a number of items of furniture based on designs
We begin with an overview of our own exhibitions
by Otto Wagner, which were regarded as having
at which Klimt objects were displayed. In 1964, the
cultural and historic value for Vienna, Wagner’s
Office for Culture of the City of Vienna initiated
daughter launched a campaign in 1947—with
an exhibition on the theme of “Vienna 1900,”
the support of the Historisches Museum—to
which took place simultaneously at four different
have them, along with the remaining inventory,
venues in Vienna. Presented in what was then the
restored to her. In the course of investigations,
Historisches Museum der Stadt Wien were prints,
a joint memorandum was drawn up on December
books, and posters. Shown in this exhibition from
16, 1948, in which Wagner’s daughter registered
the museum’s own holdings, accordingly, were
the following statement: “Furthermore, I bestow
posters for the first and eighteenth Secession
upon the Municipal Collections (in the event that
exhibition, as well as issues of Ver Sacrum
I resume possession of the furnishings which
containing illustrations by Klimt.54
55 Wiener Stilkunst um 1900. Zeichnungen und Aquarelle im Besitz des Historischen Museums der Stadt Wien, exh. cat., sixty-first special exhibition of the Historisches Museum der Stadt Wien (Vienna, 1979).
belong to and were found in the apartment)
In summer of 1979, works by Klimt made their
the above-mentioned Klimt painting, ‘Silence,’
first major appearance in the exhibition Wiener
as well as other objects to be agreed upon in
Stilkunst um 1900: Zeichnungen und Aquarelle im
consultation with the direction of the Municipal
Besitz des Historischen Museums der Stadt Wien,
56 Heidemarie Uhl, “‘Wien um 1900’— das making of eines Gedächtnisortes,” in Monika Sommer et al., eds., Imaging Vienna: Innensichten, Außensichten, Stadterzählungen (Vienna, 2006), p. 49.
Collections.” A photograph that accompanies
which took place in the Hermesvilla. Twenty-
the file documents the painting, shown hanging
eight drawings by Klimt were presented, mainly
on the wall of the apartment; unfortunately
collection highlights.55 Although William M.
57 Gustav Klimt, Zeichnungen aus amerikanischem Privatbesitz ausgewählt von Serge Sabarsky und aus Beständen des Historischen Museums der Stadt Wien, exh. cat., 89th special exhibition of the Historisches Museum der Stadt Wien (Vienna, 1984).
its appearance in the image is very dark.
Johnston’s The Austrian Mind: An Intellectual and
Correspondence with Wagner’s daughter breaks
Social History, 1848–1938 had appeared already
off in January of 1952. To date, nothing is known
in German in 1974 as Österreichische Kultur-
about the painting’s present whereabouts; in
und Geistesgeschichte: Gesellschaft und Ideen
1950, it was entered into a typed note at the
im Donauraum 1848 bis 1938, thereby effecting
museum with the heading Otto Wagner: list of
the first step in the rediscovery of the cultural
missing items; in the literature, it is regarded as
history of Vienna around the turn of the twentieth
being lost as of 1898, or 1903 (Weidinger).
century, it was only the translation into German
50 Document no. 917/1947, 1997/1948, 1143/1951. 51 Document no. 1997/1948. 52 Fritz Novotny and Johannes Dobai, Gustav Klimt (Salzburg, 1967), p. 308 (without a work no.; erroneously assigned to the eighteenth Secession exhibition); Weidinger et al., “Kommentiertes Gesamtverzeichnis,” in Weidinger, ed., Klimt, 2007, no. 129. 53 Cf. Schausammlung Historisches Museum der Stadt Wien (Vienna, 1984), pp. 294–95. 54 Wien um 1900, exh. cat. Historisches Museum der Stadt Wien (Vienna, 1964), no. 309, no. 324, nos. 342–43.
58 Document no. 1092/1983.
50
51
52
of Carl E. Schorske’s Fin-de-Siècle Vienna: The Utilization of the Collection
Politics and Culture (1980), which came out in 1982 as Wien, Geist und Gesellschaft im Fin de
16
But what should a museum actually do with such
Siècle, that gave momentum to the international
a collection?
wave of enthusiasm for “Vienna 1900.”56 Taking
Over the past decade, oil paintings such as the
place in 1984 was the sole exhibition dedicated
Portrait of Emilie Flöge, Pallas Athena, and Love
entirely to Klimt in the Historisches Museum,
have been displayed primarily as parts of the
organized in conjunction with New York art dealer
permanent collection of the Wien Museum.53 To
Serge Sabarsky and featuring drawings from
begin with, the museum suffers from an acute
American private collections alongside those
shortage of space, which makes it virtually
from the museum’s own collection.57 On view
impossible to present more than three paintings
on this occasion were fifty drawings from our
by any one artist on a permanent basis. In
holdings. Attendance numbers of around 45,000
addition, the drawings cannot be displayed for
contributed decisively to the decision to send
extended periods of time for reasons related to
the exhibition on tour. The works traveled to the
their conservation. Still, portions of the collection
Kestner-Gesellschaft in Hannover, then to the
have been regularly drawn upon for exhibitions,
Villa Stuck in Munich, before being hosted in the
if never in their entirety. Relevant in this context
spring of 1985 at the Neue Galerie in Linz.58
are both in-house exhibitions as well as those
Taking place that same year in the Künstlerhaus
organized by other institutions for which works
was the legendary exhibition Dream and Reality:
from the museum’s collection have been made
Vienna 1870–1930, which was organized and
available as loans.
conceptualized by the Historisches Museum der