Widder Auctions

Fair Partner ✔
Great Art - Small Price from 10 am - Masterpieces from 3 pm

WILHELM MORGNER (Soest 1891 - 1917 Langemark-Poelkapelle )

Harvest, 1967
woodcut/paper 37 x 58 cm
dated 1967
stamped: ": WILHELM MORGNER 1891-117, Aus dem Nachlass, Auflge 100 EX. 967/ Titel benannt "Steinklopfer"/ 38/100"

SCHÄTZPREIS / ESTIMATE °€ 60 - 100
STARTPREIS / STARTING PRICE °€ 60

Wilhelm Morgner was a German painter and graphic artist, who is considered a member of the "Westphalian Expressionist" movement. He began exploring painting training opportunities at an early age, he left high school as a "one-year student." In 1908, on the advice of Otto Modersohn, he moved to the Worpsmede artists' colony, where he attended Georg Tappert's private art school. There, he received basic training in the art of painting. Tappert encouraged Morgner to study nature intensively and introduced him to modern art. Morgner initially sought his subjects in the everyday lives of farmers, lumberjacks, and quarry workers. He maintained close contact with Tappert until his death. Morgner returned to Soest in 1909. That same year, he exhibited his paintings there for the first time. In 1910 he briefly visited Tappert's painting school again, now in Berlin. Tappert, who, along with President Max Pechstein, was the first chairman of the Neue Secession in Berlin, gave Morgner access to the modern art scene in Berlin. Morgner was friends with Arnold Topp, Wilhelm Wulff, and Eberhard Viegener. In 1911 he met Franz Marc in Berlin, who was impressed by Morgner's work. Marc forwarded some of it to Kandinsky in Munich, who was also impressed. In Berlin, Herwaeth Walden, editor of the magazine "Der Sturm," became aware of Morgner, and some of his work was published there. From 1911 to 1913 he took part in exhibitions of the Neue Secession in Berlin, the Blaue Reiter in Munich, and the Sonderbund in Cologne. Through Walden's arrangements, Morgner was also able to take part in an exhibition in Budapest in 1913. He was also represented at the 4th "Ausstellung Juryfreie Künstler" (Exhibition of Jury-Free Artists) in Berlin and the "German Graphics" exhibition in Tokyo. He also published in the art magazine "Die Aktion" from 1913 onward. In 1913, Morgner was drafted into the military. During this time, he was able to maintain contact with Tappert and exhibit his work. His military work at that time is limited to drawings and watercolors. At the beginning of the World War, he took part in several battles on the Western Front. While on home leave in Soest, he met Eberhard Viegener. Morgner was promoted to sergeant and awarded the Iron Cross Second Class. In 1916, he served as a draftsman in Bulgaria and Serbia. Morgner died in action near Langemarck while resisting capture by British soldiers. Based on a contract between Maria Morgner, Georg Tappert, and Alfred Flechtheim for the marketing of Wilhelm Morgner's estate, Tappert compiled a handwritten catalog of Morgner's works in 1920, which remains an authoritative work today. Flechtheim presented an extensive solo exhibition of Morgner's works in his gallery in Düsseldorf in 1920. The gallery published the graphic portfolio "In Memoriam Wilhelm Morgner," featuring seven linocuts and one woodcut, as well as an introductory text by Theodor Däubler and the Westphalian Ballad by Adolf von Hatzfeld. Some of Morgner's works were condemned as "entartet" (degenerate) in 1937 and confiscated from museums. In 1938, eight pictures were shown at the Berlin exhibition "Entartete Kunst" (Degenerate Art". Works by Wilhelm Morgner are represented in numerous museum collections in Germany and abroad. The city of Soest possesses the largest collection of Wilhelm Morgner's works, with 60 paintings and over 300 watercolours, drawings, and prints. Another large collection of works is housed in the LWL Museum of Art and Culture in Münster. The "Wilhelm Morgner House" was opened in Soest in 1962. In addition to temporary exhibitions, a selection of Morgner's paintings and graphic works is constantly on display. Influences of the French and German Fauves are evident in Morgner's work. He abandoned his initial, strongly naturalistic approach and embraced an increasingly abstract visual language. This was encouraged by his acquaintance with the art of Robert Delaunay, Alexei von Jewlensky, and Wassily Kandinsky. With his "Ornamental Compositions" and "Astral Compositions," Morgener painted his first non-representational paintings in 1912. Further artists and styles: Expressionism, abstraction, ornamental compositions, Orphism, colour intensity, complementary contrasts, movement, theosophy, anthroposophy, Friedrich Nietzsche, Georg Tappert, Otto Modersohn, Blauer Reiter, Wassily Kandinsky, Franz Marc, Robert Delaunay, Alexej von Jawlensky, Vincent van Gogh, Edvard Munch, Max Liebermann, Eberhard Viegener, Arnold Topp, Wilhelm Wulff
PLEASE NOTE:
The purchase price consists of the highest bid plus the buyer's premium, sales tax and, if applicable, the fee of artists resale rights. In the case of normal taxation (marked ° at the estimate), a premium of 24% is added to the highest bid. The mandatory sales tax is added to the sum of the highest bid and the buyer's premium. This amounts to 13% for paintings, drawings, graphic works and sculptures and 20% for photographs and all other items.
The buyer's premium amounts to 28% in case of differential taxation. The sales tax is included in the differential taxation.