1955.35 George Grosz, View of Manhattan

George Grosz's flight from Germany in 1933 did not insulate him from the encroaching chill of war. Alive to the political circumstances in which he had found himself, Grosz made a show of abandoning the political engagement of his earlier work in favor of a new "humanisme," [1] as he termed it, a new subject matter: city views of Manhattan, Cape Cod landscapes, and nudes. This new subject matter, together with Grosz's dogged refusal to assist in any activities that he saw as merely propagandistic or motivated by party interest, struck many of his old Berlin circle as a retreat. In America he began to espouse a more absolute apoliticism and a more sweeping rejection of political satire as a viable artistic language. 

[1] Grosz to Marc Sandler, March 10, 1950, no. 801, George Grosz Archive: cited in Sketchbooks of George Grosz, 127.

Heather MacDonald, Flower of the Prairie: George Grosz in Dallas (Dallas: Dallas Museum of Art, 2012), 22-23

Depicted location and place of origin: New York (New York/United States): TGN: 7007567

Until 1955: Leon A. Harris, Jr. (1926-2000)

From 1955: Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Leon A. Harris, Jr. [1]

[1] The name of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, founded in 1933, was changed to the Dallas Museum of Art in 1983.

UMO: 13310104  Reflections on George Grosz, Gallery talk with Marty Grosz, George Grosz's son

Apply to objects where number equals 1955.35