Anna Spitzmüller

Anna Spitzmüller (September 6, 1903 – September 25, 2001) was an Austrian art historian, curator, and educator. She taught art history to generations of American college students through the Austro-American Institute of Education.

Early life

Spitzmüller was born September 6, 1903, in the

Her first project after finishing her degree was an inventory of the major monuments of Carinthia, the southernmost province of present-day Austria, for the Dehio Handbuch der deutschen Kunstdenkmäler Österreichs. Lack of transportation meant she completed the inventory on foot. Returning to Vienna in the fall of 1926, she worked under the Albertina's director Alfred Stix [de] (1882–1957), in one position or another, for the rest of her career. With Stix, she prepared the complete catalogue of the Albertina's drawings (Beschreibender Katalog der Handzeichnungen in der graphischen Sammlung Albertina); she was especially responsible for volume 6, Die Schulen von Ferrara, Bologna, Parma u. Modena, d. Lombardei, Genuas, Neapels u. Siziliens, on the collection's Italian works. When Stix was appointed to the Kunsthistorisches Museum in 1934, Spitzmüller's position at the Albertina became more important.^{[citation needed]}

Nazi period

With the

After the war, she spent much time in Vienna's French zone, organizing exhibitions and finally travelling to France to reestablish art contacts there. In 1946, she mounted a cooperative exhibition with the French, highlighting artworks in the Albertina's holdings. Her catalogue of the show, Französische Phantastik, was one of the first art publications produced in Vienna after the war.[2]

Later life

In 1948, Spitzmüller was appointed to the highest level of Curator in the governmental rankings,

In retirement, Spitzmüller continued teaching groups of American students through the Austro-American Institute of Education, which she had done since the 1930s (except during the war).[1] In particular, she established a relationship with Hope College in Michigan, which brought groups of students to Vienna for summer school. In 1987, Hope College honored her in conjunction with an exhibition of Viennese art at the school.

Spitzmüller was also a talented musician, and participated in many activities involving the Vienna Philharmonic. In 1993, the Albertina, as part of a video history of the institution, interviewed her with special focus on her time there. She died September 25, 2001, at the Heim der Kaufmannschaft in Vienna.^[7]

Select publications

• "Die Frau in der bildenden Kunst", in Martha Stephanie Braun, Frauenbewegung, Frauenbildung und Frauenarbeit in Österreich, Bund Osterreichischer Frauenvereine, 1930, pp. 320–324.
• "Deutsche Zeichnungen und Aquarelle, 1770–1830". Belvedere, vol. 18, pp. 57–62, 1931.
• "Un dessin de Wolf Huber au musée du Louvre", Gazette des beaux-arts / fondée par Charles Blanc. vol. 6, pér. 7, pp. 133–135, 1932.
• Kärnten, Karl Ginhart, Georg Dehio, and Fritz Novotny, eds. (Dehio Handbuch der deutschen Kunstdenkmäler Österreichs), Anton Schroll & Co., Vienna, 1938.
• Die Schulen von Ferrara, Bologna, Parma und Modena, der Lombardei, Genuas, Neapels und Siziliens mit einem Nachtrag zu allen italienischen Schulen. Series: Beschreibender Katalog der Handzeichnungen in der Albertina, vol. 6. A. Schroll, Vienna, 1941.
• Französische Phantastik: Sommerausstellung Albertina. Albertina, Vienna, 1946.
• Austrian Paintings throughout the Centuries. H. Bauer, Vienna, 1950.
• Kirchliche Architektur Österreichs durch die Jahrhunderte. Actien-Ges. d. Vöslauer Kammgarn-Fabrik, Bad Vöslau, 1953.
• Kunst aus Österreich. Europäische Meisterzeichnungen und Aquarelle. Actien-Ges. d. Vöslauer Kammgarn-Fabrik, Bad Vöslau, 1954.
• Kunst aus Österreich. Meisterwerke europäischer Malerei. Actien-Ges. d. Vöslauer Kammgarn-Fabrik, Bad Vöslau, 1955.

References