Friends of the Jewish Museum Vienna, Inc. All Rights Reserved. New York NY, August 5, 2021The Jewish Museum will present The Hare with Amber Eyes, an exhibition that tells the story of the Ephrussi familycelebrated in the 2010 memoir and The New York Times bestseller of the same name by Edmund de Waaland showcases the breadth and depth of their illustrious collection. La Famille Ephrussi tait une famille influente de commerants et de banquiers juifs originaires d'Odessa (Empire russe), installs Paris dans les annes 1865-1870 et Vienne, alors dans l'empire austro-hongrois. Click the link in that email to complete registration so you can comment. Charles Ephrussi (1849-1905), one of the notable members of the family, was Charles Joachim Ephrussis grandson and a distinguished art critic, historian, and collector. For the construction of the Villa between 1907 and 1912, she added the talents of all the experts and merchants, friends of the family . I am delighted that our museum was able to make this restitution possible as part of the research for the exhibition.. Thanks in large part to Edmunds book, a big exhibition recreating the history of the Ephrussi family opens soon at the Jewish Museum in Vienna. This is also thanks to the excellent research carried out by our team, which investigated the history of this work.Following the recommendation of the Art Restitution Advisory Board, which is operated by the federal government, the Museum of Military History and our ministry wanted to hand over this picture to Viktor Ephrussis rightful heirs within the framework of the legal options. Friends of the Jewish Museum Vienna, Inc. All Rights Reserved. One more interesting note about the Ephrussi family. When the Nazis stormed the Ephrussi Palace in 1938, the netsuke survived, protected by a maid who kept them hidden in a mattress and returned them to the family after the war. Sadly, Iggie died three months after he sent me the letter. Ephrussi de Rothschild Villa & gardens A place of history. For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members. De Waals great-grandfather Viktor Ephrussi left the country with two suitcases and died stateless in 1945. By 1860, the family was the world's largest exporter of wheat. In addition to fine art, Charles Ephrussi amassed a significant collection of Japanese art and decorative objects, including netsuke figurines, miniature wooden or ivory carved sculptures used as garment toggles. In 1950, the Museum of Military History nevertheless wanted a painting by August Pettenkofen, owned by the Ephrussi family, to be blocked from export. Then he said that he had drafted a letter to the city mayor but was a bit unsure whether to send it. Stay warm today. Individual, Corporate, and Foundation support are crucial to furthering the Jewish Museums mission to collect, preserve, exhibit, and interpret art and Jewish culture. I had to understand first of all, he said, that Odessa was once the biggest grain-exporting port in Europe. As additional sources for vital records, original documents, vintage . Director of the Jewish Museum Vienna Dr. Danielle Spera (left), Austrian Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner (mid), and British Ambassador Leigh Turner (right) with the painting Camp Scene from 1848 in Italy. / Picture:Wien Holding / Jdische Museum Wien / Ouriel Morgensztern. Such was the case in 2019 while researching for our exhibition, The Ephrussis. Victor is one of those who intends to take advantage of a recent law enabling descendants of victims of Nazi persecution to apply for Austrian citizenship, agesture he wants to dedicate to his grandfather Viktor Ephrussi, forced from the city all those years ago. As for the Palais Ephrussi itself, it was given back to the family in 1949. Iggie was quite sick but dictated a reply to his partner Jiro. The status the Ephrussis enjoyed in Vienna at the turn of the 20th Century is clear from the edifice that still bears their name on the Ringstrasse, the showcase boulevard of the former Habsburg capital. Charless presence can be felt across the history of art in the periodhis likeness appears in the work of Edgar Degas and Auguste Renoir, and he served as a inspiration for a central character (Charles Swann) in Prousts masterpiece, In Search of Lost Time. Registering also lets you comment on articles and helps us improve your experience. Charles sent the netsuke collection to Vienna as a wedding present for his cousin, where it was saved from the Nazis plunder and passed down the generations, crossing continents as it went, before arriving back in Vienna. The painting was then given over to the sterreichische Galerie (Austrian National Gallery) and was subsequently entrusted to the HGM as a loan. His descendants continued to grow the familys wealth and influence as financiers, becoming peers of the Rothschild family, and expanding their presence across the major capitals of Europe. The book, The Hare with Amber Eyes, has won many literary honors including the RSL Ondaatje Prize and the Costa Biography Award and has been translated into over 30 languages. Once she did volunteer, He said they had to leave because there was going to be a revolution.. This is also thanks to the excellent research work of our team, which determined the history of this painting., Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner, who assisted in the restitution, said The Museum of Military History, or rather our department, wanted