Oil on canvas.43 x 60.7 cm.
This work is considered incomplete and was repeatedly mislabeled as “Benz” in earlier publications; however, it depicts the church in Gaberndorf near Weimar. [AR].
- From the estate of T. Lux Feininger, the artist’s son. - Offered on the international auction market for the first time. - From the key group of architecture motifs. - Decades of fascination with Gaberndorf: first drawn during the Bauhaus period and repeatedly depicted until the end of his life. - Two drawings with the same motif are in the collection of the Busch-Reisinger Museum at Harvard University, which to this day houses one of the largest Feininger collections in the world.
Achim Moeller, Director of the Lyonel Feininger Project, New York-Berlin, has confirmed the authenticity of this work, which is registered in the archive of the Lyonel Feininger Project under the number 2047-02-26-26. The painting is listed in "Lyonel Feininger: The Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings" by Achim Moeller under the number 573. The work comes with a certificate of authenticity. Additional information was provided by Achim Moeller, The Lyonel Feininger Project, New York - Berlin.
LITERATURE: Achim Moeller, “(Church of Gaberndorf), c. 1954-56 (Moeller 573).” Lyonel Feininger: The Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings. http://www.feiningerproject.org/ (accessed on Febr. 26, 2025). Hans Hess, Lyonel Feininger, New York 1961, no. K, p. 300 (here as "no title, unsigned; 17 x 23 3/4 in"). - - Wolfgang Büche, Back in New York - Zurück in einer vertrauten Fremde, in: Wolfgang Büche (ed.), Lyonel Feininger: Zurück in Amerika. 1937-1956, exhib. cat. Stiftung Moritzburg, Kunstmuseum des Landes Sachsen-Anhalt, Munich 2009, pp. 11-19, here p. 19 (illustrated in color no. 6, here as "Benz", 1955). Andrea Fromm (ed.), Feininger und das Bauhaus: Weimar, Dessau, New York, exhibition catalog, Kunsthaus Apolda Avantgarde, Hamburg 2009, p. 175 (illustrated in color, here as “Untitled [Benz], 1955”), and on p. 185. Andrea Fromm, Feininger am Bauhaus - Transpositionen in Holzschnitt, Aquarell und Gemälde, in: Andrea Fromm (ed.), Feininger und das Bauhaus: Weimar, Dessau, New York, exhibition catalog Kunsthaus Apolda Avantgarde, Hamburg 2009, pp. 11-29, p. 20 (here as “Benz”). Gemeinde Benz (ed.), Papileo auf Usedom. Eine Feininger-Radtour, Benz 2009, pp. 165f. (illustrated in color, here as “Untitled [Benz],” 1955).

Lyonel Feininger: Retrospective in Japan, Yokosuka Museum of Art, Yokosuka, Aug. 2-Oct. 5, 2008; Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art, Higashisakura, Oct. 17-Dec. 23, 2008; Miyagi Museum of Art, Sendai, Jan. 10-March 1, 2009, cat. no. 138 (listed here as “Untitled [Benz],” 1955, illustrated in color on p. 164, with an exhibition label on the reverse)

From the artist's estate, New York. Theodore Lux (T. Lux) Feininger, Cambridge (MA) (inherited). Estate of T. Lux Feininger, Cambridge (MA) (inherited)

In good condition. Due to the artist’s intensive treatment of the surface and the canvas’s inherent texture, there are slight irregularities abd isolated, tiny areas of paint loss, which are, however, only visible when viewed against the light. Minimal paint abrasion in the corners of the painting. The condition report was compiled in daylight with the aid of a UV light source, and to the best of our knowledge and belief.