Skip to main content

Carl Hofer Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

German, 1878-1955

Carl Hofer was born in Germany in 1875. He was a German expressionist painter and the director of the Berlin Academy of Fine Arts. One of the most important painters of the Expressionist movement, his work was among those that were considered degenerate art by the Nazis. He studied in Karlsruhe under Hans Thoma. He first visited Paris in 1899 making acquaintance with Julius Meier-Graefe. In 1902, he studied in Stuttgart and became friends with the sculptor Hermann Haller. His wife Mathilde Scheinberger was Jewish but later joined the Protestant faith. They traveled around Europe to Rome and Paris, where he was influenced by Paul Cezanne and Pablo Picasso. In 1908, he showed his work at the Berlin Succession founded by Max Liebermann. In 1913, he became a member of the New Freie Secession and was represented at its first exhibition in 1914 with Liebermann, Erich Heckel, Ernst, Ludwig, Kirchner, Max Pechstein and Karl Schmidt-Rottluff. After the first World War, he became a Professor at the College of Fine Arts in Charlottenburg. During the 20s, Hofer represented his style, which was later referred to as Magic Realism. After a love affair, Carl and Mathilde lived separately but remained married. With the rise of the Nazi party, he was fervently against the movement writing articles such as Fascism, the dark reaction, which was published by the Communist newspaper Welt am Abend. The Nazis claimed he was a Jew and defamed him on a poster in 1933 with Oskar Schlemmer. In the degenerate art exhibition in 1937, the Nazis represented 8 of his works as a propaganda exercise and in 1938 he was expelled from the Prussian Academy of Arts because of his marriage to Mathilde. He later divorced her but was still no longer allowed to sell his works. He married his lover Elizabeth Schmidt and the ban was lifted. Sadly his ex-wife was deported to Auschwitz and was killed in November 1942. After World War II, he regained his artistic prestige receiving awards and honorary doctorates and was very involved in the construction of the Berlin Academy of Fine Arts. Many of his works hang in modern art galleries and collections such as the Museum of Modern Art in New York, Kunsthalle Mannheim, Germany and Bavarian State Picture Collection, among many others. By the time of his death in 1955, he was considered one of the greatest living artists of his time.

to
11
8
9
1
1
10
1
Overall Height
to
Overall Width
to
11
7
7
5
5
4
2
1
1
1
11
13
718
412
288
228
11
6
4
3
2
Artist: Carl Hofer
German expressionist drawing by Carl Hofer' Whispering'
By Carl Hofer
Located in Petworth, West Sussex
Carl Hofer (German, 1875 – 1955) Einflusterung (Whispering) Charcoal and pencil on paper Signed and inscribed ‘Einflusterung’ (lower middle) 17.1/4 x 13.3/8 in. (43.8 x 34 cm.) Provenance: These works come from the artist’s second wife Elizabeth and from then by descent. Carl Hofer was a German expressionist painter and the director of the Berlin Academy of Fine Arts. One of the most important painters of the Expressionist movement, his work was among those that was considered degenerate art by the Nazis. He studied in Karlsruhe under Hans Thoma. He first visited Paris in 1899 making acquaintance with Julius Meier-Graefe. In 1902 he studied in Stuttgardt and became friends with the sculptor Hermann Haller...
Category

20th Century Expressionist Carl Hofer Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Charcoal

20th Century German Expressionist drawing by Carl Hofer
By Carl Hofer
Located in Petworth, West Sussex
Carl Hofer (German, 1875 – 1955) Der Traum (The dream) pencil on paper Signed with monogram ‘CH’ (lower right) 13 x 13 in. (33 x 33 cm.) Provenance: These works come from the artist’s second wife Elizabeth and from then by descent. Carl Hofer was a German expressionist painter and the director of the Berlin Academy of Fine Arts. One of the most important painters of the Expressionist movement, his work was among those that was considered degenerate art by the Nazis. He studied in Karlsruhe under Hans Thoma. He first visited Paris in 1899 making acquaintance with Julius Meier-Graefe. In 1902 he studied in Stuttgardt and became friends with the sculptor Hermann Haller...
Category

20th Century Expressionist Carl Hofer Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Pencil, Paper

