May 12, 2008 - Sale 2145

Sale 2145 - Lot 21

Price Realized: $ 4,560
?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 4,000 - $ 6,000
LUDWIG HOHLWEIN (1874-1949) TERRANOVA. 1909.
34x22 3/4 inches, 86x57 1/2 cm. Freihung, Munich.
Condition B+: restoration along horizontal fold; creases and abrasions in margin and image.
Looking at these seagulls flying over a barren landscape, one could easily think that it is a tourist poster for Terranova. However, this is not the case. Hohlwein designed another poster with this title that bears additional text identifying Terranova as a brand of shoe polish! While this image remains a mystery (was the polish made out of animal fat?), we must assume that at the time, Terranova was sufficiently known well enough that potential clients needed only to see its name in advertising for a poster to be effective. Graphically, it is Hohlwein at his best. DFP III 1358, Frenzel 28, Hohlwein-Stuttgart, 317 (var).