Otto Kallir

American, born Austria, 1894 - 1978

Explore Selected Works

A man with large, dark eyes glowers at us from under black brows, one of which is lowered and the other cocked in this drawn, vertical portrait. The man’s face is angled slightly to our left, but he looks out with his red lips twisted up to our right. The planes of his cheeks, lines across his forehead, nose, and thin, narrow chin are painted lightly and broadly with pale gray and pale pink to suggest light skin tone and shadows. His black hair is tousled, and the open collar of his shirt is suggested with a few lines sketched in graphite and emphasized with strokes of black paint. The artist signed and dated the drawing to the right, “EGON SHIELE 1912.”
Egon Schiele, Self-Portrait, 1912, watercolor over graphite on light brown wove japan paper; partial sketch of face in graphite on verso, Gift of Hildegard Bachert in memory of Otto Kallir, 1997.127.1

Self-Portrait

Egon Schiele · 1912 · watercolor over graphite on light brown wove japan paper; partial sketch of face in graphite on verso ·  Accession ID  1997.127.1

A baby nestles in a mass of frilly white fabric atop a colorful patchwork, perhaps a pile of quilts, against a sage and spring-green background in this square painting. The baby’s face and right hand peeks out from the mountain of fabric at the top center of the composition. The infant has ash-white skin with pink cheeks and lips, and looks down toward us with large dark eyes. The pile of fabric creates a mosaic-like mix of pattern and color with vibrant royal and baby blue, sage green, turquoise, butter yellow, and shell and salmon pink. Some patterns are outlined in black while brushstrokes swirl together in other areas. The background is mottled with cool mint and asparagus-green strokes against pale beige.
Gustav Klimt, Baby (Cradle), 1917/1918, oil on canvas, Gift of Otto and Franziska Kallir with the help of the Carol and Edwin Gaines Fullinwider Fund, 1978.41.1

Baby (Cradle)

Gustav Klimt · 1917/1918 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1978.41.1

Bibliography

1978

  • New York Times Biographical Service. December, 1978:1199 [obituary of Otto Kallir]

2003

  • Lillie, Sophie. Was Einmal War: Handbuch der enteigneten Kunstsammlungen Wiens. Vienna, 2003: 541-545.