Gustav Nebehay (June 26, 1881 – September 17, 1935) was an Austrian art dealer and patron of the arts.

Life and career

In 1900, the Viennese bookseller Nebehay went to Leipzig, Germany, where he joined the company C. G. Boerner – one of the oldest German art shops, whose customer had been Johann Wolfgang von Goethe in former times.[1] Soon, the prior rather nationally known company turned into a world-renown establishment in the field of old graphics.[2] Nebehay’s clients included famous personalities such as the Austrian writer Stefan Zweig.[3] In the following years, he rose to become a major graphic connoisseur and antiquary, as well as a leading specialist in the field of hand drawings of old masters.[2] Nebehay was the first art dealer to produce his catalogues in various printings.[4]

In 1908, he married Carl Sonntag junior’s sister Marie Sonntag. Nine years later, in 1917, they moved to his hometown Vienna, where he opened his own art gallery at the Hotel Bristol and likewise became partner of the bookseller V. A. Heck at Kärntnerring in Vienna’s first district.[5]

Nebehay was in professional and amicable contact with many well-known turn-of-the-century artists like Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, and Josef Hoffmann. Gustav Klimt, for example, dedicated three of his drawings to the Nebehay family.[6] Nebehay was likewise entrusted with the sale of Klimt’s and Schiele’s artistic legacies.[5][7] Furthermore, he organized the first posthumous Schiele exhibition[8] and the exhibition of Klimt's works on the Stoclet-Frieze.[9]

A photograph of Klimt's funeral shows Nebehay next to Klimt’s muse Emilie Flöge, the architect and founding member of the Wiener Werkstätte, Josef Hoffmann, the writer and salonnière Berta Zuckerkandl, the painter Ludwig Heinrich Jungnickel, and the politician Julius Tandler.[10]

Funder and patron

Nebehay funded and supported many Austrian artists. In 1917, for example, Egon Schiele wrote in a letter to his brother-in-law: "I found someone who is very interested in me."[11] Nebehay also published Schiele’s and Klimt’s first drawing catalogues.[12]

When Schiele visited an exhibition at the “Kunstverein Kärnten” at the Künstlerhaus in Klagenfurt, Carinthia, he was enthusiastic about one of the portraits of Herbert Boeckl and subsequently recommended the young artist to Gustav Nebehay. Thereupon, Nebehay became Boeckl’s patron[13] and funder. Amongst others, he financed the artist’s study trips to Paris, Berlin, and Sicily.[14][15][16]

After Nebehay’s early death in 1935, his eldest son Christian M. Nebehay continued to manage the family share at V. A. Heck. In 1945, he set up his own bookshop at Annagasse 18, which still exists today.[5]

References

  1. ↑ History of C. G. Boerner, Website of C. G. Boerner, retrieved December 16, 2017.
  2. 1 2 Nebehay, Christian M.: Nebehay, Gustav. In: Österreichisches Biographisches Lexikon 1815–1950, Volume 7, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1978, p. 49.
  3. ↑ Nebehay, Christian M. Die goldenen Sessel meines Vaters. Christian Brandstätter, 1983, p. 51.
  4. ↑ Jäger, Georg. Geschichte des deutschen Buchhandels im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert. Band 1: Das Kaiserreich 1871–1918. Teil 3. Walter de Gruyter, 2010, p. 250.
  5. 1 2 3 Nebehay, Stefan (December 3, 2012), “50 Jahre „Wiener Antiquariat“ Archived 2017-12-22 at the Wayback Machine, Website of the Austrian League of Antiquarian Booksellers, retrieved February 12, 2018.
  6. ↑ Nebehay, Christian M. Die goldenen Sessel meines Vaters. Christian Brandstätter, 1983, p. 117.
  7. ↑ Niederacher, Sonja. Dossier zu Egon Schiele: Stehender Junge mit Hut. In: Publications of the Leopold Museum-Privatstiftung, January 16, 2012.
  8. ↑ Spiegler, Almuth (November 7, 2007), “New Yorker Herbstauktionen: Gar nicht kleinkariert“, Die Presse (online), retrieved February 12, 2018.
  9. ↑ Concept for the exhibition poster “Gustav Klimt Stoclet-Fries“, Gustav Nebehay (1920), Website of the Leopold Museum Vienna, retrieved November 12, 2017.
  10. ↑ Gustav Nebehay, Getty Images Online, retrieved December 9, 2017.
  11. ↑ Nebehay, Christian M. Die goldenen Sessel meines Vaters. Christian Brandstätter, 1983, p. 112.
  12. ↑ Nebehay, Christian M. Die goldenen Sessel meines Vaters. Christian Brandstätter, 1983, p. 117.
  13. ↑ Herbert Boeckl, online database “Gedächtnis des Landes“, retrieved December 16, 2017.
  14. ↑ “Biography of Herbert Boeckl“, Website of Herbert Boeckl, retrieved December 16, 2017.
  15. ↑ “Herbert Boeckl: Bildnis Christian Nebehay (1929)“, Website of the Belvedere Museum Vienna, retrieved November 12, 2017.
  16. ↑ “Herbert Boeckl: Minister Dr. Heinrich Drimmel II (1957)“, Website of the Museum of Modern Art Vienna, retrieved November 12, 2017.

Sources

  • Nebehay, Gustav. In: Österreichisches Biographisches Lexikon 1815–1950. Volume 7. Vienna: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1978.
  • Nebehay, Christian M. Die goldenen Sessel meines Vaters. Vienna: Christian Brandstätter, 1983.
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