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Grapefruit Moon Gallery

Original Art from the Grand Age of American Illustration

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Sorry, It's Sold

Our Unrefined Side

Artist:Heinrich Kley
Date:1910-20
Medium:Watercolor & Graphite on Artist's Paper
Dimensions:Sight Size 10" x 14"
Condition:Excellent
Original Use:Fine Art or Possible Illustration Plate
Price: S O L D
Above: Detail
Above: The assorted cast
Above: Detail

A whimsical and dazzling watercolor by Heinrich Kley titled “Siche Rude Seiten;” loosely translated as “Our Unrefined Side.” A splendid cast of characters assembled by this fondly remembered avant-garde, Jugendstil, German Expressionist artist. This is a rare full color example of the artist’s work, most surviving pieces by Kley are pen & ink drawings. This evocative painting is rich in humor, technique and imagery.

Heinrich Kley is best remembered today for satirical, despairing, and often obscene images which evinced a maniacal distrust of the industrial revolution and its automatized society. In 1907, a series of remarkable pen & ink drawings appeared in the Munich German Expressionist literary art magazine Die Jugend that captured the growing disillusionment of fin-de-siecle German counter-culture. Kley’s scathing and deftly rendered creations resonated with audiences and Kley became a leading interpreter of the follies and vices that beset mankind. Kley’s art appeared in the United States in 1937 and caught the eye of Walt Disney & Sketch Artists at the Disney studio, including Albert Hurter, Joe Grant, and James Bodrero. Hurter introduced Kley’s work to the Disney Studio and Walt Disney accumulated a collection of the artist’s work. The images in Kley’s art inspired a number of animated sequences and characters, including Night on Bald Mountain and the dancing animals of Dance of the Hours in Fantasia.

Above: The unrefined nude

In 1947 the “Drawings of Heinrich Kley” was published with a forward by George Grosz. Of Kley, Grosz wrote: “Kley used the pen like the lariat of a temperamental cowboy [and] is great draftsman of animals. Like Walt Disney he humanizes the beasts […] I am sure that the drawings of Heinrich Kley will be remembered and enjoyed as long as human beings retain the ability to laugh at themselves.”

Above: Framed in period wood enameled antique frame
Above: corner notations
Above: Title by Artist “Siche Rude Seiten” or “Our Unrefined Side”

Work is archivally matted and framed in a handsome antique wood frame. There is a pen and ink drawing on the verso with text and German captions and notations as seen.

Above: Verso pen & ink rendering
Above: Verso notations and pen& ink work on sheet

Our Unrefined Side

Artist: Heinrich Kley
Price:  S O L D

Filed Under: Sorry, It's Sold
Tagged With: 1910s, erotic, fine art, german, german expressionism, Heinrich Kley, industrial age, Jugendstil, machine age, original illustration art, The Golden Gallery
Added to Gallery: March 3, 2008

 

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    About Grapefruit Moon Gallery

    Grapefruit Moon Gallery, based in Minneapolis MN, specializes in vintage pin up and original illustration art.  We are the proud home of the Bunny Yeager archives.

    Since 2003, Grapefruit Moon Gallery has been a leading dealer of exclusive original paintings by Gil Elvgren, Alberto Vargas, Earl Moran, Rolf Armstrong and Henry Clive, as well as vintage photographs, prints, and period decorative arts in ceramic and metal.

    All artworks featured are original, accurately represented, and guaranteed to be the work of the named artist.

    Interested buyers may view pieces by appointment and we are happy to answer any questions you may have. [Contact Us]

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