Portrait of Mr. Banker Walter: distinguished, subtly characterized, realistic.

(1856 Liechtenstein / Saxony - 1922 Olsberg) "Portrait of the Banker Mr. Walter." Original title: "A representative, subtly characterized, realistic portrait of a sovereign and self-confident banker, seated in an armchair, dressed in a black suit and white shirt, with his head slightly turned in profile." Beckert studied at the academies in Dresden, Berlin, and Stuttgart, and from 1881 in Munich under Wilhelm von Lindenschmit the Younger, Sandor Wagner, and Gyula Benczúr. Within a few years, Beckert became a sought-after portraitist of the nobility and figures from politics and society: in 1889 he painted Chancellor Otto Fürst von Bismarck and Prussian General Field Marshal Helmuth Karl Bernhard Count von Moltke; in 1890/91—the imperial couple Wilhelm II and Victoria Augusta, as well as portraits of Pope Pius X (1904) and the prominent Centre Party politician, later Chancellor, Georg von Hertling (1908). Beckert's works can be found in the National Gallery and the DHM in Berlin. Oil on canvas; signed and dated 1902. On the reverse, the original inscription from the Great Berlin Art Exhibition of 1903. Dimensions: 119.5 cm x 93.5 cm. Frame. See /Lit.: Catalogue of the Great Berlin Art Exhibition 1903, No. 41.