MAX POLLACK (Austrian/American. 1886-1970)

Portrait of Sent M'Ahesa, Dancer in Egyptian Attire, circa 1915. [see images of dancer} Signed in pencil l/r, titled in pencil, P.D. Etching with Dry Point. Sheet 26.25 by 17.75 in. (Cond: losses to gilt on frame)

cf. Max Pollak, a prominent artist in Europe from the late teens of the 19th Century through the decade known as the roaring 20’s and into the 1930’s. Pollack was born in Prague, in 1886,his studies were conducted at the Vienna Academy of Art, under the guidance of William Unger \and Ferdinand Schmutzer. In 1910, at the age of twenty-four, Pollack won the Prix de Rome and he began to exhibit in the Vienna Secession, with other well-known artists, such as Otto Wagner, Oscar Kokoschka, Josef Hoffman, Egon Schiele, and Gustav Klimt. During World War I Pollack was appointed the official painter of the Austrian Army.

Pollak excelled in all types of printmaking, and by 1920 had a sizable following in France, Germany, and Austria, such that, Europe’s most famous dancers and actresses commissioned Pollak for their portraits, including, the dancer Sent M'Ahesa, portrayed in the offered lot. Sent M'Ahesa (1879-1970), born Else von Carlberg in Riga, Latvia, was a renowned professional modern dancer credited with reinterpreting Egyptian dance. In 1921, Max Beckmann, created a portrait of M'Ahesa, produced in limited numbers, hence, few are extant today.

During World War I the artist was appointed the official painter of the Austrian Army. Upon completion of his studies, his early works reflect specifically, an artistic movement of the time known as the Vienna Successionist. Max Pollack immigrated to the United States in the 1930, he lived in New York, continued to work as an artist, and is well-known for his many modernist cityscapes. His work can be seenin many of Europe’s major museums as well as in New York, Chicago, Washington, and Los Angeles.
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