(Berlin 1877–1962 Murnau/ Upper Bavaria) Lilies, signed, dated Münter 1940, signed on reverse, dated Münter 1940, inscription on the stretcher, G. Münter Murnau, oil on canvas, 74 x 50 cm, (PP)

The picture, Lilies, is listed in Gabriele Münter’s workbook for 1940 as no. 20. The work will be included in the catalogue raisonné of paintings by Gabriele Münter to be published by the Gabriele Münter- und Johannes Eichner-Stiftung. Provenance: Galerie Thomas, Munich (on the reverse gallery label with other measurements); European private collection The artist, who was born in Berlin, moved to Munich in 1901, where she enrolled in the private art school, ‘Phalanx’, run by Wassily Kandinsky. At the start of the 20th century she travelled together with Kandinsky to Holland, Italy and France. Under the influence of the Fauves, she arrived at a painting style of clear forms which stood in diametrical opposition to Impressionism. In 1909 the artist acquired a country house in Murnau, where she spent the summer months with Kandinsky. This house also became an important meeting place for Marianne von Werefkin, Alexej von Jawlensky, Franz Marc and August Macke. Münter’s early work was deeply influenced by her relationship with Kandinsky and their visits to Murnau. She achieved artistic recognition as a result of exhibiting with Kandinsky and Marc in 1911. Her figurative painting is characterized by its concentration on essentials. After the First World War and her separation from Kandinsky in 1917, Münter’s artistic career found new creative impetus in the 1920s and ‘30s. In 1931 Gabriele Münter moved to Murnau with the art historian, Johannes Eichner where she primarily concentrated on floral still lifes.