max Beckmann created bold, figurative artworks that attempted to make sense of human existence and the turmoil that surrounded him. Though he refused to formally associate with any movement during his lifetime, the artist was linked with German Expressionism, Cubism, and Neue Sachlichkeit. Rather than capturing the specificities of historical fact, Beckmann captured the spirit of the moment; he repeatedly used the theater, the circus, history, mythology, and religion as allegories for human tragedy. Much of his worldview was shaped by serving in World War I, then experiencing subsequent social upheavals and the rise of the Nazis, who condemned his art as “degenerate.” Beckmann feld Germany in 1937 and eventually emigrated to New York. He has been the subject of major shows at Tate Modern, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, and the Centre Pompidou, among other institutions. His work has sold for eight figures at auction and belongs to a number of prestigious public collections.