Fischkutter (Roter Himmel) (Fishing Boat [Red Sky])

Artist Emil Nolde German, 1867–1956

Date1916

MediumOil on canvas

Dimensionsheight and width: 34 5/8 × 28 3/4 in. (87.9 × 73 cm)
frame: 42 9/16 × 36 9/16 in. (108.1 × 92.9 cm)

ClassificationsPaintings

Credit LineGift of Julian and Josie Robertson

Object number2023.9.4

On View

On view

ProvenanceProvenance: Probably created Schleswig region, Germany (present-day Tønder, Denmark), 1916; collection of the artist. Nolde Foundation, Seebüll, Germany [1]. Mrs. John D. Rockefeller, III (Blanchette Ferry Rockefeller) (1909–1992) [2]. [Sotheby’s & Co.,
London, Impressionist & Modern Art, Part I, December 3, 1996, no. 32] [3]; Julian Hart Robertson, Jr. (1932–2022) and Josephine (Josie) Tucker Robertson (1943–2010), New York; bequeathed to NCMA, 2023.

[1] After Emil Nolde’s death and per his will, the Nolde Foundation was established as a home for the large number of works that were still in the artist’s possession. It is possible that Fischkutter (Rotter Himmel) was one of these works. Further, Fischkutter (Rotter Himmel) was included in the 1963 Museum of Modern Art, New York, exhibition Emil Nolde, and per the catalogue, the work lists the Nolde Foundation, Seebüll, as the owner at the time.
[2] Considering MoMA’s Emil Nolde exhibition was in 1963 and lists the Nolde Foundation as the owner, Mrs. John D. Rockefeller, III, possibly purchased the work after 1963 but before 1996.
[3] On the lot page for Fischkutter (Rotter Himmel), Sotheby’s notes the work is sold as part of a “German Private Collection.” There is no other evidence at this time on when and if the work entered a German private collection.

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