OBITUARY FOR ELISABETH LEOPOLD

19.08.2024

LEOPOLD MUSEUM MOURNS CO-FOUNDER DR. ELISABETH LEOPOLD

 It is with deep regret that the board of the Leopold Museum Private Foundation and the directors of the Leopold Museum announce the death of Dr. Elisabeth Leopold, who passed away peacefully, surrounded by her family, on 14th August 2024 at the age of 98. The foundation’s board of directors – made up of the head of the board Josef Ostermayer and board members Sonja Hammerschmid, Danielle Spera and granddaughter Saskia Leopold – along with the Leopold Museum’s Artistic Director Hans-Peter Wipplinger and Commercial Director Moritz Stipsicz mourn the passing of this eminent personality.

The museum will continue to honor the wishes of the museum founder, the foundation’s charter and the memory of the collectors, a path already forged following the death of Prof. Dr. Rudolf Leopold (1925–2010). This applies primarily to the objectives laid down in the foundation’s charter to permanently preserve the collection compiled by the founder, to make it accessible to the public through presentations at the museum and abroad, as well as to document and conduct scientific research into the museum’s holdings, in order to highlight the significance of Viennese Modernism for Austria’s cultural development.

“It is with profound sadness that I have learnt of the passing of Elisabeth Leopold. Her death is a great loss to Austria’s world of art and culture. On behalf of the entire team at the Leopold Museum, I want to convey my sincere condolences to the Leopold family. Together with her husband Rudolf, Elisabeth Leopold fought for the recognition of Austrian Modernism surrounding Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele with impressive vigor and persuasiveness. Following her husband’s death, she continued to advocate for the appreciation of the collection and thus for the acknowledgement of the collector’s efforts. Numerous widely-attended international exhibitions of works from the Leopold Collection, especially on Egon Schiele and his time – shown for instance in the US, Japan, Germany, Switzerland, France and Italy – contributed significantly to the art of Vienna 1900 achieving world renown. The Leopold Museum as the stage for the collection constitutes the legacy, set in stone, of Rudolf and Elisabeth Leopold. The continued and steadily increasing success enjoyed by the museum since its inception in 2001 is proof that the Leopold Museum and the Leopold Collection have become an indispensable part of Austria’s cultural landscape throughout the 24 years of its existence.”

Hans-Peter Wipplinger, Director of the Leopold Museum

Elisabeth Leopold was the “heart and soul of the museum”, but first and foremost the strong woman by the side of the museum founder Rudolf Leopold, acting as his support and companion through all the wonderful and difficult periods of the collector’s life. With the inception of the foundation in 1994, Elisabeth Leopold was appointed board member for life, a role she carried out with great seriousness and impressive enthusiasm. In the spring of 2022, she withdrew from the board at her own request.

For the Leopold Museum, Elisabeth Leopold curated the exhibition Body, Face & Soul. The Female Image from the 16th to the 21st Century (2006), was responsible for the Kollwitz rooms as part of the exhibition Ernst Barlach and Käthe Kollwitz (2009), which she curated together with Rudolf Leopold, and – alongside Ivan Ristić and Stefan Kutzenberger – acted as co-curator of the exhibition And Yet There was Art! Austria 1914–1918 (2014). Together with Franz Smola, she curated a presentation of eminent works from the collection, titled The Magic of Landscapes. From Waldmüller to Boeckl (2016/17). She often advocated for individual artworks, which were particularly close to her heart, to be included in exhibitions – for instance a work by Anton Romako, whom she held in great esteem, in the presentation Clouds. Fleeting Worlds (2013) or a painting by Rubens in nude men (2012/13). The sensational latter presentation, which she initiated as a counterpart to Body, Face & Soul and curated together with Tobias G. Natter, was especially important to her.

Elisabeth Leopold also made her mark as an author of numerous publications. In 2008, she published a catalogue of Schiele’s letters in the book Egon Schiele. Poems and Letters 1910–1912, which she compiled together with Sandra Tretter. In 2013, Elisabeth Leopold and Tobias G. Natter issued the inventory catalogue of Klimt works Gustav Klimt. The Collection at the Leopold Museum. In 2020, she published a revised edition of the first comprehensive catalogue raisonné of Schiele’s works compiled by Rudolf Leopold in 1972, Egon Schiele. Paintings, Watercolors, Drawings. Finally, in 2023, she issued the book The Faces of Egon Schiele, dedicated to Schiele’s self-portraits.

In 2017, Elisabeth Leopold received the Golden Decoration of Honor for Services to the State of Vienna from the then city councilor in charge of cultural affairs, Andreas Mailath-Pokorny. The laudatory speech was delivered by Josef Ostermayer. That same year, the minister of culture, Thomas Drozda, presented Elisabeth Leopold with the Austrian Cross of Honor for Science and Art, 1st Class. The laudatory speech was given by the attorney Ernst Ploil, a collector of art from Vienna 1900. In 2022, Johanna Mikl-Leitner, the governor of Lower Austria, awarded Elisabeth Leopold the “Great Golden Decoration of Honor for Services to the Federal State of Lower Austria”.

