Frederic Wolff-Knize

Frederic ("Fritz") Wolff-Knize (26 July 1890 – October 1949) was a German businessman, owner of Kniže & Comp. and an art collector.

Personal life

Knize married Annie (née Rothmüller), who was born on 10 October 1905, and died in November 1979 in New Canaan, Connecticut.[1] They lived in Vienna IV, Wohllebengasse 8 / III and in Dürrenast in Thun, Switzerland.

Knize directed "Kniže & Comp.", in Vienna I., Graben 13 with branches in Bad Gastein, Szgb., Berlin, Prague and Karlsbad.[2]

Art collection

The Wolff-Knize collection included an ethnographic collection[3] and numerous works by Oskar Kokoschka[2] as well as art by Marc Chagall and others.[4][5][6] Following his death in 1949, his substantial collection was broken up and sold, partly at the Kende Galleries in New York.[7][8] Among the Kokoschka's in the Knize family collection was "Zwei Mädschen"[9]

Nazi era

When Austria was merged with the Third Reich in the Anschluss of 1938, Knize, his family and business were persecuted because of their Jewish heritage. Knize escaped to Paris; but in 1939 he was interned at Bassens. The Knize company was Aryanized in 1938, that is removed from Jewish ownership and placed under non-Jewish control.[10][11] It was placed under provisional administration; in 1941 his property in Vienna was removed and sold via the Nazi VUGESTA looting organization.[2][12]

Frederic Wolff-Knize died in 1949. His wife, Annie, lived in the USA until her death.[2]

Postwar

In 1950 Anni Wolff-Knize tried to recover "The Lying Woman" by Schiele.[13] This was refused by the Federal Monuments Office and finally sold to Rudolf Leopold.[14] Today it represents one of the highlights of the Leopold Museum.[2][15]

As of 2021 there were nineteen paintings and nine other artworks from the collection of Annie and Frederic Knize listed in the German Lost Art Foundation database.[16][17]

See also

References
  1. "Annie Wolff-Knize". geni_family_tree. 10 October 1905. Retrieved 2022-02-09.
  2. "Lost Art Internet Database - Jüdische Sammler und Kunsthändler (Opfer nationalsozialistischer Verfolgung und Enteignung) - Wolff-Knize, Friedrich "Fritz"". www.lostart.de. Retrieved 2021-11-08. Wolff-Knize, Friedrich „Fritz";Lebensdaten geb. 26. Juli 1890, gest. Oktober 1949;Beruf Kaufmann;Angehörige;Wolff-Knize (geb. Rothmüller), Annie, geb. 10. Oktober 1905, gest. November 1979 New Canaan/Connecticut;Adresse Wien IV., Wohllebengasse 8 / III, Dürrenast bei Thun, Schweiz;Firmensitz, -name, -gründung „Knize & Comp.", Wien I., Graben 13 mit Filialen in Bad Gastein, Szgb., Berlin, Prag und Karlsbad;Schicksal Zunächst gelingt die Flucht nach Paris, aber 1939 Internierungslager Bassens. Fritz Wolff-Knize verstarb zu Kriegsende. Seine Frau lebte bis zu ihrem Tod in den USA.;Sammlung Die Sammlung Wolff-Knize umfasste u.a. eine ethnographische Sammlung sowie zahlreiche Werke von Oskar Kokoschka.;Enteignung 1938 erfolgte die kommissarische Verwaltung der Firma „Knize && Comp.";1941 Beschlagnahmung des Übersiedlungslifts und Veräußerung über die VUGESTA.;Restitution 1950 versuchte Anni Wolff-Knize „Die liegende Frau" von Schiele zurückzuerhalten. Dies wurde vom Bundesdenkmalamt verweigert und schließlich an Rudolf Leopold verkauft. Heute stellt es einen der Glanzpunkte des Leopold-Museums dar.;Quelle Lillie, Sophie, „Was einmal war – Handbuch der enteigneten Kunstsammlungen Wiens", Wien 2003, S. 1341 ff.
  3. "Catalogue Sotheby & Co, London, Primitive Works of Art, Property Mr Frederik Wolff-Knize, African, Ocenanic, American and Indian Art: Good Soft cover". Stadion Books. Retrieved 2022-02-09.
  4. "Marc Chagall Jour de fête (Le Rabbin au citron)".
  5. "moma_catalogue_2814_300062068 Wayback Machine" (PDF). 2020-11-24. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2020-11-24. Retrieved 2021-11-08.
  6. Adeshokan, Oluwatosin (5 June 2020). "Africa's looted artifacts are being put up for sale during the global economic crisis". Quartz. Retrieved 2021-11-08.
  7. "ANCIENT ART ITEMS TO GO ON SALE HERE; Primitives in Knize Collection to Be Put Up Saturday-- Other Offerings Slated". The New York Times. 1950-11-05. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-11-08.
  8. "Collections Online". British Museum. Retrieved 2021-11-08.
  9. "Oskar Kokoschka ZWEI MÄDCHEN (TWO GIRLS)". Sothebys. Zwei Mädchen was formerly owned by the Wolff-Kniže family who had a remarkable collection of Impressionist and Modern art. The family tailoring firm had employed Adolf Loos to design the interior of their shops in Vienna and Paris. Loos also completed the celebrated Steiner House for them in 1909, and it was through Loos that Fritz Wolff-Kniže was introduced to Oskar Kokoschka.
  10. Seeber, Ursula; Krohn, Claus-Dieter; Zwerger, Veronika (2022-01-19). "Kometen des Geldes" (in German). Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. ISBN 978-3-11-078008-6.
  11. Eigner, Peter; Matis, Herbert; Resch, Andreas (2013). Entrepreneurship in schwierigen Zeiten: Unternehmertum, Karrieren und Umbrüche während der ersten Hälfte des 20. Jahrhunderts. Beiträge gesammelt zu Ehren von Peter Berger (in German). LIT Verlag Münster. ISBN 978-3-643-50531-6.
  12. "Beschluss 60 Wolff-Knize" (PDF).
  13. "Auf Grundlage des von der Provenienzforschung bm:ukk LMPS hinsichtlich des Werkes von Egon Schiele "Liegende Frau", 1917, LM Inv. Nr. 626, vorgelegten Dossiers vom 16. Mai2011 hat das von Ihnen eingesetzte beratende Gremium in seiner Sitzung am 7. Dezember2011 einstimmig nachstehenden" (PDF).
  14. "Leopold Museum Privatstiftung LM Inv. Nr. 626 Egon Schiele"Liegende Frau"Öl auf Leinwand, 191796 x 171 cm Provenienzforschung bm:ukk – LMP Dr. Sonja Niederacher16. Mai 2011" (PDF). Archived from the original on 2021-11-08. Retrieved 2021-11-08.
  15. "KRI - Schiele Raisonné". egonschieleonline.org. Retrieved 2021-11-08.
  16. "Lost Art Internet Database - group of reported objects". www.lostart.de. Retrieved 2021-11-08.
  17. "Lost Art Internet Database - group of reported objects". lostart.de. Retrieved 2021-11-08.
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