Schiffe im Hafen. 1937.
Watercolor.
Signed and dated in the lower left. On Ingres laid paper by PMF Italia (with the watermark). 48.4 x 63.3 cm (19 x 24.9 in), the full sheet.
[MH].

• From the “Lofoten Pictures” series, which marked the first peak in the artist’s career.
• A symbiosis of figuration and abstraction: this watercolor already reveals Nay’s intense exploration of color and a rhythmic formal language.
• In private ownership for more than 20 years.

PROVENANCE: Galerie Koller, Zürich (1990).
Galerie Orangerie-Reinz, Cologne (1990).
Private collection Hesse (since ca. 1998).

EXHIBITION: Ernst Wilhelm Nay. Das polyphone Bild. Gouachen, Aquarelle, Zeichnungen, Kunstmuseum, Bonn / Museum Liner, Appenzell / Mönchehaus Museum, Goslar, 2012/13, cat. no. 6 (illustrated).

LITERATURE: Magdalene Claesges, Ernst Wilhelm Nay. Werkverzeichnis. Aquarelle - Gouachen - Zeichnungen, vol. 1: 1919-1948, Ostfildern 2012, no. 37-009 (illustrated in color).
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Galerie Koller, Zürich, auction 75/2, May 18/19/21, 1990, lot 5200 (illustrated on plate 11).

In good condition. At the lower edge of the sheet there is a small tear (approx. 5 mm) that has been professionally repaired, as well as another barely noticeable tear on the left edge of the sheet that has also been professionally repaired. The upper corners of the sheet in the area of the former mounting have been professionally restored. The aforementioned professional restoration work does not affect the appearance in any way.