George Grosz

Grosz's savage satire of Weimar Germany's bloated politicians, military profiteers, Nazi thugs and lower-middle class are showcased in nearly 200 color reproductions of sketches, oils and watercolors which make up the bulk of this volume. Short prefatory essays provide a kaleidoscopic portrait of Grosz. Sabarsky's mild, laudatory introduction seems written for viewers who are unfamiliar with Grosz's work or who might be offended by it. Lothar Fischer traces Grosz's metamorphosis from Germany's most popular book illustrator to prophet of impending doom. Achille Bonita Oliva's pedantic essay scans the artist's acid depiction of a ""loveless crowd.'' Uwe Schneede fills in incidents of Grosz's life in Germany, where World War I radically changed his art, and in the U.S., where he adapted to life in exile. The artist's son, Marty Grosz, remembers that his father outwitted Nazi ``goons'' who had come to beat him. (June 2)