Late in December 1950, Max Beckman left his Upper West Side apartment to view his Self-Portrait in Blue Jacket (1950) at the Met, but on the corner of 69th Street and Central Park West, the 66-year-old artist suffered a fatal heart attack and never made it to the Museum. The tragic circumstance of the artist’s death served as the inspiration for the exhibition.
Life in Manhattan had energised Beckmann, and the Max Beckmann in New York exhibition will focus on the artist’s special connection with the city, bringing together several groups of iconic works, including 14 paintings that Beckmann painted while living in New York from 1949 to 1950, as well as 25 earlier works, dating from 1920 to 1948, including self-portraits; mythical, expressionist interiors; robust, colorful portraits of women and performers; landscapes; and triptychs.
Max Beckmann (German, Leipzig 1884–1950 New York) Falling Man 1950 Oil on canvas 55 1/2 × 35 in. (141 × 88.9 cm) Frame: 62 1/4 × 41 1/4 × 2 3/4 in. (158.1 × 104.8 × 7 cm) National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Mrs. Max Beckmann SL.9.2016.13.1 © 2016 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn
Related programs include MetLiveArts, a Friday Focus program, an Artist on Artworks, exhibitions tours, and a gallery talk in American Sign Language.
Max Beckmann in New York
October 19, 2016–February 20, 2017
Need to know:
- October 19, 2016 – February 20, 2017
- Exhibition Location: The Met Fifth Avenue, Gallery 199
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