Galerie Miethke
Professional services
UnclaimedA historic Viennese art gallery and dealership that helped introduce modern European art to Austrian audiences.
Last updated October 14, 2026
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Overview
Galerie Miethke, also known as Galerie H. O. Miethke or Miethke Gallery, was a prominent Viennese art dealership and exhibition venue established by Hugo Othmar Miethke. Its origins lay in the publishing and reproduction business Miethke & Wawra, founded with Carl Josef Wawra. The enterprise initially edited photographs, produced reproductions, and dealt in printed art. It later expanded into auctions and then into gallery management as Vienna's commercial art market developed during the second half of the nineteenth century. The business received an imperial privilege in 1868 to produce copies of works in Vienna's Belvedere Gallery. This activity placed the firm within the expanding nineteenth-century market for photographic and printed reproductions, while also associating it with the institutional art culture of the Habsburg capital. Miethke and Wawra separated around 1874, after which Hugo Miethke continued as sole proprietor under the name Galerie H. O. Miethke. The gallery moved from Plankengasse to the corner of Neuer Markt in 1882 and subsequently became one of Vienna's best-known commercial exhibition spaces. Miethke's ambition was not limited to selling individual objects. He sought to cultivate public interest in art and to connect exhibition, collecting, auction, publishing, and art education. The gallery handled estates and private collections, including the collection of Daniel Penther and the artistic estate of Hans Makart. In 1895 Miethke acquired the Palais Nákó, later known as Palais Eskeles, at Dorotheergasse 11 and commissioned its redesign as a purpose-built gallery. The renovated venue opened to the public in 1896 and presented a broad mixture of old-master paintings, nineteenth-century academic art, landscape painting, portraits, sculpture, and contemporary European work. The gallery's late nineteenth-century program included exhibitions and auctions connected with artists such as Robert Russ, Viktor Tilgner, Franz Rumpler, Franz von Stuck, and Hans Makart. It also displayed works attributed to or associated with major European old masters, including Peter Paul Rubens, Jan van Goyen, Salomon van Ruysdael, and Gerard ter Borch. The venue attracted significant public and aristocratic attention; Emperor Franz Joseph I visited the 1897 Franz Rumpler exhibition. After Hugo Miethke retired in 1904, ownership changed first to Hans Weidenbusch and then to Paul Bacher. Bacher's friendship with Gustav Klimt helped connect the gallery with the Vienna Secession and with the city's emerging modernist culture. Painter Carl Moll became artistic consultant in 1904 and shaped an ambitious program of exhibitions. In 1905 the gallery presented Munich modernists and opened a second venue at Graben, where the exhibition Die Jungen introduced Viennese audiences to major work by Josef Hoffmann, Koloman Moser, Carl Otto Czeschka, and Rudolf Kalvach. The exhibition is particularly significant because it was an early public presentation of work associated with the Wiener Werkstätte. Under Moll's direction, Galerie Miethke presented Vincent van Gogh in January 1906 and subsequently showed artists including Eugène Spiro, Alfred Kubin, Carl Schuch, and Nicholas Roerich. After Bacher's death, his widow Emma Bacher-Paulick assumed ownership. Art historian, journalist, and writer Hugo Haberfeld began co-managing the gallery with Moll in 1907. Haberfeld contributed scholarly, journalistic, and international connections, while the gallery continued to arrange exhibitions, secure loans, publish catalogues, and sell works. The program during the Moll and Haberfeld period was unusually international. It included Paul Gauguin, Francisco Goya, Honoré Daumier, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Édouard Manet, Claude Monet, Egon Schiele, Koloman Moser, Pablo Picasso, André Derain, and French impressionist and post-impressionist artists. Moll also oversaw publication of Das Werk von Gustav Klimt, a multi-part folio of collotype reproductions issued between 1908 and 1914. The partnership between Moll and Haberfeld ended by 1912 after professional disagreements, and Moll left the gallery. Haberfeld continued to direct the business and organized exhibitions such as Die Neue Kunst, French Masters, Berlin Secession artists, and a presentation of the private collection of Oskar Reichel. The First World War and changing economic conditions weakened the enterprise. Galerie Miethke closed in 1915, although Haberfeld acquired it from Emma Bacher-Paulick in 1917 and continued as sole proprietor. He directed the business until leaving Austria for Paris with his family in 1938. From 1 October 1940, the gallery was no longer recorded in the commercial register. It is therefore regarded as a defunct historical gallery rather than an operating contemporary business.
