Dancing Figures

1947–1949

Morton May: patron and student

In St. Louis Morton D. May, an avid amateur photographer and painter, becomes Beckmann's patron and student; the artist also helps him learn to appreciate Oceanian and African art.

1948

The first retrospective in the United States

The first Beckmann retrospective in the United States takes place in 1948 at the City Art Museum in St. Louis.

1949

A professorship at the Brooklyn Museum Art School

After stops in Denver and Chicago, Beckmann and Quappi take an apartment at 38 West 69th Street in Manhattan; in 1949 he obtains a professorship at the Brooklyn Museum Art School.

1950

A one-man show at the Venice Biennale

Beckmann has a one-man show at the Venice Biennale of 1950, the year of his death.

27 December 1950

A fatal heart attack by Central Park

Beckmann, who suffered from angina pectoris, dies after Christmas 1950, struck down by a heart attack at the corner of 69th Street and Central Park West, not far from his home; as his widow recalled, he was on his way to see one of his paintings at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

27. december 1950

Died