George Grosz ‘Eclipse of the Sun’ anchors Long Island exhibition
One hundred years after it was created, Eclipse of the Sun, the iconic 1926 painting by George Grosz, remains as politically and artistically powerful today as when Grosz painted it as a scathing critique of the Weimar Republic of Germany. Bristling with impactful symbolism and allegory, the masterpiece anchors a distinctive exhibition at The Heckscher Museum of Art where it stands as one of the most significant paintings in any public collection on Long Island.
Eclipse of the Sun Now, September 26–May 9, 2027, explores consequential works of politically engaged art created over the last century. Selected from the collections of The Heckscher Museum and Art Bridges Foundation, the exhibition features more than 50 works by leading artists of our time, including Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Kerry James Marshall, Nam June Paik, Howardena Pindell, Cindy Sherman, Mickalene Thomas, and many more.
As a masterpiece of antifascist political art, Eclipse of the Sun confronts the greed and violence of the military, politicians, and industrialists during Germany’s Weimar regime. The tilted perspective, dissonant color, and ambiguous sense of space underscore the instability of the period following World War I. In the 1920s, Grosz was a leader of the outspoken Berlin Dada movement.
Considered a “degenerate” artist by the Nazis, he fled to the United States in 1933 in advance of World War II. Grosz eventually lived and worked in Huntington, NY, and frequented The Heckscher from 1947 until shortly before his death in 1959. Grosz continued to create highly political art while living in Huntington, and two of his works, in addition to Eclipse of the Sun, 1958’s Moveable Feast and Executioner, will be included in the exhibition.
Eclipse of the Sun Now addresses interrelated themes including war, immigration, civil rights, mass media, and the environment. The sections—Art Survives, Liberation, Media Manipulations and Life Source—take their titles from artist statements in the exhibition.
As an example, Elizabeth Catlett declared: “We have to create art for liberation and for life.”
Eclipse of the Sun Now celebrates the power of art—to offer solace, to foster resistance, and to channel hope.
“This exhibition looks at Grosz’s art in a new light,” Karli Wurzelbacher, Chief Curator, The Heckscher Museum, said. “Some of the featured artists, including Jack Levine, Romare Bearden, Sue Coe, and May Stevens, were directly inspired by Grosz, while other connections are more conceptual, as in the gallery dedicated to the intersection of art, politics and ecology.”
ABOUT THE HECKSCHER MUSEUM
The Heckscher Museum of Art is in its second century as a source of art and inspiration on Long Island. Its mission is to create opportunities for everyone to experience art that broadens our understanding of the past, fosters community connections to our present, and creates diverse possibilities for our future.
Founded by philanthropists Anna and August Heckscher in 1920, today, the Museum’s collection comprises 2,300 artworks spanning the eighteenth century to the present, exploring the human experience and expanding definitions of American Art. The Museum remains committed to growing its collection through acquisitions and exhibitions highlighting artists whose lived experiences reflect the rich diversity of New York’s native, immigrant, African American, and LGBTQ communities.
Located in scenic Heckscher Park in Huntington, NY, the building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Continuing the legacy of the founders, free admission to the Museum is supported through a generous grant from Bank of America.
ABOUT ART BRIDGES FOUNDATION
Art Bridges Foundation is the vision of philanthropist and arts patron Alice Walton. Founded in 2017, Art Bridges creates and supports projects that share works of American art with communities across the United States and its territories. Art Bridges partners with a growing network of over 300 museums of many sizes—impacting more than 25 million people nationwide—to provide financial and strategic support for exhibitions, collection loans, and programs designed to educate, inspire, and deepen engagement with local communities.
The Art Bridges Collection represents an expanding vision of American art from the 19th century to present day and encompasses multiple media and voices. For more information, visit artbridgesfoundation.org.
