One of Germany’s most important mid-century artists, George Grosz (1893–1959) is remembered for his biting satires of Berlin life during the 1920s and 1930s. A prominent member of the Berlin Dada and Neue Sachlichkeit (New Objectivity) groups, Grosz used his drawings and paintings to convey his disgust at the moral degeneracy of Weimar Germany. In Schlangenhaut und Pantinen, a bourgeois woman (likely a prostitute) is watched by a leering construction worker. The title (‘Snakeskin and Clogs’) refers respectively to the woman’s handbag and the man’s shoes – a comment on class divide and the contrast between the protagonist’s professions. Having fled political persecution and emigrated to America, Grosz made Nach dem Verhör (‘The Interrogation’) as a direct criticism of the corrupt Nazi regime. Its portrayal of the bloody aftermath of a prisoner’s torture typifies the gruesome subject matter that he pursued immediately following his exile, before later softening his style.