to hand over this painting to the rightful heir of Viktor Ephrussi within the limits of legal possibilities, following the recommendation of the Art Restitution Advisory Board, which are in the possession of the federal government. Maurice Ephrussi, french Jewish banker, married Charlotte Batrice de Rothschild (19 years old) in 1883. A weekly summary of our latest stories about the post-Soviet world. My ancestors may have had a difficult exit from the city that made them, but thanks to them I have found a favourite place that fills a need I didnt know I had. In 1938, the familys properties and bank in Austria, controlled by Viktor Ephrussi, were seized by the Nazis after the Nazi annexation of Austria. For as little as $6/month, you will: Were really pleased that youve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month. Yet before the European story, there was a Russian prequel, parts of which remain mysterious. Are you ready for a long walk?. #TheSassoons thejm.net/41DBZD7 Of Viktor Ephrussi's countless possessions, many are still lost today, including 19 paintings from a collection of about 70 works at the time. This work by R. B. Kitaj is a study for his painting "The Jewish School (Drawing a Golem)." As for the Palais Ephrussi itself, it was given back to the family in 1949. Since the acquisition of the Adam painting was closely related in time and fact to the proceedings concerning the export of the Pettenkofen painting, the Art Restitution Advisory Board recommended the restitution of the painting to the heirs of Viktor Ephrussi. In sharp sunlight, the wide shady boulevards and gracious classical buildings with their traceries of wrought iron balconies, seem almost hypnotic. "It is a great joy that, after the Jewish Museum Vienna had received the generous donation of the Ephrussi family archive, we were able to help get this picture restituted. The Hare with Amber Eyes is made possible by The Wilf Family Foundations, the Arnhold Family, Wendy Fisher and the Kirsh Foundation,Denise Littlefield Sobel, E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation, Judy and Leonard Lauder, Reuben and Jane Leibowitz, The Goldie and David Blanksteen Foundation, a gift from the estate of Gaby and Curtis Hereld, Jeanine Parisier Plottel and Roland Plottel, Dr. Claude Ghez, Blavatnik Family Foundation, Peggy and Richard Danziger, Marina and Andrew Lewin, Midge and Simon Palley, the Japan Foundation, Dasha Epstein, Sir Paul Ruddock and Lady Jill Shaw Ruddock, and Barbara Tober. Please use the following structure: example@domain.com, Send me The Times of Israel Daily Edition. The family members were known for their connoisseurship, intellectual interests, and their huge collections of art. Thats why we started the Times of Israel ten years ago - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world. 0 references. SLEEPWALKING IN ODESSA - Dianne Hofmeyr. As I began to study Russian as a schoolboy, I wanted to know more. His eldest daughter, age 25, immediately ascended the throne as Elizabeth II and her coronation was on June 2 1953. Learn more:, Families! Travel in Time. The Ephrussis. My brother Edmund records that he ran off with his fathers mistress, Estiha. I arrive in Odessa in a trance. The Ephrussi family, originally from Odessa, worked its way to fame and fortune in Paris and Vienna in the late 1800s. The federal government, by proxy of Federal Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner, authorized the Jewish Museum to carry out the restitution. Catch the pop grooves & high energy of the Grammy-nominated band, Explore the mizrah by Israel Dov Rosenbaum that inspired. Sign in to stop seeing this, Sara Netanyahu accosted by protesters at Tel Aviv hair salon, extricated by police, Brides joy turns to sorrow after Elan Ganeles killed driving to her wedding, Hiker discovers 2,500-year-old ancient receipt from reign of Purim kings father, Netanyahu compares Tel Aviv protesters to settlers who set fire to Huwara. Look here, I have an Ephrussi standing before me! The Ephrussis, she said, had been one of the two or three biggest and wealthiest Jewish families of Odessa in the middle of the nineteenth century. For #WomensHistoryMonth we are highlighting new additions to the #JewishMuseumCollection. Ephrussi family members returned to Vienna in November for their first reunion in more than eight decades to attend the opening of an exhibition about their family story. Of course, both families (and other Jewish families in Europe in the 19th century married each other) Maurice was born in Odessa, in the Russian Empire. However, the painting had already been restituted to Iggie Ephrussi, which is why the president of the Federal Monuments Office, according to an internal memo, assured the Museum of Military History that the Franz Adam painting would be blocked instead of the Pettenkofen work. Count Mose de Camondo was a Jewish collector and philanthropist who lived on the famous rue de Monceau in Paris, at the same time as the Ephrussi family (the forebears of Edmund . Charles was one of the important promoters of Japanese art in France during this period, eventually acquiring a total of 264 netsuke figurines, of which some 150 remain in the family collection today. JOE KLAMAR / AFP. We issued onto the Primorsky Boulevard, the elegant avenue of trees overlooking the sea that is Odessas main promenade effectively its front room. 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