About Paul Flora, his life & his works

Paul Flora (1922 - 2009)

An Austrian draughtsman and graphic artist who was and is known for his humorous and satirical works. His works (especially drawings, lithographs and etchings, but also all kinds of prints) are very popular and reflect his subtle powers of observation.

Popular to this day...

Today, Paul Flora is probably considered the most important artist of the Austrian post-war period alongside Alfred Kubin. His works, especially his characteristic drawings and extensive prints, are represented in museums and collections internationally and are highly valued on the art market. He achieved his enormous distribution and popularity through his numerous books and prints, and as a critic and caricaturist for a long time in various media.
Letztes Foto von Paul Flora

Obituary

Paul Flora was proud that his drawings hung not only in museums, but in thousands and thousands of living rooms of those commonly referred to as “ordinary people”. His popularity was great, and he was not ashamed of it in a vain and elitist way, but enjoyed it every day.

As an artist, he had the gift of an evil eye, noticing what was laughable in the world so that he could capture it in his drawings; as a person, however, he was downright guileless, witty and helpful, a living example of the fact that great artists need not be egomaniacs. The art that he created tirelessly into old age, because drawing was the natural profession of his life from childhood onwards, is indeed for everyone: it delights the connoisseur of the graphic tradition and the viewer who confronts it without any prior knowledge of art history, its wit is subtle and enigmatic, its form masterful.

His works of art will remain; but the memory of a truly noble man who created himself in his own humane art of living and enchanted all those who had the good fortune to meet him will not fade so quickly.

Born in Salzburg in 1954, he is a freelance writer and has been friends with Paul Flora for many years. When he was awarded the “Honorary Prize of the Austrian Book Trade for Tolerance” in 2001, Paul Flora gave the laudatory speech.
Karl Markus Gauß

Karl-Markus Gauss

on the person of the obituary author

Curriculum

You can discover Paul Flora's career interactively by clicking through the timeline of his life below the text.

1922
Birth
Birth

in Glurns in the Vinschgau Valley, South Tyrol

1927
Innsbruck
Relocation to Innsbruck
1942
Munich
Stay in Munich

until 1944

1944
Soldier
Military service

1944/1945 in Italy, Hungary & Slovakia

1945
Return
First exhibition

Back in Innsbruck after brief American captivity; first exhibition in November in the rooms of the “Zofinga”, Bern

1948
Art Club
Art Club

Member of the "Art Club

1950
Biennale
Participation in the Biennale

in Venice

1952
Ferdinandeum
Exhibition at the Museum Ferdinandeum

in Innsbruck

1953
First book
“Flora's Fauna”

First book published by Diogenes: publication of “Flora's Fauna”

1955
Book
“The Musenross”

Publication of “The Musenross”

1956
State Prize
State Prize Award Ceremony

Award of the State Prize for Graphic Art - also exhibition at the Vienna Secession

1957
Books
“The warhorse”

Publication of “Das Schlachtross” and “Menschen und andere Tiere”

1957
Caricaturist
Polit. Caricatures in Hamburg and Vienna

Start as a staff member of “Die Zeit” and exhibition at Galerie Würthle

1958
Exhibitions
Exhibitions in Lübeck and New York

Exhibitions at the Overbeck Gesellschaft and the Este-Gallery

1958
Book
“Mourning flora”

Publication of “Trauerflora” with foreword by Friedrich Dürrenmatt

1959
Exhibitions and book
Exhibitions in Bremen and Berlin

Exhibitions at the Kunsthalle Bremen and the Maison de France; publication of “Vivat Vamp”

1961
Books
“The ravages of time”

Publications of “Der Zahn der Zeit” and “Ein Schloß für ein Zierhuhn”

1962
Exhibitions & Books
Exhibitions in Paris / Hamelin, book “Oh dear time I”

Exhibitions at the Austrian Cultural Institute in Paris and at the Kunstkreis Hameln; publication of “Ach du liebe Zeit I”

1963
Theater/Exhibition
Stage sets and Hanover exhibition

Stage design for “Amphytrion” at the Akademietheater in Vienna and for “Der König stirbt” at the Deutsches Schauspielhaus Hamburg; exhibition at the Wilhelm Busch Museum in Hanover

1964
Books
“Oh dear time II”

Publication of “Oh my goodness II”, “Flora's pocket fauna” and “The little men and the little women”

1964
Exhibition
Exhibitions in Innsbruck & Constance

Exhibitions in the Taxispalais and the Wessenberghaus

1966
Biennale
Venice Biennale

Participation in the Venice Biennale with 50 drawings

1966
Exhibitions and book
Exhibitions in Warsaw & New York

Exhibitions at the Austrian Cultural Institute in Warsaw and New York; publication of “Königsdramen”

1967
NYC
New York with Moldovan

Stay in New York with Kurt Moldovan

1968
Book
Book with foreword by Dürrenmatt

Publication of “Veduten und Figuren” with a foreword by Friedrich Dürrenmatt

1969
Books and exhibition
Aargau exhibition

Publication of “Der gebildete Gartenzwerg” and “Zeitvertreib”; exhibition at the Aargauer Kunsthaus

1970
Folder and book
“Diogenes Portfolio”

Publication of the portfolio “Diogenes Portfolio” and the book “Die verwurzelten Tiroler und ihre bösen Feinde”

1971
Exhibition and books
Milan exhibition

Publication of “Premiere” and “When the grandfather shot the grandmother”; exhibition at the Galleria Il Milione Milan

