Marie-Louise von Motesiczky (1906–1996) was an Austrian-born artist whose work captured the intimate, emotional landscape of exile, family, and memory. A selection of her paintings, offered by the Marie-Louise von Motesiczky Charitable Trust.
Lot 1. Bowl of pansies, ashtray and cigarette, dated 1944
Born into a prominent Jewish family in Vienna, Marie-Louise lived through immense personal and political upheaval. Her early years were marked by privilege, her grandfather was president of the Viennese Stock Exchange, and her family moved in the same circles as Freud and the Ephrussis. Yet by the late 1930s, the rise of Nazism had forced her and her mother to flee Austria for the UK.
Lot 2. Indian Mother with Child, painted in 1945
Her artistic style was shaped most profoundly by her early mentor, the German expressionist Max Beckmann. Meeting him as a teenager left a lasting impression. She once described Beckmann’s arrival into her life as seismic, likening it to “a winged creature from Mars”. His influence remained visible throughout her career in her bold handling of the human figure and psychological depth.
Lot 3. Still-life, pink roses and brushes, painted c.1948
Among the works offered at Chiswick Auctions were still lifes and portraits spanning the 1940s to the 1980s. These included Bowl of pansies, ashtray and cigarette (1944), Indian Mother with Child (1945), and Still Life, pink roses and brushes (c.1948), reflecting her quiet sensitivity and painterly control during the difficult early years of exile in England.
Lot 7. Waiting at the airport, painted 1950s
Later works, such as Waiting at the Airport (1950s) and Fiesta 3 (1967), reveal her growing confidence and stylistic range, as her reputation expanded across continental Europe. Her exhibitions in Amsterdam, Munich, Düsseldorf, and later Vienna confirmed her as a significant post-war figure in modern European painting. Yet it wasn’t until the 1980s that her work was again celebrated in London, with renewed critical interest leading to retrospectives and the eventual publication of a catalogue raisonné.
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Lot 9. Landscape, Sark, painted in 1962
One of her final public honours came in 2019 when Tate Britain inaugurated the Marie-Louise von Motesiczky Archive Gallery, a testament to her enduring contribution to British and European art history.
Lot 10. Fiesta 3, Painted in 1967
Today, her work resides in major collections including the British Museum, Tate, National Portrait Gallery, Fitzwilliam Museum, and the Leopold Museum, Vienna. The Marie-Louise von Motesiczky Charitable Trust continues to protect and promote her legacy.
Lot 14. Lake scene, Painted in the 1980s
The Marie-Louise von Motesiczky Charitable Trust
The Marie-Louise von Motesiczky Charitable Trust, is a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales (no. 7572024) and a registered charity (no. 1140890): www.motesiczky.org. The copyright for Marie-Louise von Motesiczky’s paintings, drawings and sketches lies with the Marie-Louise von Motesiczky Charitable Trust.
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