Oldtimer in Berlin

Young Max Pechstein was one of the leaders in Germany's expressionist movement before World War I. His canvases, which sometimes reminded critics of a lesser Gauguin, were daring in their day, made Pechstein a reputation. But when Hitler came in, Pechstein's "decadent" work went out. He painted on the sly in Berlin, finally went off to live on the Baltic coast.

Last week, at 70, Max Pechstein was back in the limelight. West Berlin's Academy of Arts had invited the city's artists to a birthday reception at which the old man was presented with a box of paints ("So he can paint many more pictures") and was appointed honorary senator of the academy.

The academy also opened the first exhibition of Pechstein's works since pre-Hitler days: a representative group of more than 80 works (400 others had been destroyed or lost during the war) that seemed pretty tame after all the years. Even so, critics were pleased with the show, labeled Pechstein "a prophet of happiness."

Pechstein happily showed up at the gallery, mingled with the crowd. He heard one stranger complain that an alpine landscape was "too sophisticated." The artist quietly joined the discussion. "It's high up in the mountains," he said. "Snow and icy waters are like that. The colors change." The amateur critic flushed when another bystander identified the old man: "Master Pechstein ought to know." But Pechstein had not come to squelch critics. Said he, beaming: "I'm happy to see so much of my work lined up together again."

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