The undiscovered Expressionist: a life of Marie-Louise von Motesiczky

Abstract

Towards the end of her life, major exhibitions in London and Vienna brought Viennese artist Marie-Louise von Motesiczky (1906-1996) wide acclaim. The great art historian, Ernst Gombrich noted the artist's striking individuality and praised the delicacy and subtlety of her painting. Motesiczky had at last gained recognition as one of Austria's most important 20th-century painters. This book, published on the 100th anniversary of the artist's birth, celebrates Motesiczky's work and situates the artist in the troubled history of her times. Drawing on a wealth of unpublished family archives, including decades of correspondence between Marie-Louise and the writer Elias Canetti, the book tells the story of Motesiczky's life: her childhood in Vienna amidst an array of talented and distinguished family members; her life-long friendship with Max Beckmann; her studies in Vienna, The Hague, Paris, and Frankfurt; her flight with her mother when Nazis marched on Vienna in 1938; and her many years living and working among other exiled artists in England. The book also offers a sensitive critical study of Marie-Louise's paintings, discussing particular works and the circumstances that surrounded their creation. These include compelling self-portraits, a moving series of paintings of the artist's aging mother, and lyrical depictions of her English garden that represent the high points of the artist's achievement.