Portrait of the Painter, Moessel

Grell standing in front of his 1936 prize wining portrait at the Art Institute of Chicago, Municipal Art League best portrait. Julius Moessel (1871-1957) was a German born friend and fellow artist who moved to Chicago.  After Grell’s death in 1960, the portrait was acquired by Ruth Thomys, a close friend of the artists’ wife, Friedl.  The Grells, Thomys and Moessels were all close friends.  Ruth Thomys eventually moved to Santa Fe, NM with her husband and later invited the curator of the Munich Art Museum to visit her and offer her collection of Moessel paintings to the museum.  The first painting they selected was this one by Grell.  They also selected several Moessel paintings for their permanent collection.

oil on canvas, signed & dated lower left “LOUIS GRELL 1935”, Munich Municipal Art Museum permanent collection

Color Photos courtesy of Ruth Thomys Santa Fe, NM and Carolyn (Grell) Kintz at the Munich Museum

Black & White photos courtesy Ryerson Burnham Library, Art Institute of Chicago

http://www.artic.edu/research/1934-exhibition-history

Above is the page where it can be found, scroll down to Chicago and Vicinity and click on Photo 2 for Grell.  Many other famous artists are featured in these historical exhibitions by the Art Institute of Chicago