(Graz 1888–1949 New York)
“Offizier im Schloßpark (Schloß in Frankreich)”, 1931–1933, signed
W. Thöny, oil on canvas laid on canvas, 34 x 44 cm, framed

Colour illustration and recorded in:
Wilhelm Thöny. Im Sog der Moderne, Neue Galerie Graz. Universalmuseum Joanneum, Kerber Verlag, 2013, plate 109, cat. rais. no. 241 (with small ill.)

Provenance:
Galerie Würthle, Vienna
Acquired from the above in 1975

...On 8 January 1930 they were back in Munich, where Thöny took a studio and organised an exhibition of the Graz Secession in the Munich Kunstverein, which took place from 17 May to 24 June. In March 1930, the painting "Ile de la Cité" was displayed at the 6th Secession exhibition in Graz. It attracted a lot of attention and was discussed in numerous reviews in Graz and Munich. Thöny’s stylistic change was publicly noticed, namely its proximity to the French Impressionists, a change to the dreamlike, to the visionary. In the spring of 1930 Thöny was awarded the Austrian State Prize for Fine Arts, he became a member of the Vienna and Prague Secessions and, as the references in his surviving letters suggest, also of the Munich New Secession. He also joined the international artists’ association Porza. In the summer of 1930, he exhibited 140 paintings and drawings in the Caspari Gallery and in the autumn showed graphic works at the Kunsthaus Schaller in Stuttgart. He also exhibited in the Munich Heinemann Gallery and in New York with Silbermann Galleries in the “Modern Austrian Painting” exhibition. At the beginning of 1931 he participated in the art and trade exhibition at Kunsthalle Bern. Furthermore, he exhibited eight paintings with the Graz Secession in the Porzahaus in Berlin on Budapesterstrasse.

Paris and South of France
In the late summer of 1931 Thöny left Graz for a longer journey, the exact route of which was not known at first. He spent a few weeks at Lake Garda (Hotel Malcesine), where a family reunion with Thea’s father and sisters took place: “wonderful country! With its soft colours and all-pervading vibrating light. A few days ago we were in San Vigilio; we have visited many places, lakes and mountains, but there the world in all its deliciousness seems to have revealed itself. Also the admirable architecture of Michele, who built this palace in a magnificent garden. I was high in the mountains, full of the old positions from the stupidest of all wars. ...”
He travelled to Paris via Verona, Milan, Lake Constance, where he created a series of watercolours, and Mühlhausen. In Paris Thöny lived in the Hôtel du Quai Voltaire and the Hôtel Pont Royal. Right from the start, he planned trips and even his return to Austria, but political and professional reasons would always prevent him from returning home. Thöny did not return to Austria for the rest of his life. ...
from the aforementioned Literature