Walter Crane (British, 1845-1915)
In the clouds

oil on canvas

Dimensions: 91.7 x 56.4 cm. (36 x 22 1/4 in.)

Initially this piece was owned by Ernst Seeger (1849–1929) who was a German Privy Councillor (Geheimer Rat) based in Berlin, serving the Prussian state during a period of significant political and administrative development in Germany. As a senior civil servant, he held a position of trust and influence within the government, advising on matters of state administration and policy. His career reflected the professionalism and bureaucratic structure of late 19th- and early 20th-century Prussia, where Privy Councillors played an important role in shaping governance and supporting the functions of the monarchy and state institutions.

Ernst Seeger was a significant German art collector, particularly of Symbolist works, who was a major patron and admirer of Crane, owning several key Crane paintings like The Bridge of Life, Neptune's Horses and the Swan Maidens. The Swan Maidens, which sold at Christie’s for GBP 175,000 on 10th December 2020 as part of the Joe Setton Collection, was exhibited several times closely with In the Clouds most notably the Berlin, Grosse Berliner Kunstausstellung, 29 April - 16 October 1898. These works were often accompanied together in the early 1900s it is not known when they were separated.

Walter Crane’s artworks in Ernst Seeger’s collection reflect the shared ideals of late nineteenth-century aesthetic reform, combining symbolism, craftsmanship, and social vision. Seeger, a key advocate of modern design and Jugendstil, valued Crane not only as an illustrator but as a theorist of art’s moral and decorative purpose. The works associated with his collection emphasize Crane’s flowing line, harmonious colour, and integration of figure and ornament, drawing on medieval, mythological, and allegorical sources.

Seeger’s vast collection formed the basis for significant museum acquisitions, with his heirs selling off many key works around 1929-1930, enriching German public collection. It is believed around this time this piece was sold.

Crane’s popularity on the continent was cemented through a series of travelling exhibitions from the 1890s, with the greatest number of Crane’s works entering private collections in Germany, partly due to the efforts of the German art dealer, Fritz Gurlitt (1854-1893).

On 3rd November 1937 this work was put into auction at Rudolph Lepke Kunst, Berlin lot 168. The consigner ‘Beger’ also consigned the following works Frank Laing (Scottish 1862-1907), Tor in Rothenburg; Antonio de La Gándara (French 1861-1917), Bildnis Einer Jugen Dame; Ludwig von Hofmann(German 1861-1945), Brustbild in lila Gewand; Ludwig von Hofmann, Fung Junge Madchen in Leichtbewegten Stellungen. The auction from November 1937, does have some contentious works as some lots in the sale are considered forced sale. Research confirms that at least three ‘consignors’ to this sale were Jewish and have recorded losses from this auction on the LostArt database. That being said this Crane piece along with the other four pieces consigned by Berger have not been flagged. None of the works consigned by Berger were deemed to be ‘degenerate art’ but rather reflect the aesthetic zeitgeist of the time.

In 1937 Dr and Mrs Günter Seeliger, concerned with the growing inflation, purchased this picture as they believed it to be a secure investment as the artist was English.

Dr. Günter Seeliger in 1933 was rejected for foreign service due to his lack of Nazi party membership. After the Second World War, he joined politics heading the Economic Management department of Provincial Administration of Saxony-Anhat from 1945 to 1946. In 1963 he became the German ambassador to Mexico until his death in 1966.