Max Beckmann (1884 Leipzig - 1950 New York). Ebbi: Komödie von Max Beckmann. 1924 Book with 6 Drypoint s with watercolors. Secon print of the Johannes press for the 'Gesellschaft der 33', Vienna 1924 Hofmaier 306-308/II A and B. Hofmaier does not mention a colored copy. All six etchings signed. Once more signed, as well as numbered XIX and dedicated 'Für Simolin [Rudolf Freiherr von] handkoloriert von Beckmann 1936 im Som[m]er Berlin' in imprint. Copy XIX of 33. Size of plates: up to. 19,8 x 14,9 cm (7,7 x 5,8 in) In orig. half vellum binding with signature of Beckmann in gilt tooling. In orig. slipcase with the gilt-tooled emblem of the Johannes press. Coloring and etchings in mint condition. - Baron Rudolf von Simolin, to whom the copy is dedicated, was a remote relative of Mathilde (Quappi) Beckmann and witness to the her marriage with Max Beckmann. As a collector he owns a large number of works by Beckmann. The artist made two drypoint etchings of the baron's portrait Max Beckmann wrote the comedy 'Ebbi' in 1921. For the publication in the 'Gesellschaft der 33' he etched the six illustrations in 1924, in this copy they had all been colored by his hand. Beckmann is obviously quite proud of his comedy and also disappointed that they do not catch on as much as expected - as the correspondence with Reinhard Piper shows. This is, however, not the case with the illustrations that were made in Beckmann's distinctive style of the 20s. The people acting in puppet-like manners, Beckmann's stylistic feature in those days, strongly underline the comedy's respective text passages. Additionally, our copy is coined by watercolors which are fresh and lively, adding a particular charm to the etchings. At the same time they underline the scene's unconstrained and somewhat bawdy atmosphere in a big city bordello. With the success of the National Socialists, the artist was increasingly defamed in the 1930s and finally dismissed from his teaching post. His works were removed from public collections in Germany. Beckmann emigrated to Holland in 1937, where he was also restricted by the political situation, and an invitation to Saint Louis as a guest professor in 1947 was a welcome occasion to emigrate to the USA. Fdollowing this assignment, Beckmann taught at the University of Colorado in Boulder in 1949 for a short time and then at the Brooklyn Museum Art School in New York and at the Mills College in Oakland, California in the summer of 1950. Max Beckmann died in New York in December the same year. [KD]."