Justus Schmidt (art historian)

Heinrich Justus Schmidt (born January 15, 1903 in Vienna ; † August 15, 1970 in Linz ) was an Austrian art historian and art collector.

Life

Schmidt learned bookbinding and studied art history at the University of Vienna . He then worked as a journalist in Graz . From 1928 to 1936 he worked at the Federal Monuments Office in Vienna.

In 1936 he became a consultant for art and cultural history at the Upper Austrian State Museum in Linz, after the "Anschluss" in 1938 he was director of the museum's art collections. In 1939 Justus Schmidt wrote the first wish list from Linz, which objects from the things confiscated in Vienna should come to the State Museum, on the basis of which Hans Posse created an allocation list for the Führer Museum ( special order Linz ).

From May to October 1945 he was a member of the Eigl state government . After Theodor Kerschner was dismissed as museum director by the American occupation forces , Schmidt was interim director of Upper Austria until Franz Pfeffer's appointment in 1947. State Museum. In 1949 he took early retirement for health reasons.

In retirement, he worked as a consultant for the Linz City Cultural Office and played a key role in the development of Wolfgang Gurlitt's New Gallery and the establishment of the Linz Art Academy.

Schmidt wrote numerous scientific articles and was also active as an art collector. His graphic collection is in the Museum Nordico in Linz.

literature

• Linz on the Danube ( Deutsche Lande - German Art ). Munich / Berlin 1959
• Neues Linz (German Land - German Art). Munich / Berlin 1961

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Georg Wacha : The art historian Dr. Justus Schmidt , p. 646.
2. ↑ Georg Wacha : The art historian Dr. Justus Schmidt .
3. ↑ " The quiet pleasure. Master Drawings from the Justus Schmidt Collection ” (2020), accessed on April 5, 2020.