Erich Heckel (1883-1970), Hafenbahn im Winter

Erich Heckel (1883-1970)
Hafenbahn im Winter
signed with the initials and dated 'EH 06' (lower left); signed, dated and inscribed 'E Heckel. Hafenbahn im Winter 06' (on the stretcher)
oil on canvas
19 x 27 3/4 in. (48.3 x 70.3 cm.)
Painted in 1906

Special Notice
Artist's Resale Right ("Droit de Suite"). Artist's Resale Right Regulations 2006 apply to this lot, the buyer agrees to pay us an amount equal to the resale royalty provided for in those Regulations, and we undertake to the buyer to pay such amount to the artist's collection agent.

Provenance
The artist’s collection, Hemmenhofen.
Galerie Wilhelm Grosshennig, Dusseldorf, 1965.
Wilhelm Reinold, Hamburg, by the late 1960s, and thence by descent to the present owners.

Pre-Lot Text
PROPERTY FROM THE COLLECTION OF WILHELM REINOLD
Christie’s is honoured to present the following selection of works from the collection of the highly respected financier and patron of the arts, Wilhelm Reinold (1895-1979). Assembled over the course of two decades, this diverse collection of paintings and prints stands as a testament not only to Reinold’s discerning eye, but also his deep appreciation for art of the early Twentieth Century.
Although born in Wuppertal, Reinold’s banking career truly flourished in the German city of Hamburg, where he earned a reputation as an astute and intelligent thinker, characteristics which would eventually lead him to become a board member of the city’s Commerzbank. While he had maintained a general interest in the arts throughout his life, a gift of a Paul Klee drawing on the occasion of his 65th birthday inspired Reinold to begin a prolific collecting journey that would occupy him throughout the 1960s and 1970s. During this time he amassed an enviable collection of modern art, acquiring vibrant, compelling works from painters as diverse as Marc Chagall and Max Beckmann to Lyonel Feininger and Gabriele Münter. He also developed key friendships with several notable artists, including Oskar Kokoschka, whom he commissioned to create a panoramic view of the Hamburg harbour from a crane of the Stülcken-Werft shipyard in the early 1960s. Alongside his collecting activities he was also a generous patron and philanthropist, donating several important artworks to local museums and galleries in Hamburg, and providing financial assistance to a number of artistic institutions.
While Reinold’s artistic tastes were varied and wide-ranging, several themes appear to have underpinned his collecting habits. For example, he held a particular interest in the art of his homeland, acquiring paintings by many of the leading figures of the German avant-garde during the first half of the twentieth century, including Max Beckmann, Emil Nolde and the Die Brücke artists Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, Erich Heckel and Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. There is also a strong focus on figurative representation in his acquisitions, while many works appear to have been chosen for their powerfully expressionistic approach to colour. Indeed, the collection is filled with paintings that utilise luminous, vibrant pigments to bring a bold sense of energy and life to their subject matter. Other works offer an insight into the internal battles which occupied their creators during pivotal moments in their careers. Whether in the midst of experimenting with a new painterly style or investigating alternative media, they capture painting in its rawest and most vigorous form, as each artist strives to translate their subjective vision of the world onto their canvases with an intensity and passion that reflects their experiences.

Literature
P. Vogt, Erich Heckel, Recklinghausen, 1965, no. 1906/5, n.p. (illustrated n.p. & p. 30).
V. W. Tiedeke, 'Erich Heckel und die Eisenbahn - Ein Durchbruch zur Moderne', in Erich Heckel in den Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz, Bielefeld, 2016, p. 36 (illustrated fig. 9).
A. Hüneke, Erich Heckel, Werkverzeichnis der Gemälde, Wandbilder und Skulpturen, vol. I, 1904-1918, Munich, 2017, no. 1906-17, p. 24 (illustrated).

Exhibited
Hamburg, Kunstsalon Clematis, Brücke, July - August 1907, no. 14; this exhibition later travelled to Dresden, Kunstsalon Emil Richter, September 1907.
Rostock, Kunstverein, Brücke, Summer 1908.
Essen, Museum Folkwang, Brücke, Eine Kunstlergemeinschaft des Expressionismus 1905-1913, October - December 1958, no. 8.
Dusseldorf, Galerie Wilhelm Grosshennig, Erich Heckel, February - March 1965, p. 7.