WHAT started as a modest compilation of known writings on art and Marxism by the art historian Hans Hess is turning into a four-volume collection of his work, including a series of illustrated lectures and recently uncovered unpublished writings along with material written for the amusement of children.

Hans Hess was born into a well-off family of cultured, enlightened and progressive-minded German Jews. His father Alfred, a staunch social democrat and admirer of the Soviet Union, owned Hess Schuh and by fortunate circumstance won the contract to provide boots for the Red Army in the mid-20s.

With good advice from curators and art dealers, Alfred was able to accumulate a representative collection of the art of the Weimar avant garde, most especially of Expressionist and Modernist inspiration.