History
Galerie Miethke developed from the publishing firm Miethke & Wawra, a partnership between Hugo Othmar Miethke and Carl Josef Wawra. The early business edited photographs, produced reproductions, and sold printed art. In 1868 it received an imperial privilege to reproduce works from the Belvedere Gallery. The partners separated around 1874, after which Miethke operated independently as Galerie H. O. Miethke. The business expanded from publishing into auctions and art dealing. It moved to Neuer Markt in 1882 and acquired the Palais Nákó at Dorotheergasse 11 in 1895. After architectural alterations by Kupka & Orglmeister, the new gallery opened in 1896. Its program combined old masters, nineteenth-century academic painting, landscape art, portraiture, sculpture, and exhibitions of artists' estates. Important events included auctions associated with Daniel Penther, Hans Makart, and Viktor Tilgner, exhibitions of Robert Russ and Franz Rumpler, and displays of works connected with Rubens and other European masters. Hugo Miethke retired in 1904. Ownership passed through Hans Weidenbusch and Paul Bacher before Bacher's widow, Emma Bacher-Paulick, took control. Carl Moll, a painter linked to the Vienna Secession, became artistic consultant and introduced a more modern, international exhibition policy. In 1905 the gallery opened a Graben venue with Die Jungen, which presented artists associated with the Wiener Werkstätte. The following year it showed 45 works by Vincent van Gogh and also presented Eugène Spiro, Alfred Kubin, Carl Schuch, and Nicholas Roerich. After Bacher's death, Hugo Haberfeld joined Moll in managing the gallery. Haberfeld's background in art history and journalism supported the organization of exhibitions, loans, sales, and catalogues. During this period the gallery exhibited Paul Gauguin, Francisco Goya, Honoré Daumier, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Édouard Manet, Claude Monet, Egon Schiele, Koloman Moser, Pablo Picasso, André Derain, and numerous French, German, Austrian, and other European artists. Moll also supervised the publication of Das Werk von Gustav Klimt, a collotype folio issued from 1908 to 1914. Moll and Haberfeld ended their working relationship by 1912. Haberfeld continued independently, organizing exhibitions such as Die Neue Kunst, French Masters, Berlin Secession artists, and the Oskar Reichel collection. The gallery closed in 1915, but Haberfeld purchased it in 1917 and remained proprietor. He left Austria for Paris in 1938. The business ceased to appear in the commercial register from October 1940. No evidence in the supplied material indicates that Galerie Miethke continues as an operating gallery.
- 1940
Removed from commercial register
[1]The gallery was no longer listed in the commercial register from 1 October 1940.
- 1915
Gallery closes
[1]Galerie Miethke closed during the First World War period.
- 1906
Van Gogh exhibition
[1]An exhibition of 45 works by Vincent van Gogh formed part of the gallery's increasingly international modern-art program.
- 1905
Die Jungen exhibition
[1]The gallery opened a Graben venue with an exhibition featuring leading Wiener Werkstätte-related artists.
- 1904
Miethke retires; Moll becomes artistic consultant
[1]A change in ownership followed Hugo Miethke's retirement, while Carl Moll assumed a major role in artistic programming.
- 1896
Palais gallery opens
[1]The redesigned Dorotheergasse gallery opened to the public with a broad European art display.
- 1895
Palais Nákó acquired
[1]Miethke purchased the Palais Nákó, later Palais Eskeles, for conversion into a major gallery venue.
- 1882
Relocation to Neuer Markt
[1]The gallery moved from Plankengasse to a larger and more prominent location at Neuer Markt.
- 1874
Miethke becomes sole proprietor
[1]Carl Josef Wawra and Hugo Miethke separated, leaving Miethke to continue the enterprise independently.
- 1868
Belvedere reproduction privilege
[1]Miethke & Wawra received imperial authorization to produce reproductions of works in the Belvedere Gallery.
Products and positioning
A prestigious Viennese art dealership positioned between traditional art commerce and the international avant-garde. The gallery combined exhibitions, auctions, publishing, reproduction, collecting advice, and public education, and became an important intermediary for Austrian, French, German, and other European artists.
Gallery service
Art exhibitions
Galerie Miethke organized solo, group, estate, collection, and thematic exhibitions. Its program ranged from old-master painting and nineteenth-century academic art to Vienna Secession, Wiener Werkstätte, French impressionism, post-impressionism, and other modern European movements.
Art-market service
Art auctions and estate sales
The gallery conducted auctions and handled artists' estates and private collections. Documented examples include the collection of Daniel Penther, the estate of Hans Makart, the estate of Viktor Tilgner, and the estate of Wilhelm Bernatzik.
Art publication · 1908
Das Werk von Gustav Klimt
This multi-part folio presented collotype reproductions of Gustav Klimt's works. Carl Moll organized the publication through Galerie Miethke, with installments issued between 1908 and 1914.
Art publishing · 1868
Photographic art reproductions
The firm's earliest commercial activity involved editing photographs and producing printed reproductions, including authorized copies of works from the Belvedere Gallery.
Marketing campaigns
- 1908Das Werk von Gustav Klimt
Austria · International
The gallery published a serialized folio of collotype reproductions documenting Gustav Klimt's work.
Outcome. The publication extended the gallery's influence beyond physical exhibitions and supported the circulation of Klimt's work in reproduced form.
- 1905Die Jungen
Austria
The exhibition opened the gallery's Graben venue and introduced Viennese audiences to work by Josef Hoffmann, Koloman Moser, Carl Otto Czeschka, and Rudolf Kalvach.
Outcome. It marked an important connection between Galerie Miethke and the Wiener Werkstätte and helped establish the gallery as a venue for modern design and art.
Brand decisions
1915
Closure during wartime conditionsOtherBackground
The First World War and its economic and institutional effects disrupted Vienna's art market.
Action taken
Galerie Miethke closed in 1915.
Aftermath
Hugo Haberfeld later acquired the gallery in 1917, but the business ultimately disappeared from the commercial register in 1940.
1904
Shift toward modern European artStrategyBackground
After Hugo Miethke's retirement, new ownership created an opportunity to reshape the gallery's artistic direction.
Action taken
Paul Bacher installed Carl Moll as artistic consultant and supported exhibitions of contemporary and international modern art.
Aftermath
The gallery presented artists associated with the Vienna Secession, Wiener Werkstätte, French modernism, and the wider European avant-garde.
1895
Conversion of Palais Nákó into a galleryStrategyBackground
Hugo Miethke sought a venue capable of presenting a larger and more ambitious mixture of historical and contemporary art.
Action taken
He acquired the Palais Nákó and commissioned Kupka & Orglmeister to redesign it as Galerie Miethke.
Aftermath
The resulting Dorotheergasse venue opened in 1896 and became the gallery's principal exhibition setting.
Sources1 sources
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