German Expressionist drawing of abstracted figures by Carl Hofer
By Carl Hofer
Located in Petworth, West Sussex
Carl Hofer (German, 1875 – 1955) Abstract figures Pencil on paper 8.1/4 x 9 in. (21 x 23 cm.) With studio stamp (on the reverse) and signature of the artist’s wife Elizabeth Hofer Provenance: These works come from the artist’s second wife Elizabeth and from then by descent. Carl Hofer was a German expressionist painter and the director of the Berlin Academy of Fine Arts. One of the most important painters of the Expressionist movement, his work was among those that was considered degenerate art by the Nazis. He studied in Karlsruhe under Hans Thoma. He first visited Paris in 1899 making acquaintance with Julius Meier-Graefe. In 1902 he studied in Stuttgardt and became friends with the sculptor Hermann Haller...
Category

20th Century Expressionist Carl Hofer Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Pencil

German expressionist drawing of a Bull Elephant by Carl Hofer
By Carl Hofer
Located in Petworth, West Sussex
Carl Hofer (German, 1875 – 1955) Elefantenbulle (Bull elephant) Pencil on paper Signed with monogram ‘CH’ (lower right) 15.3/4 x 13.3/8 in. (40 x 34 cm.) Provenance: These works come from the artist’s second wife Elizabeth and from then by descent. Carl Hofer was a German expressionist painter and the director of the Berlin Academy of Fine Arts. One of the most important painters of the Expressionist movement, his work was among those that was considered degenerate art by the Nazis. He studied in Karlsruhe under Hans Thoma. He first visited Paris in 1899 making acquaintance with Julius Meier-Graefe. In 1902 he studied in Stuttgardt and became friends with the sculptor Hermann Haller...
Category

20th Century Expressionist Carl Hofer Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Pencil, Paper

German Expressionist drawing by Carl Hofer of lovers
By Carl Hofer
Located in Petworth, West Sussex
Carl Hofer (German, 1875 – 1955) Die Liebenden (The lovers) Black ink and remnants of crayon on paper Signed with monogram ‘CH’ (lower right) 13.3/4 x 9.3/4 in. (35 x 24.8 cm.) P...
Category

20th Century Expressionist Carl Hofer Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Crayon, Paper, Ink

German Expressionist drawing by Carl Hofer of a mother and child
By Carl Hofer
Located in Petworth, West Sussex
Carl Hofer (German, 1875 – 1955) Mother and son Black crayon on paper 10.1/2 x 7.3/4 in. (26.7 x 20 cm.) With studio stamp (on the reverse) and signature of the artist’s wife Elizabeth Hofer Provenance: These works come from the artist’s second wife Elizabeth and from then by descent. Carl Hofer was a German expressionist painter and the director of the Berlin Academy of Fine Arts. One of the most important painters of the Expressionist movement, his work was among those that was considered degenerate art by the Nazis. He studied in Karlsruhe under Hans Thoma. He first visited Paris in 1899 making acquaintance with Julius Meier-Graefe. In 1902 he studied in Stuttgardt and became friends with the sculptor Hermann Haller...
Category

20th Century Expressionist Carl Hofer Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Crayon, Paper

German Expressionist figurative drawing by Carl Hofer 'Sisters'
By Carl Hofer
Located in Petworth, West Sussex
Carl Hofer (German, 1875 – 1955) Schwestern II (Sisters) Charcoal and pencil on paper Signed with monogram ‘CH’ (lower right) 17.1/4 x 13.3/8 in. (43.8 x 34 cm.) Provenance: These works come from the artist’s second wife Elizabeth and from then by descent. Carl Hofer was a German expressionist painter and the director of the Berlin Academy of Fine Arts. One of the most important painters of the Expressionist movement, his work was among those that was considered degenerate art by the Nazis. He studied in Karlsruhe under Hans Thoma. He first visited Paris in 1899 making acquaintance with Julius Meier-Graefe. In 1902 he studied in Stuttgardt and became friends with the sculptor Hermann Haller...
Category

Early 20th Century Expressionist Carl Hofer Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Charcoal, Paper, Pencil

German expressionist drawing of bathers by Carl Hofer 'Die Badegasten'
By Carl Hofer
Located in Petworth, West Sussex
Carl Hofer (German, 1875 – 1955) Die Badegaste II (The bathers) Black crayon on paper 19.1/4 x 15 in. (49 x 38 cm.) With studio stamp (on the reverse) and signature of the artist’s wife Elizabeth Hofer Provenance: These works come from the artist’s second wife Elizabeth and from then by descent. Carl Hofer was a German expressionist painter and the director of the Berlin Academy of Fine Arts. One of the most important painters of the Expressionist movement, his work was among those that was considered degenerate art by the Nazis. He studied in Karlsruhe under Hans Thoma. He first visited Paris in 1899 making acquaintance with Julius Meier-Graefe. In 1902 he studied in Stuttgardt and became friends with the sculptor Hermann Haller...
Category

