New York art gallery established by Austrian Otto Kallir (1894-1978), who had fled his native Vienna to escape the Nazis. Kallir's first career was in art publishing. In 1923 he opened the Neue Galerie in Vienna, where he held the first major exhibition of Schiele's work in Europe. In 1930 Kallir published a catalogue raisonné of Schiele's work, and in 1931 earned his Ph.D. in art history from the University of Vienna. Shortly after the Nazis occupied Austria, Kallir and his family left for Switzerland, then to Paris where he opened the first Galerie St. Etienne. Kallir opened his New York branch on 13 November 1939 with an exhibition titled "Works of Austrian Masters".The Galerie St. Etienne introduced a number of noteworthy German and Austrian artists such as Oskar Kokoschka, Gustav Klimt, Alfred Kubin, and Kathe Kollwitz at a time when this art was practically unheard of in America. In addition to 20th century German and Austrian artists, the gallery also emphasizes 19th century art of other nations. Kallir is also known as the "discoverer" of American naive artist Anna Mary Robertson (Grandma) Moses, as his gallery held her first one-woman show in 1940. Kallir later wrote a biography of the artist.
Bibliography
1978
New York Times Biographical Service. December, 1978:1199 [obituary of Otto Kallir]
1979
Galerie St. Etienne Fortieth Anniversary Exhibition.(brochure) 1979
1989
Fiftieth Anniversary Exhibition: A History in Documents and Pictures. (brochure) 1989.