Munich December 10, 2008
Dear Friends of Gallery Pabst,
As some of you might know already, my father and loyal friend, Michael Pabst, passed away on October 12, 2008. For myself, his family and for many others this presents a heavy loss.
As the gallery lived solely through himself, his knowledge and his inspiration, I took the decision to end the gallery business here in Munich by December 31, 2008. After more than 30 years of gallery history this is a very difficult step to take.
I will be in charge of the art collection in the future. We plan to make his collection accessible for everybody on the internet. My sister, Marion Jaros, will look after the written estate of my father. Here as well we work on a public presentation.
I thank all clients, collectors and friends for their loyalty which they kept sometimes for decades. As well I wish to thank the long-standing employees Sigrid von Witzleben, Nina Raffalt, Wendula of Bergwelt and Nikos Mitkas.
With kind regards,
Daniel Pabst
A Tribute to Michael Pabst
Michael Pabst's contribution to the revaluation of Viennese Art of the preceding turn of the century, can hardly be underestimated: The Munich gallery owner, since 1976 near Maximilianstrasse and relocating to Haidhausen in the 90s, was an expert in the area of Vienna Secession Art: we owe him the rediscovery of Max Oppenheimer ( Pabst was the first to produce a comprehensive catalogue of Oppenheimer's graphic prints ) and also discovered Erika Giovanna Klien and the Vienna Kinetism anew.
Pabst's efforts for the artists he estimated - those working around 1900, but also those of the 1920s and the postwar period
(Fritz Winter, Arnulf Rainer) - ranged far beyond the commercial
gallery business: in 1984 Pabst published a splendid catalog on
Viennese graphic art around 1900 and organized unorthodox exhibtions such as the one on art about the
First World War in 1982. Pabst also drew attention to forgotten artists
like Hans Haffenrichter of Bauhaus school or late-expressionist
Anton Kerschbaumer.
In addition Michael pabst, son of the famous silent movie director GW Pabst, refurbished his father's work, a book manuscript, unfortunately, remained unfinished. On 12 October Michael Pabst died at the age of 67.
After an article by Holger Liebs, Süddeutschen Zeitung München, October 21, 2008; Image: Galerie Pabst
Press Coverage
On the Death of Michael Pabst - The Power of the Soul
(Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung)