1971
London
London with Moldovan

Stay with Kurt Moldovan in London

1972
Exhibitions
Exhibitions in Aachen, Graz, Linz

Exhibitions at the Suermont Museum, the Kulturhaus Graz and the Wolfgang Gurlitt Museum

1972
Books
“Into battle” and “The bourgeois libertine”

Publications of “Auf in den Kampf” and “Der bürgerliche Wüstling”

1973
Exhibition
Grefrath exhibition

Exhibition in the Lower Rhine open-air museum in Grefrath

1974
Exhibitions
Exhibitions in Essen and Munich

Exhibition at the Folkwang Museum Essen and the Günther Franke Gallery in Munich

1975
Book
“Hungerburg Elegies”

Publication of “Hungerburger Elegien” in book form

1976
Exhibition & Portfolio
Grenoble exhibition

Exhibition at the Museé de Grenoble; publication of the portfolio “The Ravens”

1977
Books & folder
“Penthouse” and more

Publication of “Penthouse” and “Von (A)uto bis (Z)entauren” (books); Glanz und Elend der Eisenbahn (portfolio)

1978
Folder
“Adventure” appears

Publication of “Adventurer”

1979
Exhibition
Nymwegen exhibition

Exhibition at Museum Nymwegen; publication of “The pale bosom friend” and “Early drawings” (books); “Fauna” (portfolio)

1980
Folder
“Theater”

Publication of “Theater” (folder)

1981
Book
“Words in vain”

Publication of “Words in vain”

1982
Exhibition
Graz exhibition

Exhibition at Kulturhaus Graz and Taxispalais; publication of “Nocturnos” and “Winzige Werke” (books); “Venezia” (portfolio)

1983
Exhibition
Freiburg exhibition

Exhibition at the Städt. Museum Freiburg im Breisgau; publication of “Variationen zu Wagner”, “Brotlose Berufe” and “Die Turnübungen der Älpler” (books); “Panoptikum” (portfolio)

1985
Cross of Merit
Grand Cross of Merit

Award of the Grand Cross of Merit of the FRG

1986
Asiago
“Oscar of philately”

Premio Internazionale Assagio d'Árte Filatelica - an annual prize awarded in Asiago, Italy, which focuses on the artistic design of stamps.

1987
Bavarian Academy
Academy member

Member of the Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts, “Drawn and Written”

1989
Film & Television
ORF films

Until 1991, several films about and by Flora were made for ORF: “Die Raben von San Marco” (Flora), “Floras Fauna” (Flora), “Ein Fischer im Drüben” (Alfred Kubin) and “Ein Abenteurer im Schlafrock” (Paul von Rittinger)

1992
Honorary citizen
Honorary citizen of the town of Glurns

Honorary citizen of the town of Glurns and major retrospective at the Historical Museum of the City of Vienna

1997
Retrospective
Large retrospective

Major retrospective at the Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts in Munich

1999
Sponsorship award
Presentation of the e.o.plauen Award

The awards ceremony is accompanied by an exhibition of the prizewinners' works in a municipal institution.

2002
Florilegium
For the 80th birthday

“A Florilegium” with an extensive text from (A)kademie to (Z)eichner by Karl-Markus Gauss (book); retrospective at Palais Esplanade in Merano and Palais Harrach in Vienna

2004
Retrospective
Retrospective

Retrospective “From many times” with works from 1936-2004

2009
Death
Death

Paul Flora dies on May 15, 2009 in Innsbruck

His brilliant early work was initially strongly influenced by Kubin. Even before 1950, he radically broke with dense hatching and turned to fine, thin-lined, delicate outlines. He consistently developed an unmistakable line technique with pen and ink that was identified with far beyond Europe.

His technical mastery is complemented by an eye for the original, sometimes offbeat subject matter. His wit ranges from caustic satire to mild irony and serene humor. Flora always saw himself as a draughtsman, even when he was creating caricatures.

Recurring themes are cities such as Venice with its carnival and the commedia dell’arte, acrobats, autumn moods, military scenes, the arrogant arrogance of the ruling classes and the organized philistinism of clubs and associations, erotic and other misfortunes, doomsday scenarios of the imperial and royal monarchy and the great figures of history such as Richard Wagner, Napoleon, Nietzsche and Edgar Allen Poe, among others. His heraldic animal and most common motif is the raven, which is wise and talkative. Insiders know that if you loosen its tongue, it speaks better than any parrot.

In the 1960s, the stroke became firmer, the outline thicker and the inner drawing increasingly dominant. From the seventies onwards, hatching began to reclaim the page in an unmistakable way, creating strong effects with the finely graduated contrast between light and dark. He also used color sparingly as another painterly element in his drawings. While he rarely used watercolor in the 1950s, he increasingly switched to color pencils in the late 1970s and especially in the 1980s. In the 1980s, he added pencil drawing to his oeuvre.

In his later work, a strongly lyrical element is finally added to some of his pictures: autumn landscapes, lonely riders in the fog, bare trees, lonely decaying houses. Flora’s graphic impressiveness was groundbreaking for the 20th century and shaped it as a draughtsman like no other. This made him not only one of the most important, but also one of the most popular draughtsmen in Europe. His works can be found in many public and private collections.

Born in 1958, runs the “Galerie Seywald” of the same name and looks after the estate of Paul Flora in Salzburg.
Dr. Thomas Seywald

Dr. Thomas Seywald

About the author - Curriculum

Works & Publications

Books, texts and films about and with Paul Flora. Also awards and exhibitions/museums.

In 1963 Flora also designed stage sets, and between 1985 and 1998 he designed several stamp series for Austria and the Principality of Liechtenstein (including the 1988 Summer and Winter Olympics).

Photos from life