Marker on paper. Featuring a portrait against a black backdrop. Signed with monogram and attr. Max Pechstein (German, 1881-1955) on the left edge. 21 x 20 cm (8.3 x 7.9 inches). A key Expressionist painter of the early 20th century, Max Pechstein produced decorative and colorful paintings that borrowed from Vincent Van Gogh, Henri Matisse, and the Fauves. As a member of Die Brücke, a group of German Expressionists who took a primitivist approach to painting, Pechstein worked closely with Erich Heckel and Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. He travelled to Palau in the South Pacific in 1914, after which his paintings increasingly displayed elements of Primitivism, such as thick black lines and angular figures. Pechstein was also a prolific printmaker, making over 900 prints over the course of his career. Instrumental in founding the Novembergruppe in 1918, a left-wing artists’ group demanding artist involvement in creating social policies, Pechstein was later denounced by the Nazis and hundreds of his paintings were removed from German museums. PROVENANCE: Private collection (Europe)

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By [Artist Name] : In our opinion, the work is by the artist.

Attributed to [Artist Name] : In our opinion, the work may be ascribed to the artist on the basis of style, but there may be some question as to actual authorship.

In the manner of [Artist Name] : In our opinion, the work was executed by an unknown hand, but was designed deliberately to emulate the style of the artist.

After [Artist Name] : In our opinion, the work was executed by an unknown hand, but is a deliberate copy of a known work by the artist.

Circle of [Artist Name] : In our opinion, a work of the period of the artist showing his influence, closely associated with the artist but not necessarily his pupil.

Follower of [Artist Name]: In our opinion, a work by a pupil or a follower of the artist (not necessarily a pupil).

American, 19th century : In our opinion, this work was executed by an unknown hand, and can only be identified by origin (i.e., region, period).

Bears signature : In our opinion, the signature on the artwork may be spurious.
Apocryphal : Of doubtful authenticity.