Albert Figdor


Albert Figdor was an Austrian banker and art collector.

Life

Son of the Jewish Viennese merchant and banker Ferdinand Figdor, Albert Figdor studied law, earned a doctorate, and entered his family's banking business, participating, among other ventures, in the financing of the Gotthard Railway. The violinist Joseph Joachim was his cousin.

Art collection

Figdor collected a wide range of artworks, with a particular focus on decorative arts. His collection was regarded as one of the most significant private art collections in Europe. He was a member of the supervisory board of the MAK from 1893 to 1898. A planned donation to the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, which opened in 1891, did not materialize. Figdor bequeathed his collections to Heidelberg; however, export restrictions prevented their removal. Auctions in Vienna and Berlin in 1930, necessitated by these export prohibitions, resulted in only a small portion of the collection entering Viennese museums.

Legacy

Art from the Figdor collection can be found in museums around the world, including the Nelson-Atkins Museum, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Carnegie Museum of Art, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Literature

  • Die Sammlung Dr. A. Figdor, Auktionskatalog, 5 Bände, Wien/Berlin 1930
  • Dr. Albert Figdor und seine Sammlung von Gustav Glück. Zeitschrift für bildende Kunst, 1928, Jahrgang 61
  • Felicitas Heimann-Jelinek, Daniela Schmid: Judaica in der Sammlung Albert Figdor. In: Dies.: „Eine Krone mit verschiedenen Verzierungen samt Glöckl und Steinen“. Judaica-Sammlungen in Österreich. Böhlau, Wien 2024,, S. 25–38.