20th Century Expressionist Carl Hofer Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Crayon, Paper

German Expressionist drawing by Carl Hofer of one of his models
By Carl Hofer
Located in Petworth, West Sussex
Carl Hofer (German, 1875 – 1955) Das Modell (The artist’s model) Black crayon on paper Signed with monogram ‘CH’ (lower right) 18 x 14.1/8 in. (45.8 x 36 cm.) Provenance: These works come from the artist’s second wife Elizabeth and from then by descent. Carl Hofer was a German expressionist painter and the director of the Berlin Academy of Fine Arts. One of the most important painters of the Expressionist movement, his work was among those that was considered degenerate art by the Nazis. He studied in Karlsruhe under Hans Thoma. He first visited Paris in 1899 making acquaintance with Julius Meier-Graefe. In 1902 he studied in Stuttgardt and became friends with the sculptor Hermann Haller...
Category

20th Century Expressionist Carl Hofer Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Crayon, Paper

20th Century German Expressionist drawing of figures in a dream by Carl Hofer
By Carl Hofer
Located in Petworth, West Sussex
Carl Hofer (German, 1875 – 1955) Figures from a dream Pencil and charcoal on paper Signed with initial ‘CH’ (lower right) 17 x 13 in. (43.2 x 33 cm.) Provenance: These works come fr...
Category

20th Century Expressionist Carl Hofer Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Charcoal, Paper, Pencil

German Expressionist drawing of an abstracted form by Carl Hofer
By Carl Hofer
Located in Petworth, West Sussex
Carl Hofer (German, 1875 – 1955) Abstracted form Pencil and pen and ink on paper Signed with monogram ‘CH’ (lower right) 11.3/8 x 7.1/2 in. (28.8 x 19 cm.) Provenance: These works c...
Category

Early 20th Century Expressionist Carl Hofer Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Ink, Pen, Pencil

Related Items
Track Star - Figurative Portrait of an African American Man in Pastel on Paper
Located in Soquel, CA
Track Star - Abstracted Portrait of an African American Man in Pastel on Paper Bold and imaginative pastel drawing of a man in a track suit by an unknown artist (20th Century). An A...
Category

Late 20th Century Expressionist Carl Hofer Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Oil Pastel

The Racing Horses
By Pierre Gaillardot
Located in London, GB
'The Racing Horses', gouache on art paper (circa 1970s), by Pierre Gaillardot. France has produced some of the world’s greatest horses and riders, wi...
Category

1970s Expressionist Carl Hofer Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Gouache

Ben ZIon Expressionist Judaica Rabbi Watercolor Painting Jewish Modernist WPA
By Ben-Zion Weinman
Located in Surfside, FL
Frame measures 13.5 X 11.5 Paper measures 6.5 X 4 inches Hand signed lower right Watercolor painting of prophet or Rabbi, Judaica artwork Born in 1897, Ben-Zion Weinman celebrated h...
Category

Mid-20th Century Expressionist Carl Hofer Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

Cubist Charcoal Figure Drawing on Paper
Located in Soquel, CA
Cubist Charcoal Figure Drawing on Paper Rich figurative drawing with wonderful depth to the composition by unknown artist. Artist has a strong command over charcoal as a medium, wit...
Category

1940s Cubist Carl Hofer Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Charcoal

Body in the Field #8 - Green, Landscape, Drawing, Pencils
By Zsolt Berszán
Located in Berlin, DE
Body in the Field #8, 2022 coloured pencils on canvas 25 H x 16 W cm Signed on reverse Zsolt Berszán embodies in his works the dissolution of the human body through the prism of t...
Category

2010s Expressionist Carl Hofer Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Color Pencil

Body in the Field #3 - Red, Pencils, Landscape
By Zsolt Berszán
Located in Berlin, DE
Body in the Field #3, 2022 coloured pencils on canvas 25 H x 16 W cm Signed on reverse Zsolt Berszán embodies in his works the dissolution of the human body through the prism of t...
Category

2010s Expressionist Carl Hofer Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Color Pencil

Charcoal Drawing Abstract Teeth Bone Erica Child Prudhomme American Woman Artist
Located in Surfside, FL
Tooth (from Bone Drawings series) 1994 charcoal drawing on paper 11 x 14 inches Charcoal study of abstract teeth (perfect for a dentist office!) Erica Prudhomme learned some of the basics from her artist father and his brother, Charles and Paul Child...
Category

