Neue Galerie New York
A Home for the Woman In Gold.
RIGHT ON THE UPPER EAST SIDE OF NEW YORK CITY ALONG THE FAMOUS MUSEUM MILE, LIES A GOLDEN JEWEL OF THE ART WORLD, A SMALL YET EXQUISITE MUSEUM AND A GIANT SYMBOL FOR THE JEWISH WORLD.
By DIna Szeinblum
Pictures courtesy of Neue Galerie New York
In the same spirit of innovation of the Expressionist movement of fin-de-siècle Vienna, Neue Galerie New York, namesake of the iconic art gallery in Vienna, founded in 1923, opened its doors for the first time in 2001. Housed in a landmark building on Fifth Avenue and 86th Street, the museum is devoted to German and Austrian art, particularly to that of the early twentieth century. Once inside, visitors are magically transported as if back in time.
The collection and exhibitions showcase paintings, sculptures, decorative arts, works on paper, and all from leading Austrian figures of that era such as Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, Oskar Kokoschka, and artists of the Wiener Werkstätte; and explores German movements such as the Brücke, the Blaue Reiter, Neue Sachlichkeit, and the Bauhaus.
The museum is the result of a long friendship—since 1967—between Serge Sabarsky, art dealer and museum exhibition organizer from Vienna, and Ronald S. Lauder, prominent businessman, art collector, political activist, philanthropist, and today leader of the World Jewish Congress Organization, among others.
[Top image: Josef Hoffmann (1870-1956) Brooch acquired by Fritz Waerndorfer for Lili Waerndorfer,1904Execution: Wiener Werkstätte Neue Galerie New York ]
Image: Gustav Klimt (1862-1918) Adele Bloch-Bauer, 1907. Oil, silver, and gold on canvas.
While Mr. Lauder served as a US ambassador in Vienna, they would meet and dream of combining their collections to create a Museum that would celebrate Austrian and German art. The result of their collaboration led to the opening of the Neue Galerie New York museum after they purchased the building in 1994, where it stands today, and began to make the museum plans. However, the museum's actual opening was carried out alone by Mr. Lauder, in honor of his late friend who passed a few years before its inauguration.
The museum has enjoyed tremendous success, drawing worldwide interest and realizing Sabarsky's dream: a permanent home in the United States for German and Austrian art and design of the early twentieth century.
Sabarsky, a driving force behind the museum's creation, fled his native city of Vienna in 1938 after the Anschluss (Austrian annexation to nazi Germany) and emigrated to New York, where he opened his gallery specialized in Austrian and German Expressionist art.
Mr. Lauder's interest in Austrian and German art stemmed, in part, from his family's Austro-Hungarian background. Even his first purchase, as an art collector, was made in 1957, when, as a thirteen-year-old boy, he acquired an Egon Schiele drawing using funds that he received for his bar mitzvah.
AUSTRIAN MASTERWORKS FROM THE NEUE GALERIE
To mark the fifteenth anniversary of The Neue Galerie New York founding, the museum opened back in 2016 the exhibition “Austrian Masterworks from the Neue Galerie New York”.
The show in view again (now, virtually), highlights the museum’s extensive collection of Austrian art from 1890 to 1940, including major paintings and drawings by Gustav Klimt, Oskar Kokoschka, Alfred Kubin, and Egon Schiele. It also features icons of modern design such as Otto Wagner, Adolf Loos, and objects made by the Wiener Werkstätte and designs by Josef Hoffmann, Koloman Moser, and Dagobert Peche.
The center gallery features an extraordinary selection of Klimt’s sensuous depictions of women, offering a unique and rare opportunity to see some of Klimt’s most important and beloved canvases. Paintings of Gertha Loew, Elisabeth Lederer, and Ria Munk are showcased, including the portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer (1907) , most known as The Woman In Gold.
Images : 1. Gustav Klimt (1862-1918) Adele Bloch-Bauer I, 1907 Oil, silver, and gold on canvas Neue Galerie New York. Acquired through the generosity of Ronald S. Lauder, the heirs of the Estates of Ferdinand and Adele Bloch-Bauer, and the Estée Lauder Fund. 2. Gustav Klimt (1862-1918) The Black Feathered Hat, 1910 Oil on canvas Private Collection
3. Helen Mirren and Ronald S. Lauder
A HOME FOR THE WOMAN IN GOLD
The painting Adele Bloch Bauer I (1907), acquired by the Neue Galerie, made its debut at the Museum in 2006 as part of “Gustav Klimt: Five Paintings from the Collection of Ferdinand and Adele Bloch-Bauer.” The masterworks by Klimt were restituted to Maria Altmann and the heirs of the Bloch-Bauer family by the Austrian government who, after WWII, kept the 5 paintings stolen from the Bloch-Bauer family by the Nazis in 1938.
Maria Altmann and US attorney E. Randol Schoenberg took the case to the United States Supreme Court and ultimately succeeded, after seven years, in having the works declared stolen property and returned to their rightful owners.
Referring to the Painting Mr. Lauder stated:
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime acquisition and a defining moment for the Neue Galerie,” said Ronald S. Lauder, adding, “With this dazzling painting, Klimt created one of his greatest works of art. We are overjoyed to be able to give Adele Bloch-Bauer a permanent home at the Neue Galerie. Her presence will enrich the museum immeasurably.”