Georgia O'KeeffeDead Tree Bear Lake Taos
Art Bridges Collection
Henry KoernerThe Pigeons
About
At first glance, The Pigeons recalls familiar public spaces. People embrace, feed pigeons, or study those around them. However, tension is ever-present: birds swarm a small girl, men engage in fist-to-cuffs, and another lies like a corpse. A master of magical realism, this work by Henry Koerner captures the chaos underlying the everyday.
The artist emigrated to the United States in 1938 from Vienna. After World War II, he returned to his home country to find nearly all his family had fallen victim to the war. Koerner spent time absorbing the loss and when he traveled back to New York, he painted The Pigeons as a reflection on the devastation.
Artist
Henry Koerner
Dimensions
39 1/8 × 47 1/2 in. (99.4 × 120.7 cm) Framed: 48 7/8 × 57 1/4 in.
Credit Line
Art Bridges
Date
1948-1949
Medium
Oil on board
Object Number
AB.2021.8
Provenance
Artist; to Dr. Bernard Grossman; by descent to (Sotheby’s, New York, NY), November 22, 2021, American Art, lot 6; purchased by Art Bridges
