Otto Benesch

Otto Benesch (June 29, 1896 – November 16, 1964) was an Austrian art historian. He was taught by Max Dvořák and is considered a member of the Vienna School of Art History. He is well known for his catalogue of Rembrandt's drawings. In 1942 he was awarded the Guggenheim Fellowship.

Benesch was the son of art collector Heinrich Benesch, an important patron of the Austrian artist Egon Schiele. Being familiar with modern art from childhood, a personal acquaintance with Schiele left a lasting impression on him, which is also to be seen in several of his publications.

From 1915 to 1921, Benesch studied art history, archaeology and philosophy at the University of Vienna mainly under Max Dvořák. In 1921 he wrote his PhD dissertation on the development of Rembrandt's drawing. From 1920 to 1923, he volunteered at the Art Gallery of the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna. In 1923, he became an assistant and later curator of the collection of the Albertina, where he classified the Rembrandt collection and also curated exhibitions. He lost this job during the Nazi era, because his wife was of Jewish ancestry. Therefore, in 1938, he emigrated to France, in 1939 to England, and in 1940 to the USA. From 1940 to 1947, he lived in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and worked at Harvard's Fogg Museum, Cambridge, MA; at Princeton University; and in New York City. In Princeton, he was a member of the Institute for Advanced Studies. In 1947, he was appointed back to Vienna, where he served as Director of the Albertina and curated many important exhibitions. In 1948 he was also appointed extraordinary professor of art history. He retired in 1961.

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