August Rodin

In February, 1940, Josef Josephu had his first American exhibition, just four months after immigrating to the United States. The showing was held at Steinway Hall on Manhattan's West 57th Street. All of the pieces were brought by ship from Vienna, along with Josef, his wife, Olga, and their daughter, Micaela. The exhibit was reviewed by the New York Times, which called Josef "a modern-day Rodin."

Here's some rare footage of August Rodin sculpting in his studio.
http://voxpopulisphere.com/2015/03/13/video-4/

More discoveries!

Once again, thanks to the help of friend Herbert Fischer, we've made another discovery. There was a company that Josef worked with in Vienna called Argentor. They sold goods made of silver, bronze and gold.

 

I had located a copy of their catalog from the 1930's but was having difficulty getting a response from the seller. Herbert purchased it on my behalf and sent me photos of the pages. Among are offered small reproductions of several pieces I own, smaller versions of a few pieces I've known about, and then some pieces I did not know of. It was a wonderful find. For example, here is a cut from the page showing one of two pieces Josef called "The Kiss" (both masters are in my apartment).

 

 

 

Another discovery

I was contacted a few months ago through this blog by someone in Wisconsin who had two pieces by my grandfather, Josef. He sent me photos. Very exciting! These are pieces I did not know existed - supporting my continuing theory that there are still many more works by Josephu waiting be rediscovered.

To add to my please, these are dated 1946 which means they were created after Josef came to the US, making them even more rare. They are a set of lamps, each different. Standing 20" tall, with a base of 8.5" ... the owner said they were plaster and he had them restored: they are excellent.

I hadn't originally intended on purchasing these, but when my cousin Georg heard of them he suggest let's get them, and reproduce in bronze. So We got them! They look great next to my couch. The next step will be to see how to best travel them to Vienna, both cost-effectively and safely. I plan on visiting this December, so one option might be to somehow pack and bring on the plane.

 

Always something turns up!

I received from very interesting news from my cousin, Georg, in Vienna. Through a chance meeting he came across a couple who restore statues. The man, Rindler, is a sculptor and his wife an artist. Georg told them of the funny story regarding one of my grandfather’s statues, a bust of Guido Holzknecht,  which had been improperly restored crediting the work Josephu Sheu who was not a sculptor. They later discussed Georg’s connection to the Josephu family. It turns out that Rindler has been hired to restore one of my grandfather’s works, a statue of St. Francis of Assisi, and that the statue will be returned to its original location.

Part of my research report on this statue was bout how it was moved and appeared to be lost for many, many years...and my failed effort to locate it during my first visit to Vienna.

 

 

After I connected with Georg he told me he knew the piece – it was in an area he’s been many times. So this chapter of the book will have a second happy ending – not only was the statue found, be restored and returned.

Steinway Hall, NYC

Visited Steinway Hall today. One of Manhattan's hidden gems. My personal connection; my grandfather, Josef Josephu, had his first US showing of his sculptures here in February of 1940 - only 5 months after arriving from Vienna. The NY Times review called him a modern-day Rodin. The staff were friendly and accommodating allowing my to go behind the 'velvet rope' and take many photos for the biography.

 

http://www.steinwayshowrooms.com/steinway-hall

 

Thanks to friend Herbert Fischer, the above photo (circa World War I) was spotted in a November 2012 newsletter of "Penzinger Museumblatter". The statue behind these people is one by my grandfather, Josef. It stood in front of a veteran's hospital, or Kriegsspital, in A-1140 Vienna in the area of 'Linzer Strasse - Deutschordenstrasse-Cossman Gasse - Casino Park.' The hospital no longer exists and the whereabouts of the statue are unknown. During my visit, George and I spent much time trying to locate the spot - and thanks to this newsletter we know where it 'was'.....but, sadly, not where it 'is'.

Thanks to Dr. Wolfgang Regal and Dr. Guenther Haberhauer for their correspondence, and to Karl Kratky of the Bezirksmuseum Penzing for send a copy of the photo.

Slow, but progressing

I just received a welcome email from Vienna, from someone who has one of my grandfather's statues. It's always nice to hear from people who appreciate his work - especially if it's a statue I wasn't aware of.

I plan on finding some spare time the winter to return to the research and to writing the biography. I admit, I often find myself dreaming of Vienna...of my wonderful trip there...and to visiting again. It's hard to describe how I feel "at home" when there.

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