Provenance
Rudolf Probst (died 1968) (Galerie Neue Kunst Fides; Das Kunsthaus), Dresden and Mannheim, until 1932 [Paul Klee Foundation]. Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler (1884-1979), Paris, until 1938 [Paul Klee Foundation]. Karl Nierendorf (1889-1947), New York, about 1938 [Paul Klee Foundation]. Galka E. Scheyer (1889-1945), Hollywood, about 1938 [Paul Klee Foundation]. Earl Stendahl Gallery, Los Angeles [Paul Klee Foundation]. Bequeathed by Elizabeth Paepcke, Chicago, to the Art Institute, 1994.
Accession Number
135516
Medium
Watercolor on off-white laid paper
Dimensions
45.3 × 60.4 cm (17 7/8 × 23 13/16 in.)
Classification
watercolor
Credit Line
Bequest of Elizabeth H. Paepcke
Background & Context
Background Story
Paul Klee's Great Harbor shows a harbor with boats, water, and architecture. The harbor, a threshold between land and sea, allowed Klee to explore transition and boundary.
Cultural Impact
Klee's harbor scenes explore the symbolic space between civilization and nature.
Why It Matters
This great harbor captures the grandeur of the threshold between land and sea.
