Ernst Wilhelm Nay

(German, 1902–1968)

Ernst Wilhelm Nay was a German painter known for his association with the Art Informel movement and post-World War II artists such as Karel Appel, Jean Dubuffet, and Alberto Burri. Despite working exclusively in abstraction, Nay’s distinctive Expressionistic use of color and textile-like patterning show the influence of representational painters like Ernst Ludwig Kirchner and the Henri Matisse. Born on June 1, 1911 in Berlin, Germany, he went on to study under Karl Hofer at the Berlin Art Academy. Nay was on track for a successful career in Germany, until the Nazi regime labeled his work as Degenerate, thereby making it illegal for him to show or even produce artworks. After being conscripted into the Nazi army, the artist served in France where he was able to secretly paint in a friend’s sculpture studio. It was not until a decade after the war with his participation in the 1956 Venice Biennale that Nay made a breakthrough into the international art scene. Today, his works are in the collections of the Kunstmuseum Basel, the Tate Modern in London, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, and the Nationalgalerie in Berlin, among others. he died on April 8, 1968 in Cologne, Germany.

Ernst Wilhelm Nay Artworks

Ernst Wilhelm Nay (2,589 results)
Figurale – Nausikaa, 1950

Ernst Wilhelm Nay

Figurale – Nausikaa, 1950

Sale Date: December 1, 2022

Auction Closed

Vernis Mous II, 1959

Ernst Wilhelm Nay

Vernis Mous II, 1959

Sale Date: November 3, 2022

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Siebdruck 1967 (NOR), 1967

Ernst Wilhelm Nay

Siebdruck 1967 (NOR), 1967

Sale Date: October 22, 2022

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Blaue Klänge, 1956

Ernst Wilhelm Nay

Blaue Klänge, 1956

Sale Date: October 25, 2022

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Farbaquatinta 1965-7, 1965

Ernst Wilhelm Nay

Farbaquatinta 1965-7, 1965

Sale Date: November 12, 2022

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Untitled, 1953

Ernst Wilhelm Nay

Untitled, 1953

Sale Date: October 18, 2022

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Farbaquatinta, 1964

Ernst Wilhelm Nay

Farbaquatinta, 1964

Sale Date: October 1, 2022

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Farblitho 1964 - 1 (Rot aus Blau), 1964

Ernst Wilhelm Nay

Farblitho 1964 - 1 (Rot aus Blau), 1964

Sale Date: October 1, 2022

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Prometheus I, 1948

Ernst Wilhelm Nay

Prometheus I, 1948

Sale Date: August 28, 2022

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Steinfiguren, 1949

Ernst Wilhelm Nay

Steinfiguren, 1949

Sale Date: August 28, 2022

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Fischer, 1936

Ernst Wilhelm Nay

Fischer, 1936

Sale Date: August 6, 2022

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Farblitho 1964 - 2, 1964

Ernst Wilhelm Nay

Farblitho 1964 - 2, 1964

Sale Date: July 13, 2022

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Farblitho 1961 (NOR), 1961

Ernst Wilhelm Nay

Farblitho 1961 (NOR), 1961

Sale Date: June 24, 2022

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Menschen in den Lofoten, 1938

Ernst Wilhelm Nay

Menschen in den Lofoten, 1938

Sale Date: June 10, 2022

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Maurische Mädchen, 1948

Ernst Wilhelm Nay

Maurische Mädchen, 1948

Sale Date: June 10, 2022

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Omikron, 1952

Ernst Wilhelm Nay

Omikron, 1952

Sale Date: June 10, 2022

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Chromatische Ketten, 1954

Ernst Wilhelm Nay

Chromatische Ketten, 1954

Sale Date: June 10, 2022

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Figuren, 1943

Ernst Wilhelm Nay

Figuren, 1943

Sale Date: June 3, 2022

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Drei Orange, 1967

Ernst Wilhelm Nay

Drei Orange, 1967

Sale Date: June 2, 2022

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Mit grüner Scheibe, 1964

Ernst Wilhelm Nay

Mit grüner Scheibe, 1964

Sale Date: June 2, 2022

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Figurale - Eta, 1949

Ernst Wilhelm Nay

Figurale - Eta, 1949

Sale Date: June 2, 2022

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Prometheus I, 1948

Ernst Wilhelm Nay

Prometheus I, 1948

Sale Date: June 2, 2022

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1948

Ernst Wilhelm Nay

Untitled, 1948

Sale Date: June 2, 2022

Auction Closed

Ostseefischer, 1936

Ernst Wilhelm Nay

Ostseefischer, 1936

Sale Date: June 2, 2022

Auction Closed