Henry Koerner Austrian Born American Vintage Surreal Symbolism Post War Magic Realism Mixed Media Wax Ink Painting
Original vintage Magic Realism painting, by Austrian Born American artist Henry Koerner, (1915-1991). The painting is an architectural scene mixed with metaphysical/surreal elements. The media of the painting is a mixed media, wax/colored pencil, and black ink on paper. The original vintage painting remains in the original late 1980s era frame and is in excellent original condition. The painting is signed with the artist's initials in the far upper right corner, as well as the year '89. The painting's measurements that are showing from the front view, are approximately 17 3/4"H X 17.3"L. In frame, the entire artwork measures approximately 25" X 25".
Henry Koerner (1915–1991): The Realist of Memory and Mystery
Henry Koerner was a Jewish Austrian-American painter and graphic artist whose works, infused with memory, symbolism, and surreal clarity, positioned him as a singular figure in 20th-century art. Though often associated with magic realism and post-war psychological realism, Koerner’s hauntingly detailed images defy easy categorization, existing at the intersection of personal trauma, classical technique, and a quiet, surreal unease.
Early Life and Flight from Europe
Born March 28, 1915 in Vienna, Austria, Koerner grew up in a cultured, middle-class Jewish family. He studied at the Vienna Academy of Applied Arts, where he developed skills in illustration and design, absorbing the rich artistic traditions of Central Europe. However, the rise of Nazism and the Anschluss in 1938 marked a turning point. As the Nazis swept into Austria, Koerner fled to Scotland and later New York City, narrowly escaping the Holocaust that claimed the lives of his parents and brother. This profound personal loss would echo throughout his later work.
World War II and U.S. Army Work
During World War II, Koerner served in the U.S. Army as a graphic artist and interpreter. He became part of the U.S. War Crimes Commission, where he created illustrations documenting the Nuremberg Trials. These powerful works captured the stark confrontation between justice and atrocity and deeply informed his sense of moral and historical reckoning—an undercurrent that runs through much of his art.
Post-War Art and Recognition
After the war, Koerner settled in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he would remain for most of his life. It was here that his mature artistic style took shape. His early post-war paintings are precise, meticulously composed, and often deeply personal, portraying dreamlike scenes of family members, old-world figures, or allegorical groupings that seem frozen in time. His works are filled with symbols, theatrical lighting, and a photographic stillness—yet they hum with emotional tension.
One of his most celebrated works, "The Mirror" (1946), depicts Koerner’s mother posthumously, seated and reflected eerily in multiple mirrors—an intimate portrait painted entirely from memory. This piece helped launch his reputation and was acquired by the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York. Other paintings, such as "The Prodigal Son" or "Circus" reveal his fascination with classical compositions, Renaissance perspectives, and modern existential themes.
Koerner became known as a “magic realist,” though he himself resisted strict labels. His paintings are realistic in execution but saturated with an uncanny quality that suggests more than what meets the eye. They are about memory, trauma, identity, and displacement—often staged like dream-theaters that invite, yet withhold, interpretation.
Technique and Themes
Koerner worked in egg tempera, oil, and drawing, and was particularly attentive to detail and texture. His paintings often depict urban dreamscapes, solitary figures, or classical interiors, always filtered through a deeply psychological lens. His work stands apart for its quietness and restraint—unlike the surrealists, Koerner's surrealism is not fantastical but internal.
Themes of loss, alienation, the weight of history, and identity permeate his work. He once said:
“My life has made me more aware of the weight of the past... it is always there in the room.”
Later Years and Legacy
Though he never became a household name, Koerner exhibited widely, both in the U.S. and Europe. His work was shown at the Carnegie Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum, and galleries in Vienna, Rome, and Tel Aviv. He also taught briefly, including at the Carnegie Mellon University, where his meticulous approach influenced a generation of realist painters.
Tragically, Koerner died in 1991, struck by a bus while cycling in Pittsburgh—a city he had made his home and muse for over four decades.
Today, Koerner is remembered as a painter of remembrance—one whose work captured the fragility of human presence in the shadow of history. Though not formally aligned with the surrealists, his work possesses an atmosphere of deep contemplation, where every object and figure is suspended between dream and documentation.
Collections and Recognition
Koerner’s work is held in the permanent collections of:
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York
The Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh
The Smithsonian American Art Museum
And various university and private collections across the U.S. and Europe.
His meticulous technique and psychological insight have earned him comparisons to artists such as Balthus, Lucian Freud, and Giorgio de Chirico, though he remains a truly independent voice—a chronicler of memory in a world that had tried to forget.
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