October 2009
HARDCOVER
ISBN 13: 978-1-55595-322-5
ISBN: 1-55595-322-0
560 pages
11 1/2 x 9 1/2 in.
28 x 24 cm.
510 color plates
130 halftones
US $ 150
UK £ 100

♦ Motesiczky's portraits, are in major collections, including the National Portrait Gallery, London, and the Tate, Britain

♦ Publication details the artist's relationships with major figures of her day, including her teacher and friend Max Beckmann and Nobel laureate author Elias Canetti


Painter Marie-Louise Motesiczky’s life spanned most of the twentieth century. Her oeuvre, spanning seven decades, includes more than 300 paintings—mostly portraits, self-portraits, and still lifes.

After establishing a promising career in her native Vienna, as well as Frankfurt, Berlin, and Paris, Motesiczky fled to Britain during the Nazi era. There, she rebuilt her life and became one of the most important émigré artists in her adopted homeland. But despite her prodigious output, Motesiczky’s work has remained a well-kept secret until recently. She is referred to by biographer Jill Lloyd as the “undiscovered Expressionist,” a key figure in the movement in Britain. The power and honesty of her portraits have led eminent art historian Ernst Gombrich to compare her to Albrecht Dürer.

Dr. Ines Schlenker is a researcher at the Marie-Louise von Motesiczky Charitable Trust. She has published on National Socialism, exile and “degenerate” art and contributed to Marie-Louise von Motesiczky (Tate Liverpool, 2006).

Artist website: http://www.motesiczky.org