Spring on the Mississippi, 1956 Oil on canvas 28 ½ x 35 ½ inches
Composition 117 (Interlocking Forms), 1935-36 Oil on canvas 36 x 46 inches
Summer School Washington University, 1956 Oil on canvas 29 x 36 inches
A294, 1945 Ink and gouache on paper 20 x 26 inches
A295, 1942 Ink on paper 19 ¾ x 26 inches
A297, 1942 Crayon and watercolor on paper 19 7⁄16 x 25 ⅞ inches
A204, 1946 Gouache on paper 11 ¾ x 17 ¾
A207, 1946 Gouache on paper 10 ⅜ x 13 ⅜ inches
A208, 1946 Gouache on paper 10 ¾ x 14 inches
A215, 1946 Gouache on paper 10 x 13 ¼ inches
A215, 1946 Gouache on paper 11 ⅜ x 17 ¼ inches;
Garden with Sculpture, 1944 Oil on canvas 5 ½ x 9 ¾ inches
Composition 117 (Yellow on Green), 1935-36 Oil on canvas 5 ½ x 9 ¾ inches
Forms in Balance, 1949 Oil on canvas 22 x 16 inches
Composition in Brown, 1973 Oil on canvas 33 x 44 inches
Mississippi Levee, 1948 Watercolor 19 ¾ x 26 inches
Autumn Day in Missouri, 1950 Watercolor 12 x 17 ¾ inches
Missouri Harvest, 1950 Watercolor 17 ¾ x 20 ¼ inches
Catskill Leeds, 1942 Oil on canvas 22 x 33 inches
Festive City 1978 Oil on canvas 36 x 32 inches
Celebration, 1982 Oil on canvas 40 x 24 inches
Winter Morning, 1952 Oil on canvas 16 x 26 inches
Delaware Valley in Autumn, 1948 Oil on canvas 24 x 30 inches
Isolated Units, 1970 Oil on canvas 28 x 41 inches
Chinese Garden, 1983 Oil on canvas 44 x 34 inches
Duet in space, 1983 Oil on canvas 20 x 36 inches
Purple Pendulum, 1984 Oil on canvas 30 x 40 inches
Penetration, 1984 Oil on canvas 28 x 40 inches
Mississippi Bluffs Woodblock print
Mississippi Bluffs Woodblock print (Artist's Proof)
Spring Woodblock print
Giant Redwoods Woodblock print
Cathedral of the Redwoods Woodblock print
Sunny Day, In the Redwoods Woodblock print
Autumn Woodblock print
Winter, St. Louis Woodblock print
Green Moon Woodblock print
Open Construction Woodblock print
Open Construction Woodblock print
Summer Heat Woodblock print
Circle and Square Woodblock print
April 29, 2026
McCaughen & Burr Fine Arts Presents: Werner Drewes – The Bauhaus Bridge to American Abstraction
ST. LOUIS, MO — McCaughen & Burr Fine Arts is pleased to present a landmark retrospective celebrating the life and work of Werner Drewes (1899–1985), a prominent German Expressionist and a pivotal figure in the American Abstract movement.
On view May 15 through June 15, 2026, the exhibition brings together more than 100 works—including paintings, woodcuts, and works on paper—offering a rare look at Drewes’s evolution across media and decades.
A Legacy Formed at the Bauhaus
Before establishing himself in the United States, Drewes trained at the Bauhaus in Germany. From 1921 to 1922, he studied under leading figures of modernism, including Paul Klee, Lyonel Feininger, and Wassily Kandinsky. This training in color, form, and spiritual abstraction became the foundation of his work.
Pioneering American Abstraction
Following his emigration to New York in 1930, Drewes became an influential figure in American modernism. He was a founding member of the American Abstract Artists (AAA), a group that advocated for non-objective art, and served as a printmaking supervisor for the Works Progress Administration (WPA). He also spent time working and teaching at Columbia University, Brooklyn College, and the Chicago School of Design.
The St. Louis Connection
Drewes ultimately found his professional home at Washington University's School of Fine Arts in St. Louis (now the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts), where he taught from 1946 to 1965. As an instructor, he was admired for fostering creative growth and exploration and played a significant role in shaping a generation of artists. His tenure helped establish St. Louis as a center for abstract art and mid-century modernism.
Drewes’s nineteen years at Washington University were among the most productive of his career. Much of the work in this exhibition was created during this period, reflecting his deep connection to St. Louis and the creative life he built there.
Exhibition Details
Dates: May 15–June 15, 2026
Location: 117 W. Lockwood Ave, St. Louis, MO 63119
Gallery Hours: Monday–Friday, 10 AM–5 PM; Saturday, 10 AM–4 PM
About McCaughen & Burr Fine Arts
Founded in 1840, McCaughen & Burr Fine Arts in St. Louis, MO, is the oldest continuously operating art gallery west of the Mississippi River. Among the gallery's specialties are historical art, regionalism, Western art, and the work of Group 15, a collective of artists associated with the Washington University in St. Louis School of Art. For more information, please visit our website.