The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 20, 2024

Josef May

Josef May

1926
(German, 1891–1969)
Germany, 20th century
oil, egg tempera, and other media on board
Framed: 105.1 x 88.9 x 6 cm (41 3/8 x 35 x 2 3/8 in.); Unframed: 84 x 68.8 cm (33 1/16 x 27 1/16 in.)
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1985.40
© Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn
Location: 225 German Expressionism & Surrealism

Description

A leader of the New Objectivity movement in Germany, Dix painted bitter critiques of modern capitalist society. To achieve a more incisive realism in his brutally honest portraits, he mixed egg tempera with other media. The sitter for this portrait, Josef May, was the Jewish manager of the Grünberg grain company in Arnsberg. When the Nazis seized power in 1933, May fled to Holland, where he died of a heart attack in 1938.
  • Josef May, the sitter, [-1938], Holland, given to his brother-in-law, Hugo Simons.
    Hugo Simons [1892-1958] Montreal, Quebec, Canada
    Ghitta Caiserman-Roth [1923-2005], Montreal, Quebec, Canada
    -1985
    Fischer Fine Arts, London, United Kingdom, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1985-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Olaf Peters. Otto Dix. Munich, Germany: Prestel, 2010. Reproduced: p. 219, 249
  • Otto Dix. Montréal Museum of Fine Arts, Montreal, Quebec, Canada (organizer) (September 20, 2010-January 2, 2011).
    Monet to Dalí: Modern Masters from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Beijing World Art Museum, China (May 26-August 27, 2006); Mori Art Center (September 16-November 26, 2006); Seoul Art Center, South Korea (December 22, 2006-March 28, 2007); Seoul Olympic Museum of Art, South Korea (April 7-May 20, 2007); Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, Canada (June 9-September 16, 2007); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 21, 2007-January 13, 2008); Frist Art Museum, Nashville, TN (February 15-June 1, 2008); Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Salt Lake City, UT (June 22-September 21, 2008); The Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI (October 12, 2008-January 18, 2009).
    Otto Dix - Zum 100. Geburtstag. Galerie der Stadt Stuttgart, Stuttgart 1, Germany (organizer) (September 4-November 3, 1991).
    The Year in Review for 1985. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 12-April 20, 1986).
  • {{cite web|title=Josef May|url=false|author=Otto Dix|year=1926|access-date=20 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1985.40