Hermann Max Pechstein Lot n° 539

Portrait Freda Wermel in yellow costume. Oil on hardboard. Circa 1946. 70 x 54 cm. Inscribed by another hand on verso. Firmly mounted in shadow gap frame. Not unframed for cataloguing. In 1946 Freda Wermel, a native of Honolulu, painted 3 portraits. The client is her husband Dr. Michael T. Wermel, whom Pechstein met in Berlin in 1946. Our version is the second portrait version besides the "Portrait Freda Wermel in Spanish Costume" (Soika 1946/7) and "Portrait Freda Wermel in Blue Blouse" (Soika 1946/9). In contrast to the three-quarter portrait in Spanish costume and the half portrait in a blue fashionable blouse, Freda Wermel is captured in our version in a classical seated pose. Wearing a yellow dress with matching hat and dark gloves, she is seated on a chair and is rendered in a sideways sitting posture and looking to the side. Why our portrait remained in the artist's estate, according to Soika, is unknown. This probably explains why it is unsigned. The other two versions were in the possession of the sitter or her family until 2016/2017. Soika 1946/8. Provenance: artist's estate; private collection, Northern Germany; Ketterer, Munich 9.6.2012, lot 82; private collection, Europe. Taxation: Regular Taxation (VAT).