1990s Naturalistic Carl Hofer Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Charcoal

The Port of Le Havre
By Fred Pailhès
Located in London, GB
'The Port of Le Havre', pencil on art paper, by French artist Fred Pailhès (circa 1950s). Le Havre was only a fishing village until 1517, when Francis I h...
Category

1950s Expressionist Carl Hofer Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Pencil

Pastel, Ink Drawing Rocks And Cloud Landscape Jewish American Modernist WPA
By Ben-Zion Weinman
Located in Surfside, FL
Miniature Landscape Provenance: Virginia Field, Arts administrator; New York, N.Y. Assistant director for Asia House gallery. (she was friends with John von Wicht and Andy Warhol) Born in 1897, Ben-Zion Weinman celebrated his European Jewish heritage in his visual works as a sculptor, painter, and printmaker. Influenced by Spinoza, Knut Hamsun, and Wladyslaw Reymont, as well as Hebrew literature, Ben-Zion wrote poetry and essays that, like his visual work, attempt to reveal the deep “connection between man and the divine, and between man and earth.” An emigrant from the Ukraine, he came to the US in 1920. He wrote fairy tales and poems in Hebrew under the name Benzion Weinman, but when he began painting he dropped his last name and hyphenated his first, saying an artist needed only one name. Ben-Zion was a founding member of “The Ten: An Independent Group” The Ten” a 1930’s avant-garde group, Painted on anything handy. Ben-Zion often used cabinet doors (panels) in his work. Other members of group included Ilya Bolotowsky, Lee Gatch, Adolf Gottlieb, Louis Harris, Yankel Kufeld, Marcus Rothkowitz (later known as Mark Rothko), Louis Schanker, and Joseph Solman. The Art of “The Ten” was generally described as expressionist, as this style offered the best link between modernism and social art. Their exhibition at the Mercury Gallery in New York held at the same time as the Whitney Annual Exhibition of Contemporary American Painting, included a manifesto concentrating on aesthetic questions and criticisms of the conservative definition of modern art imposed by the Whitney. Ben-Zion’s work was quickly noticed. The New York Sun said he painted “furiously” and called him “the farthest along of the lot.” And the triptych, “The Glory of War,” was described by Art News as “resounding.” By 1939, The Ten disbanded because most of the members found individual galleries to represent their work. Ben-Zion had his first one-man show at the Artist’s Gallery in Greenwich Village and J.B. Neumann, the highly esteemed European art dealer who introduced Paul Klee, (among others) to America, purchased several of Ben-Zion’s drawings. Curt Valentin, another well-known dealer, exhibited groups of his drawings and undertook the printing of four portfolios of etchings, each composed of Ben-Zion’s biblical themes. Ben-Zion’s work is represented in many museums throughout the country including the Metropolitan, the Whitney, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Phillips Collection, Washington. The Jewish Museum in New York opened in 1948 with a Ben-Zion exhibition. “Ben-Zion has his hands on the pulse of the common man and his natural world” As he emerged as an artist Ben-Zion never lost his gift for presenting the ordinary in ways that are vital, fresh and filled with emotions that are somber and exhilarating, joyous and thoughtful, and ultimately, filled with extraordinary poetic simplicity. Ben-Zion consistently threaded certain subject matter—nature, still life, the human figure, the Hebrew Bible, and the Jewish people—into his work throughout his life. "In all his work a profound human feeling remains. Sea and sky, even sheaves of wheat acquire a monolithic beauty and simplicity which delineates the transient as a reflection of the eternal. This sensitive inter- mingling of the physical and metaphysical is one of the most enduring features of Ben-Zion's works." (Excerpt from Stephen Kayser, “Biblical Paintings,” The Jewish Museum Catalogue, 1952). Along with ben Shahn, William Gropper, Chaim Gross and Abraham Rattner he was an influential mid century Jewish American...
Category

Mid-20th Century Expressionist Carl Hofer Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Pastel, Ink, Watercolor

Body in the Field #2 - Red, Blue, Drawing, Coloured Pencils, Landscape
By Zsolt Berszán
Located in Berlin, DE
Body in the Field #2, 2022 coloured pencils on canvas 25 H x 16 W cm Signed on reverse Zsolt Berszán embodies in his works the dissolution of the human body through the prism of t...
Category

2010s Expressionist Carl Hofer Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Color Pencil

Infanta XLVIII (Abstract Figurative Graphite Drawing in Antique Pewter Frame)
By David Dew Bruner
Located in Hudson, NY
Abstract graphite drawing on paper in vintage pewter frame 5.75 x 4.5 inches This abstract figurative graphite drawing on paper was inspired by academic...
Category

