Pair of two ink and pencil drawings on paper
Germany, 1923
Hannah Höch (1889-1978) – German Dada artist
Each initialed in ink lower margin ‘H.H.’
Dated in ink lower left ‘1923’
Each framed
Sheet dimensions, each approximately: 7 x 4 ¼ in. (17.8 x 10.8 cm.)
Various overall dimensions, the largest measuring: 12 ¾ x 10 in. (32.4 x 25.4 cm.)

These small drawings by German artist Hannah Höch depict intimate studies of the tenements of Dadaism. Drawing on Cubism and collage, each work is built up of geometric forms on multiple picture planes, the illusion of depth created through small areas of shading.

Executed in 1923, this group of two ink and pencil drawings on paper are each initialed in the lower margin, with the larger work dated. Each work is framed, with various overall dimensions. (Initialed Lower right) – Toning to paper; small dot of staining along lower right edge, possibly artist’s intent; rippling to paper. (Initialed Lower left) – hinged to backing in upper right and left corners; slight toning and rippling to paper; staining throughout possibly artist’s intent.

Hannah Höch (German, 1889-1978)

Known for her acerbically political collage and photomontage works, Dada artist Hannah Höch appropriated and rearranged images and text from the mass media to critique the failings of the Weimar German Government. Höch created some of the most radical works of the time and was admired by contemporaries such as George Grosz, Theo van Doesburg and Kurt Schwitters, yet she was often overlooked by traditional art history. Major retrospectives of work by Hannah Höch include: Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris / Neue Nationalgalerie; Berlin (1976); Museum of Modern Art, New York, (1997) and the Reina Sofia, Madrid (2004). The Whitechapel Gallery in London recently hosted a major retrospective of the artist’s work in 2014.