Franz Winniger Sold at Auction Prices

Collection of Paintings and Letters from the Estate of the Artist Franz Winniger (Vienna, 1893-Berlin, 1960) - Paintings and Photographs from his Journeys to Ethiopia

Collection of paintings, sketches, photographs and letters from the estate of the artist Franz Winniger (Vienna, 1893-Berlin, 1960), including aquarelles from his stay in Ethiopia, [ca.1920s through the 1950s]. Franz Winniger (1893-1960) was born to a Jewish family in Vienna, studied art in Vienna, Paris and Munich and was a member in intellectual circles in Berlin in the 1920s. During the years 1928-1937 Winniger traveled through Africa and Ethiopia, and documented his travels in painting and photography. After Hitler's rise to power, he moved to England, and when the war ended he returned to Germany and settled in East Berlin. Winniger died in Berlin in 1960, after years of poverty under the Soviet regime. Presented here is a large collection of paintings, photographs and letters from the estate of Winniger. The collection includes, among others: More than one hundred photographs, paintings and sketches recording Winniger's journey to Africa and Ethiopia: · 38 aquarelles in bright colors, in the spirit of expressionism. The paintings depict views and figures in Ethiopia. Size: 36.5 X 43 cm to 57 X 76.5 cm, signed by Winniger. · 58 photographs from Africa and Ethiopia, mounted on thick sheets. A typewritten leaf is enclosed (in German) with the list of photographs (in the list appear 60 photographs) and a title indicating that the photographs were taken for a book by Winniger, titled: "Sonne uber dunklem Land, Durch Somali – und Oromoland" (it seems that the book was not published). · Map of Ethiopia, drawn on a transparency. · 28 sketches on transparencies and on tracing paper – some with instructions for coloring. About 55 paintings and drawings in ink and watercolor, ca. 1920s-1950s: · Ink drawings on paper – portraits and views, some are signed. Some are dated 1928. · Watercolor drawings – landscapes, flowers and portraits (among them a portrait of Winniger's father). About 25 letters exchanged between Winniger and his friend, the photographer Alice Hausdorff, who lived in Haifa. 1950s. German. The letters document Winniger's life in West Berlin. Mentioned in the letters, among others, are Winniger's economic difficulties, and German artists and public figures with whom he has been in touch (among them Willy Brandt and Emil Nolde). Total of about 200 items. Size and condition vary.