2010s Abstract Carl Hofer Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Graphite

The sprinkling of defiled persons (drawing)
By Hunter Stabler
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This is an original drawing on paper by Hunter Stabler measuring 12”h x 12”w x 2.5”d framed. The piece is made from graphite, ink, transfer paper and Gelly Roll® pen on paper. Hunter Stabler was born in Jefferson City, Missouri and was raised in upstate South Carolina. He received a BFA in painting from The Maryland Institute, College of Art and an MFA in painting from the University of Pennsylvania. He is currently pursuing an MFA in Digital Art at Louisiana State University. His work has been widely exhibited across the United States and internationally including exhibitions at the Morbid Anatomy Museum in Brooklyn, NY, The Shelburne Art Museum in Shelburne, VT, the Hunterdon Art Museum in Clinton, NJ, and the Islip Art Museum in East Islip, NY. His hand-cut paper artwork has been published in the books High Touch: Tactile Design and Visual Explorations, Push Paper, Strangers in the Nest (a book of Poems by Anselm Berrigan, Letterpress printed with images accompanying each poem), and published in Laminate Magazine, First Look Magazine, and American Craft Magazine. He was named “Philadelphia’s Next Hot...
Category

2010s Contemporary Carl Hofer Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Ink, Ballpoint Pen, Graphite

Previously Available Items
German Expressionist drawing of sisters by Carl Hofer
By Carl Hofer
Located in Petworth, West Sussex
Carl Hofer (German, 1875 – 1955) Schwestern (Sisters) Ink on paper Signed with monogram ‘CH’ (lower right) 50.1/2 x 11.1/2 in. (39.4 x 29 cm.) Provenance: These works come from the ...
Category

20th Century Expressionist Carl Hofer Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Ink

German Expressionist drawing by Carl Hofer of a bather
By Carl Hofer
Located in Petworth, West Sussex
Carl Hofer (German, 1875 – 1955) Die Badegastin (A bather) Pen and ink on paper Signed with initials ‘CH’ (lower right) 14.1/2 x 95/8 in. (37 x 24.5 cm.) Provenance: These works com...
Category

20th Century Expressionist Carl Hofer Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Ink, Pen

German Expressionist drawing by Carl Hofer 'Birdman'
By Carl Hofer
Located in Petworth, West Sussex
Carl Hofer (German, 1875 – 1955) Birdman Pen and ink on paper 7.1/2 x 11.3/8 in. (19 x 29 cm.) Provenance: These works come from the artist’s second wife Elizabeth and from then by d...
Category

20th Century Expressionist Carl Hofer Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Ink, Pen

20th Century German Expressionist drawing of bathers by Carl Hofer
By Carl Hofer
Located in Petworth, West Sussex
Carl Hofer (German, 1875 – 1955) Die Badegaste (The bathers) Charcoal on paper Signed with monogram ‘CH’ (lower right) 22.1/2 x 16.1/4 in. (57.2 x 40.7 cm.) Provenance: These works ...
Category

20th Century Expressionist Carl Hofer Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Charcoal

German Expressionist drawing of a siren by Carl Hofer
By Carl Hofer
Located in Petworth, West Sussex
Carl Hofer (German, 1875 – 1955) Siren Black crayon on paper Signed with monogram ‘CH’ (lower right) 18.1/2 x 14.1/2 in. (47 x 37 cm.) Provenance: These works come from the artist’s...
Category

Early 20th Century Expressionist Carl Hofer Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Crayon

German Expressionist drawing of a half man, half dog by Carl Hofer
By Carl Hofer
Located in Petworth, West Sussex
Carl Hofer (German, 1875 – 1955) Penghou (A creature with the face of a man and the body of a dog) Pen and ink on paper Signed with initials ‘CH’ (lower right) 15 x 11 in. (38 x 28 c...
Category

Early 20th Century Expressionist Carl Hofer Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Ink, Pen

Carl Hofer drawings and watercolor paintings for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Carl Hofer drawings and watercolor paintings available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Carl Hofer in paper, pencil, crayon and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 20th century and is mostly associated with the Expressionist style. Not every interior allows for large Carl Hofer drawings and watercolor paintings, so small editions measuring 8 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of George Grosz, Lucien Génin, and Gail Foster. Carl Hofer drawings and watercolor paintings prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $1,939 and tops out at $2,715, while the average work can sell for $2,198.

Recently Viewed

View All