Otto Mueller - Standing gypsy woman with child... Lot 723

Otto Mueller - Standing gypsy woman with child on her arm. Colored lithograph on yellow wove paper (papier vélin). (1926/27). Approx. 68 x 50 cm (sheet size). One of 60 copies. - Large-format and color-intensive lithograph - From the portfolio "Gypsies", Otto Mueller's last and most important print series - An icon of Expressionist printmaking The so-called "Gypsy Portfolio", as the nine-part series "Gypsies" is commonly called, is Otto Mueller's last graphic project and at the same time his most important. Although he was already seriously ill, he put a lot of effort into completing the lithographs. Mueller, who otherwise hardly reports on his artistic work, repeatedly mentions the work on this portfolio in letters to his wife Maschka: "I am sending you some prints this week that are ready. It is taking longer than I thought. But they will be good, I think." - "I am very busy with the colored lithos, they will be very nice. I've got two done already. Still have to do seven for the portfolio. The work is something new to me again. When I have finished some, I'll send you proofs" - "(...) am working quite happily on the gypsy pictures." (quoted after: Lothar-Günther Buchheim, Otto Mueller - Leben und Werk, Feldafing 1963, p. 184). Mueller placed great hopes in a successful sale, which unfortunately were not to be fulfilled during his lifetime. After he could sell only a few complete portfolios, he decided to offer the sheets individually. Even after his death, the sale of individual sheets from his estate was maintained. A good two-thirds of the edition was in the estate. These sheets, like the present sheet, were confirmed by Erich Heckel. According to the catalog raisonné by Florian Karsch (1974), only about 10 complete sets are known. Today, these "Gypsy" sheets are among Otto Mueller's most popular and sought-after prints. The "Gypsy Portfolio" represents the culmination of his extensive and often varied range of themes of the so-called "Gypsy motifs". Throughout his life he was moved by this theme, as he was convinced that he himself was descended from "gypsies". The associated longing for freedom and an unconstrained life in and with nature characterizes Otto Mueller's entire artistic output. The slightly brittle realization of the pictorial motifs, which is so typical for Mueller, prevents an exaggerated sentimentality and trivialization of the subject - rather, this series is characterized by a clear objectivity. This also makes it one of the most outstanding and important portfolios of German prints of the 1st half of the 20th century. Sheet 5 of the portfolio "Gypsies", comprising a total of 9 lithographs, published by the Neumann-Nierendorf Gallery, Berlin. Karsch 164 II (of II). Provenance: estate of the artist, verso with the stamp confirmed by Erich Heckel (Lugt 1829d); Moeller Fine Art, New York, verso on the back of the frame with the label. Taxation: Differential tax plus 7 % VAT: Margin Scheme (non EU)