Margarethe Geibel (Germany/Weimar, 1876-1955). A large archive of monochrome lithographs and woodblocks on paper. Generally consisting of lower inventory numbers for Geibel, we suspect the color impressions of the Goethehaus offered in this sale were later specimens. Consisting of 9 lithographs on paper, several of which are beach subjects, and also several landscapes. Each signed by the artist, most numbered, and several titled. Also included are 9 skillfull monochrome, single block woodcuts, again depicting primarily landscapes. In varying sizes, the largest bring 14.5" x 16". An exceptional collection. Also included is a shipping label from the "Norddeutscher Llyod, almost certainly the original collector or owner of the entire Geibel Collection, who took the steamer to New York in the early 20th century.

Provenance: Discovered in a Virginia Home, having been transported on a steamer to New York in the early 20th century.

Margarethe Geibel (Germany/Weimar, 1876-1955) was born in Weimar, Germany to a distinguished family of artists, including her father Casimir Geibel (1839-1896). She grew up in a home directly across the street from the Goethehaus, the home of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832), often regarded as Germany's most notable author, who penned "Faust" in the early 19th century. Geibel studied in Weimar under Otto Rasch (1862-1952), who notably was interested in the Goethehaus, as several of his interior subjects in oil depict the famed home and gardens, now an institute for study and museum collection. It was there that Geibel worked extensively, depicting a number of interior and surrounding views of the Goethehaus during the early 20th century, most of which are numbered with the artist's personal inventory. These views are exquisite examples of early 20th century color woodblock printmaking. While most European or Western artists ignored the woodblock medium by this time, due to the meticulous and painstaking work involved in the reduction process, it did experience a revival of interest beginning in the late 19th century. When Japan opened to the West during the Meiji era, "Japanamania" in Europe- the influence of Japanese culture, craft and fine art- did have an extensive influence on the budding Impressionist movement. Geibel clearly was influenced as well, and worked on laid paper, painstakingly combining multiple blocks of color for her impressions, which produce particularly striking results with her interiors of the Goethehaus and the Duchess Anna Amalia Library. Her work rarely surfaces on the market, and it is likely that a close acquaintance or collector traveled with these views to New York. They were discovered in the attic of a home in Virginia.