Franz Hauer

The exhibition and accompanying research project comprehensively examine the life and work of this spectacular self-made man among European art collectors. What makes Franz Hauer's work so special is that he managed to become the most spectacular art collector of his time, despite being the penniless son of a postman and a servant at the Hotel “Zur weißen Rose“ in Krems. What is particularly unique is the fact that, as an art enthusiast of the most original kind (Oskar Kokoschka) with the simplest educational background, he soon turned his attention to the most modern trends of his time.

Franz Hauer (1867–1914) was born into poverty in Weissenkirchen/Wachau. He achieved prosperity with a restaurant, the legendary Griechenbeisl in Vienna, and from then on devoted himself to collecting art. Hauer became the most important collector of Albin Egger-Lienz, but also owned key works by Egon Schiele, Oskar Kokoschka, and many other artists, which he displayed in his own gallery in Silbergasse, as well as in other properties. In 1914, he died suddenly of appendicitis at the age of only 47. In the years following his death, most of the collection was sold and is now housed in numerous important museums and private collections in Europe and the USA. Important works from the collection were bequeathed to his granddaughter Christa Hauer-Fruhmann and are now in the Lower Austrian Provincial Collections.

The Lower Austrian State Gallery has been researching the fascinating personality of Franz Hauer for three years and will show central works from his collection, which once numbered over 1,000 works, in the exhibition. The works in the exhibition, including masterpieces of art history, have been brought together from numerous renowned museums and private collections in Europe and the USA, complementing the holdings of the Lower Austrian State Collections.