“With the passing of Elisabeth Leopold, our country has lost one of the most committed campaigners for Austrian art. Elisabeth Leopold was far more than merely the wife of the museum founder. The genesis of the collection was only possible through the congenial symbiosis of Rudolf and Elisabeth Leopold. Without her by his side, he would have been unable to carry out his tireless collecting activities in this way. Her admirable vitality and warmth, her – if necessary – strict but at the same time understanding and humorous nature, and especially her love and devotion to art, made her an indispensable partner.”

Josef Ostermayer, head of the board of directors of the Leopold Museum Private Foundation

“LEARNING HOW TO DISCERN ART OF GREAT QUALITY” – ON THE DEATH OF ELISABETH LEOPOLD

Born on 3rd March 1926 in Vienna as Elisabeth Schmid, Elisabeth Leopold grew up in humble circumstances with her grandmother in Vienna’s Hernals district. Owing to an illness suffered by her father, she only saw her parents on weekends. Her great-grandmother worked for the entrepreneurial family who ran the wickerwork company Prag-Rudniker, which, from 1910, had its headquarters in Vienna. Her grandmother, who also worked for the firm, had close ties with the lady of the house, Ida Reich. In 1936, Elisabeth Schmid passed the entrance examination to attend the girl’s high school Boerhaavegasse, founded after World War I as a progressive academic institution, which in 1939, following the outbreak of World War II, moved for security reasons from Vienna’s 3rd district to the Lower Austrian town of Türnitz. She was dismissed from the school for disciplinary reasons – Elisabeth Schmid was unable to take the prevalent Nazi diction seriously – while the school’s official justification for her dismissal cited health problems. Back in Vienna, she continued her schooling at a high school on Wenzgasse in Hietzing, graduating in 1944.

In the winter semester of 1945, Elisabeth Schmid enrolled in the department of medicine at Vienna University. There, she met her fellow student Rudolf Leopold in 1946. Several weeks after their first encounter, they became a couple. Elisabeth Schmid graduated from medical school in 1951, and married Rudolf Leopold in 1953. After completing their studies, they both worked as ophthalmologists and ran their own private practices, though Elisabeth Leopold often stood in for her husband when he was called away on short notice as part of his collecting activities, for instance for auctions or gallery visits abroad. Elisabeth Leopold worked as an eye doctor until she retired aged 68.

Rudolf Leopold additionally studied law and art history. From the beginning, he was drawn to Elisabeth Leopold for their shared love of music and art, which they passed down to their three children Rudolf (born in 1954), Diethard (born in 1956) and Gerda (born in 1959).

Elisabeth Leopold offered her husband patience and security. Liesl, as he lovingly called her, was an indispensable conversational partner to her husband, while she, in turn, learnt from his perceptive faculty. Elisabeth Leopold imparted her expertise and experience in guided tours, addresses, and as a catalogue author, and – after her husband’s death – in press conferences and speeches given at exhibition openings.

“As his companion, I learnt how to discern art of great quality, without being in possession of my own evaluation criteria. Through him, I understood that it didn’t mean anything if an artist was unknown, as they could still be great.”

Elisabeth Leopold in 2014 in conversation with Heinz-Norbert Jocks for Kunstforum International

“Today, the Leopold Museum is a monument to the great collector and ardent art lover Rudolf Leopold, whose passion has allowed Austrian art to now resonate with the entire world.”

Elisabeth Leopold in 10 Years of the Leopold Museum 2001–2011

“My greatest wish is that Rudolf Leopold’s vision, that of erecting a lasting monument with this museum to great Austrian art and its history, may stay alive after my death.”

Elisabeth Leopold in 20 Years of the Leopold Museum 2001–2021

Elisabeth Leopold had a great sense of humor, was quick-witted and appreciated clear statements. She much preferred a simple yes or no to evasive answers. She was a good listener and helped people in need. She was always ready to offer encouragement. She was involved to the last with the Association of Friends of the Leopold Museum, with which she undertook numerous art journeys.

For the sake of compiling the joint art collection, which already comprised in excess of 5,200 works when it was brought into the foundation in 1994, Elisabeth Leopold had to forego many amenities. The lion’s share of the couple’s earnings went towards buying artworks or paying off bank loans to finance the expansion and preservation of the collection. Elisabeth Leopold was deeply impressed by the seriousness, tenacity and singlemindedness with which Rudolf Leopold pursued his path. For over 60 years, she supported her husband’s commitment to winning recognition for Egon Schiele and Viennese Modernism in Austria and abroad.

 

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