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Duldig exhibition opens in Vienna |
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| Karl
Duldig 1902-1986 Moses 1956 terracotta h 96cm Collection: National Gallery of Victoria |
| "A game of
tennis saved my life", the artist Karl Duldig often told his friends. Shortly after the German annexation of Austria in 1938, Karl, a top ranking Austrian tennis player as well as a highly regarded sculptor used his tennis connections to flee to Switzerland from where he organised for his wife, Slawa, and baby daughter, Eva, to join him. In 1939 they went to Singapore where the Duldigs established successful artistic careers, but, with war imminent, the British deported them to Australia (1940). They were interned in Tatura till 1942, when Karl joined the Australian army. After the war Karl and Slawa once again re-established their lives and artistic careers in Melbourne. Many of Karl Duldig's early Viennese sculptures and drawings, saved from the Nazis and hidden in a Paris cellar during the war, are included in this exhibition. They were returned to the artist over the ensuing decades and indeed a sketchbook of life drawings only arrived in Melbourne from Paris in February 2002. For further enquiries contact: Eva de Jong-Duldig Phone: 03 9885 6839 email henreva@planetmail.com |
| Principal Sponsors:
Austrian Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs Austrian Cultural Forum Cracow National Fund of the Republic of Austria for Victims of National Socialism Elisabeth Murdoch Trust Curator: Dr Peter Stasny Catalogue: Full colour 174 pages Contributing writers: Dr Peter Stasny, Humphrey McQueen, Jeffrey Say, Dr Gabriele Kohlbauer-Fritz Lending Institutions: The Duldig Studio, Melbourne The National Gallery of Victoria Jewish Museum of the City of Vienna |
In
front of a large gathering, and in the presence of the Australian Ambassador
to Austria, an exhibition of 65 sculptures and 17 drawings by the distinguished
Austrian / Australian sculptor Karl Duldig opened in Vienna on
11 February 2003.