George Grosz (1893-1959) Our Last Ghost, 1941 Ink on paper 23-1/8 x 18-1/8 ines (58.7 x 46.0 cm) (sheet) Titled and inscribed in pencil along lower edge: "to Ben Hecht 1001 Afternoon / Our last ghost" Stamped faintly and numbered in ink verso: "GEORGE GROSZ NACHLASS / 4-28-7" PROVENANCE: Studio of the artist, Douglaston, New York, 1941; The Estate of George Grosz, 1959; Private collection. LITERATURE: B. Hecht, "Our last Ghost,"1001 Afternoons in New York, New York, 1941, p. 282, illustrated; B. Hecht, "Unser letzter Geist," 1001 Nachmittage in New York, Frankfurt, 1941, p. 314, illustrated. NOTE: This work will be included in the forthcoming catalogue raisonné of works on paper by George Grosz in preparation by Ralph Jentsch, managing director of the George Grosz Estate. In 1919, artist George Grosz became friends with Ben Hecht (1894-1964), a correspondent for the Chicago Daily News for two years in Berlin. Grosz took Hecht to the eventful DADA evenings and happenings in Berlin. One-time Ben Hecht was special guest of honor at the famous DADA demonstration: a race between six typewriters and six sewingmachines to the accompaniment of a swearing contest. That evening he was awarded the charter of an "Honorable DADA." In 1925, Hecht started working in Hollywood becoming one of the most successful and highest-paid American script-writers of his time while also becoming well known as a writer. 1001 Afternoons in Chicago, Child of the Century and The Sensualists are among his best-known works. In June 1941, Grosz was asked to illustrate Ben Hecht's new book 1001 Afternoons in New York, a collection of political newspaper writings. Grosz produced, in an incredible short period, 86 large drawings and a number of unpublished illustrations for the book. In the foreword of his book, Ben Hecht points out that the articles he has written in 1940-1941 are mainly a crusade against the Nazis and calls the Third Reich a "hellish invention." Our Last Ghost is the bizarre story of Mr. Moses, the New York Park Commissioner, who has the strong urge to pick up the city's ancient Aquarium at the Battery and whisk it to somewhere hell and gone, preferably the Bronx. "Our commissioner is an up and doing fellow, his psyche aswoon with playgrounds and aqueducts. He has mastered the aesthetics of the moderns and stripped his projects to the bone of utility." Ben Hecht's plea is to mobilize the public to save the aquarium. "So, as the auctioneers say, hurry, hurry. The last ghost of old New York still hovers around the Battery." HID12401132022 © 2026 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved www.HA.com/TexasAuctioneerLicenseNotice

Studio of the artist, Douglaston, New York, 1941; The Estate of George Grosz, 1959; Private collection.

Presents very well. Minor marks, smudges, and light wear to sheet in margins; wear and marking in margins of page in keeping with illustration and publishing process. Minor undulations to sheet. Soft 3-in diagonal crease at lower right. Pinholes in corners, likely inherent to artist's process. Framed and hinged under acrylic.
Framed Dimensions 28.5 X 24 ines