Max WEBER

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Status, price and estimation of the artist Max WEBER

Price of a painting signed Weber: 4,000 – 2,000,000€.

Estimate of a drawing or watercolour by the artist for auction: 1,000 – 50,000€.

If you would like to have a painting by the artist appraised, our experts are at your disposal for a free appraisal.

Who is Max Weber?

Max Weber (1881 – 1961) was an expressionist, cubist and futuristic American writer, painter and sculptor of Russian origin.

When he was 10 years old, his family moved to New York City, and he showed an interest in the arts and music. Then at the age of 16, he began his visual arts training at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, alongside Arthur Weslev. At the time, he was preparing to become a teacher. A few years later, he became a teacher in Lynchburg and at the Minnesota State Normal School.

At the beginning of the 20th century, between 1905 and 1909, he moved to Paris and joined Jean-Paul Laurens’ studio at the Académie Julian. After many encounters and inspiring journeys, he returned to the United States in 1909 and began teaching at the Art Student League, where Marcus Rothkowitz became his student.

As a great admirer and friend of Rousseau, in 1910, in collaboration with Joseph Brummer and Alfred Stieglitz’s gallery, he exhibited several works by his friend, whom he had bought. Like many other emigrant artists, Max Weber was involved in the socialist antifascist movements until he became National President of the Congress of American Artists in 1937. He finally died in 1961 at the age of 80.

An overseas precursor of the avant-gardes

During his Parisian years, with the help of his friend Jules Flandrin, he frequented other key artists such as Henri Matisse, Picasso, Delaunay, Apollinaire and the Douanier Rousseau. These encounters and contact with new movements in vogue gradually influenced his art, as well as visits to Parisian museums and his travels throughout Europe (Spain, Italy, Belgium, Holland).

In particular, he is known as one of the first American cubists and for introducing the European avant-garde movements to the United States. Upon his return, he befriended Alfred Stieglitz and exhibited his works at Gallery 291, in avant-garde circles. The city and urban interiors became sources of inspiration for Weber, who experimented, for example, with the fragmentation of forms to capture the dynamism of New York city life. Then, at the end of his career, he drew on elements of Jewish culture for his work.

From avant-garde to figurative art

Between 1909 and 1917, the artist produced his most famous works, such as The Geranium (1911) with its Fauvist notes, or Chinese Restaurant (1915), which evokes synthetic cubism and is now in the collection of the Whitney Museum of American Art. After this avant-garde period, the figurative style resurfaced, although he continued to experiment with colour and form.

Thereafter, dancers and musicians became recurring models in his work. As his career progressed, he sought out emotions more vividly while retaining the elegance he had acquired in Paris at the turn of the century.

This enthusiast of international modernism exhibited from 1930 onwards at the MOMA in New York and at the Whitney Museum.

Today, these two museums have kept some of his works, as well as public and private collections, particularly in the United States.

Moreover, Weber was not satisfied with works of art alone. Some of the artist’s writings, such as Essays on Art (1916) and Primitives (1926), are still preserved today.

Appraise and sell a painting by Max Weber

If you own a Max Weber painting or any other sculpture, ask for a free estimate via our online form.

You will then be contacted by a member of our team of experts and auctioneers to give you an independent view of the market price of your painting. In the event of a sale, our specialists will also advise you on the various options available to sell your work at the best price.