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Wilhelm Traeger
(b. 1907, Vienna, d. 1980, Ried im Innkreis)
︎︎︎Of course I know eternity: Wilhelm Traeger + Gray Wielebinski
Wilhelm Traeger
(b. 1907, Vienna, d. 1980, Ried im Innkreis)
︎︎︎Of course I know eternity: Wilhelm Traeger + Gray Wielebinski
Wilhelm Traeger was an Austrian painter and graphic artist of the New Objectivity movement. Traeger grew up in Vienna and after the First World War was one of the starving Viennese children who were nursed back to health in Denmark during the summer. He found a Danish foster family with whom he remained connected throughout his life and who also helped him finance his studies. From 1925 to 1933 he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, passing his teacher’s examination for mathematics and descriptive geometry at the Vienna University of Technology in 1930, practicing as an art teacher for the next 6 years in Vienna, Wels and Ried. In 1935, he became a member of the Upper Austrian Art Association, the Innviertel Artists’ Guild, the Vienna Secession, and the Vienna Künstlerhaus. During World War II, he served as a corporal in the anti-aircraft unit and, from 1942, as a PK correspondent for the German Wehrmacht. After the war, he continued his teaching career in Ried im Innkreis. In 1946, he worked with Max Bauböck, Walther Gabler, and Engelbert Daringer to reorganize the Innviertel Artists’ Guild. From 1970 to 1974 he was president of the Upper Austrian Art Association.
Traeger’s posthumous solo exhibitions include: ‘Wilhelm Traeger zum 100. Geburtstag’, Museum Innviertler Volkskundehaus, Ried (2007); ‘Wilhelm Traeger (1907–1980), Wien–Fredericia–Ried’, Museum Jorn, Silkeborg (1998); ‘Wilhelm Traeger zum 10 jährigen Todestag,’ Museum Innviertler Volkskundehaus, Ried (1990); ‘Wilhelm Traeger,’ Oberösterreichischer Kunstverein, Linz (1982) and ‘Wien 1932’, Viennale, Filmarchiv Austria, Vienna (2007). His posthumous group exhibitions include: ‘Before the Fall. German and Austrian Art of the 1930s’, Neue Galerie, New York (2018); ‘Das ist Österreich! Bildstrategien und Raumkonzepte 1914–1938’, Vorarlberg Museum, Bregenz (2015); ‘Wien – Berlin. Die Kunst zweier Metropolen’, Belvedere, Vienna and Berlinische Galerie, Berlin (2013/14); ‘kampf um die stadt’, Vienna Museum & Künstlerhaus Vienna (2009); ‘Zwischen den Kriegen. Österreichische Künstler 1918–1938’, Leopold Museum, Vienna (2007); ‘Armut’, Historisches Museum der Stadt Wien, Vienna (2002/3); ‘Neue Sachlichkeit. Österreich 1918–1938’, Bank Austria Kunstforum, Vienna (1995); ‘Abbild und Emotion. Österreichischer Realismus 1914–1944’, MAK – Museum of Applied Arts, Vienna (1984);
Traeger’s works are in the collections of the Albertina Museum, Vienna; Belvedere, Vienna; Heeresgeschichtlichen Museum, Vienna; Museum Innviertler Volkskundehaus, Ried; Oberösterreichischer Kunstverein, Linz; Rupertinum, Salzburg; Museum Jorn, Silkeborg; Stadtmuseum, Fredericia; Vorarlberg Museum, Bregenz and the Wien Museum, Vienna.
Traeger’s posthumous solo exhibitions include: ‘Wilhelm Traeger zum 100. Geburtstag’, Museum Innviertler Volkskundehaus, Ried (2007); ‘Wilhelm Traeger (1907–1980), Wien–Fredericia–Ried’, Museum Jorn, Silkeborg (1998); ‘Wilhelm Traeger zum 10 jährigen Todestag,’ Museum Innviertler Volkskundehaus, Ried (1990); ‘Wilhelm Traeger,’ Oberösterreichischer Kunstverein, Linz (1982) and ‘Wien 1932’, Viennale, Filmarchiv Austria, Vienna (2007). His posthumous group exhibitions include: ‘Before the Fall. German and Austrian Art of the 1930s’, Neue Galerie, New York (2018); ‘Das ist Österreich! Bildstrategien und Raumkonzepte 1914–1938’, Vorarlberg Museum, Bregenz (2015); ‘Wien – Berlin. Die Kunst zweier Metropolen’, Belvedere, Vienna and Berlinische Galerie, Berlin (2013/14); ‘kampf um die stadt’, Vienna Museum & Künstlerhaus Vienna (2009); ‘Zwischen den Kriegen. Österreichische Künstler 1918–1938’, Leopold Museum, Vienna (2007); ‘Armut’, Historisches Museum der Stadt Wien, Vienna (2002/3); ‘Neue Sachlichkeit. Österreich 1918–1938’, Bank Austria Kunstforum, Vienna (1995); ‘Abbild und Emotion. Österreichischer Realismus 1914–1944’, MAK – Museum of Applied Arts, Vienna (1984);
Traeger’s works are in the collections of the Albertina Museum, Vienna; Belvedere, Vienna; Heeresgeschichtlichen Museum, Vienna; Museum Innviertler Volkskundehaus, Ried; Oberösterreichischer Kunstverein, Linz; Rupertinum, Salzburg; Museum Jorn, Silkeborg; Stadtmuseum, Fredericia; Vorarlberg Museum, Bregenz and the Wien Museum, Vienna.
Wilhelm Traeger, Dream path to eternity, 1961. Photography by Helmut Karl Lackner. Copyright Dr. Verena Traeger, Vienna.
Wilhelm Traeger, Design of a traffic memorial in New Sansara, 1963. Photography by Helmut Karl Lackner. Copyright Dr. Verena Traeger, Vienna.
Wilhelm Traeger, 'Hommage pour Alfons Petzold', 1961. Photography by Helmut Karl Lackner. Copyright Dr. Verena Traeger, Vienna.
Wilhelm Traeger, In the labyrinth of time, 1964. Photography by Helmut Karl Lackner. Copyright Dr. Verena Traeger, Vienna.
Wilhelm Traeger, 'Spectrum MCMLXIII', 1963. Photography by Helmut Karl Lackner. Copyright Dr. Verena Traeger, Vienna.