Working in Germany in the 1910s, Bloch was the only American artist who, at Vasily Kandinsky’s personal invitation, exhibited with Der Blaue Reiter ("The Blue Rider"), the Munich-based group that sought the spiritual in art. In keeping with Der Blaue Reiter’s metaphysical aspirations, Bloch’s ethereal Summer Night features silent figures moving through a moonlit landscape of rolling hills and bending trees. Tufts of grass and spots of fruit create delicate patterns, while soft mists whirl about the scene. Cool lavender blues evoke a serene atmosphere in which spirit bodies communicate purely through gesture.
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the artist, Munich (from 1913; sold to Eddy); Arthur Jerome Eddy, Chicago (by 1915–d. 1920); his widow, Lucy Orell Eddy, Chicago (1920–d. 1931); her son, Jerome O. Eddy, Los Lunas, N. M. and Skull Valley, Ariz. (1931–at least 1937; sale, Williams, Barker & Severn, Co., Chicago, January 20, 1937, probably no. 118 or 155, possibly bought in); Mr. and Mrs. David Lee Sherman, Phoenix (1972–at least 1976); [Berry-Hill Galleries, New York, 1990–98]; Phil Steer, Kansas City (1998–d. 1999; his estate, 1999–2006); Scott Heffley, Kansas City (2006–16; sold to MMA)
Berlin. Der Sturm. "Albert Bloch," December 1913, no. 40.
Art Institute of Chicago. "Exhibition of Modern Paintings by Albert Bloch of Munich," July 7–August 26, 1915, no. 14 (lent by Arthur J. Eddy).
St. Louis. City Art Museum. "Exhibition of Modern Paintings by Albert Bloch of Munich," September 1915, no. 14 (lent by Arthur J. Eddy).
Art Institute of Chicago. "Exhibition of Paintings from the Collection of the Late Arthur Jerome Eddy," September 19–October 22, 1922, no. 2.
New York. Leonard Hutton Galleries. "German Expressionist Paintings, Drawings, Watercolors, Sculpture," November 1972–February 1973, no. 7.
Utica, N. Y. Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. "Albert Bloch, 1882–1961, an American Expressionist: Paintings, Drawings, Prints," February 3–March 3, 1974, no. 6 (lent by the Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, New York on extended loan from Mr. and Mrs. David Lee Sherman).
New York. Leonard Hutton Galleries. "Der Blaue Reiter und sein Kreis," March 18–May 28, 1977, no. 2.
Kansas City, Mo. Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. "Albert Bloch: The American Blue Rider," January 26–March 16, 1997, no. 20 (lent by Berry-Hill Galleries, New York).
Munich. Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus. "Albert Bloch: The American Blue Rider," April 16–June 29, 1997, no. 20.
Wilmington. Delaware Art Museum. "Albert Bloch: The American Blue Rider," October 3–December 7, 1997, no. 20.
Düsseldorf. Museum Kunstpalast. "El Greco and Modernism," April 28–August 12, 2012, unnumbered cat. (p. 256; lent by a private collection).
Berliner Börsenkurier (December 25, 1913) [cited in Ref. Hoberg 1997].
Arthur J. Eddy. Exhibition of Modern Paintings by Albert Bloch of Munich. Exh. cat., Art Institute of Chicago. Chicago, 1915, pp. 7, 14, no. 14.
H. Effa Webster. "Chicago." American Art News (July 17, 1915), p. 6, mentions the "startling paintings" on view in Exh. Chicago 1915 "that may be classed as vagaries and show artistic rioting".
Emily Grant Hutchings. "Albert Block Reveals a New Type of Art in Collection at Museum." St. Louis Daily Globe-Democrat (September 19, 1915), p. 7.
Arthur Jerome Eddy. Cubists and Post-Impressionism. 2nd ed. (1st ed., 1914). Chicago, 1919, pp. 201–2, ill. opp. p. 92.
Al Brunelle. "Reviews & Previews: Masters of German Expressionism." Art News 71 (December 1972), p. 67.
Ann Hartranft. "Everson Offers Varied Exhibits." Syracuse Herald-American (July 1, 1973), Art section, p. 4, calls it "Summernight".
David S. Rubin. "Blaue Reiter." Arts Magazine 51 (June 1977), p. 18, ill.
Bruce Weber. American Paintings VI. Berry-Hill Galleries, Inc. New York, 1990, pp. 150–51, ill. (color).
Henry Adams inAlbert Bloch: The American Blue Rider. Ed. Henry Adams, Margaret C. Conrads, and Annegret Hoberg. Exh. cat., Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Mo. Munich, 1997, pp. 35, 210, no. 20, colorpl. 19.
Annegret Hoberg inAlbert Bloch: The American Blue Rider. Ed. Henry Adams, Margaret C. Conrads, and Annegret Hoberg. Exh. cat., Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Mo. Munich, 1997, p. 66.
Richard Green. "Albert Bloch: An Overview of His Artistic Career." Albert Bloch: Artistic and Literary Perspectives. Künstlerische und literarisch Perspektiven. Ed. Frank Baron, Helmut Arntzen, and David Cateforis. Munich, 1997, pp. 17, 22 n. 17, p. 173, colorpl. 8.
David Cateforis. "Albert Bloch's Visionary Landscapes." Albert Bloch: Artistic and Literary Perspectives. Künstlerische und literarisch Perspektiven. Ed. Frank Baron, Helmut Arntzen, and David Cateforis. Munich, 1997, pp. 123–24.
Alice Thorson. "Nelson's Newest Fill Out First Friday." Kansas City Star (January 2, 2013), p. 31.
Frank Baron. Albert Bloch and the Blue Rider: The Munich Years. Lawrence, Kan., 2014, p. 23 n. 56, pp. 32, 198–99, 209, fig. 34.
Vivian Endicott Barnett. "The Chicago Lawyer Arthur Jerome Eddy and His Eclectic Art Collection." Transactions of the American Philosophical Society 111, part 2 (2022), pp. 112, 145, 164, fig. 12.4 (color).
Norman Lewis (American, New York 1909–1979 New York)
1978
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