Inscription: Signed (lower left): Klee; dated and inscribed on cardboard (lower left): S.Cl.; (lower center): 1924 140 Officinale Flora
the artist (1924–d. 1940; on consignment 1924–25 to the Bildungsanstalt, Hellerau; on consignment 1926–27 to the Galerie Neue Kunst Fides [Rudolf Probst], Dresden, 1926–27); his widow, Lily Klee, Bern (1940–46); Paul Klee Society, later Paul Klee Foundation, Bern (1946–47; sold in 1947 to Nierendorf); Karl Nierendorf, New York (1947; his estate, 1947–48; sold in 1948 to Guggenheim); Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York (1948–71; sold in November 1971 to Beyeler); [Galerie Beyeler, Basel, 1971–72]; Heinz Berggruen, Paris and Berlin (1972–87; his gift to MMA)
Hellerau. Festpielhaus. "Sammlung moderner Kunst der Bildungsanstalt Hellerau," December 17, 1924–end September 1925, no catalogue.
Kunsthalle Bern. "Ausstellung [Der grosse Bär, Paul Klee, Paul Eichenberger, Dora Lauterburg, G. Lüscher, Robert Schmitz]," November 8–29, 1925, no. 80 (as "Offizinale Flora," for sale, SFr 1500).
Dresden. Galerie Neue Kunst Fides. "Paul Klee," May 21–end June 1926, no. 40 (lent by a private collection).
New York. Nierendorf Gallery. "A Comprehensive Exhibition of Works by Paul Klee from the Estate of the Artist," October 1947, no. 16.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Paul Klee: The Berggruen Klee Collection in The Metropolitan Museum of Art," May 6–July 31, 1988, unnumbered cat. (p. 189).
Kunsthalle Tübingen. "Paul Klee: Die Sammlung Berggruen im Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York und im Musée National d'Art Moderne, Paris," January 22–April 16, 1989, unnumbered cat. (p. 199).
London. Tate Gallery. "Paul Klee: The Berggruen Collection in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York and the Musée National d'Art Moderne, Paris," May 17–August 13, 1989, unnumbered cat. (p. 199).
Mexico City. Centro Cultural Arte Contemporáneo. "Paul Klee: Selección de sesenta obras. The Berggruen Klee Collection. The Metropolitan Museum of Art," October 1989–January 1990, no. 44.
Saarland Museum Saarbrücken. "Paul Klee—Wachstum regt sich. Klees Zwiesprache mit der Natur," March 25–May 27, 1990 (p. 14; not in catalogue checklist).
Karlsruhe. Prinz-Max-Palais. "Paul Klee—Wachstum regt sich. Klees Zwiesprache mit der Natur," June 22–August 19, 1990 (p. 14; not in catalogue checklist).
Staatliche Museen zu Berlin. Sammlung Berggruen. "Klee aus New York: Hauptwerke der Sammlung Berggruen im Metropolitan Museum of Art," June 4–October 18, 1998, no. 28.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Klee Landscapes," November 1, 2005–March 5, 2006, no catalogue.
Frankfurt. Städel Museum. "The Painter's Garden: Design, Inspiration, Delight," November 24, 2006–March 11, 2007, no. 138.
Munich. Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus. "The Painter's Garden: Design, Inspiration, Delight," April 5–July 8, 2007, no. 138.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art [The Met Breuer]. "Humor and Fantasy: The Berggruen Paul Klee Collection," September 1, 2016–January 2, 2017, no catalogue.
Ottawa. National Gallery of Canada. "Paul Klee: The Berggruen Collection from the Metropolitan Museum of Art," November 16, 2018–March 17, 2019, no catalogue.
[Will] Grohmann. "Sammlung Neuer Kunst Hellerau bei Dresden." Der Cicerone 17 (1925), p. 42, calls it "Officinale Flora".
Sabine Rewald. Paul Klee: The Berggruen Klee Collection in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1988, pp. 188–89, 283, 318, ill. (color and bw), illustrates a pencil drawing with the same composition as this work (1923; present location unknown; Helfenstein and Rümelin 2000, no. 3305).
Josef Helfenstein and Christian Rümelin, ed. Paul Klee: Catalogue Raisonné. Ed. Paul Klee Foundation, Museum of Fine Arts, Berne. Vol. 4, 1923–1926. New York, 2000, pp. 132, 225, no. 3512, ill.
Dennis Conrad inThe Painter's Garden: Design, Inspiration, Delight. Ed. Sabine Schulze. Exh. cat., Städel Museum, Frankfurt. Ostfildern, 2006, pp. 338, 341, no. 138, ill. p. 339 (color), remarks upon the similarity of this work to the herbariums of pressed flowers and plants that Klee created between 1920 and 1930.
Wolfgang Kersten, Osamu Okuda, and Marie Kakinuma. Paul Klee—Sonderklasse unverkäuflich. Exh. cat., Zentrum Paul Klee, Bern. Cologne, 2015, colorpls. 34 (no. 16), 36, 37 (no. 12), table 5, p. 125 n. 59.
Stefan Frey in Wolfgang Kersten Osamu Okuda and Marie Kakinuma. Paul Klee—Sonderklasse, unverkäuflich. Exh. cat., Zentrum Paul Klee, Bern. Cologne, 2015, p. 538, no. 138.
Osamu Okuda in Wolfgang Kersten Osamu Okuda and Marie Kakinuma. Paul Klee—Sonderklasse, unverkäuflich. Exh. cat., Zentrum Paul Klee. Cologne, 2015, pp. 317–18, no. 138, ill. (color).
Paul Klee (German (born Switzerland), Münchenbuchsee 1879–1940 Muralto-Locarno)
1921
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