You are bidding on one Letter from the Viennese painter Katinka Lehmann, divorced wife of decorative painter and theater director Moritz Lehmann (1819-1877).

Dated 21. March 1860.

Transcription: "Dear Herr v. Cerri! Please excuse me very much about tomorrow, Thursday, but I have a few important trips into town, and since Herr v. Proksch would also be unable to work with us again, so we ask you to give us the pleasure of doing it next Thursday afternoon. I hope you don't mind, but you can't always have what you want! - With warmest regards, Kathinka Lehmann".

Under the signature author attribution (in lead): "Kath. Lehmann, painter, sister (!) d. decorative painter Lehmann."

Format: one written on four pages (22.2 x 14.2 cm).

Written on thin paper.

Condition:Folded, slightly browned and slightly creased. Please balso note the pictures!

Internal note: folder 4/7.

aboveKatinka Lehmann (Source: Biographical Lexicon of the Austrian Empire, vol. 14, Vienna 1865, p. 313): "Katinka (Katharina) Lehmann, a native of Vienna and wife of the decorative painter Moriz L. [sd no. 4]. A painter herself, she lives and works in Vienna, divorced from her husband. As early as 1852, her picture: “Wire binder from the Arvaer Comitate” (80 fl.) could be seen in the September exhibition; several years later, in April 1856, a “Studienkopf” (study head), depicting a child (100 fl.), then some other works followed from time to time – but very rarely – in December 1859: “Rococodame” (150 fl.); – in January 1860: “a portrait” and in February 1861 the genre painting: “Schoolgirl” (138 fl.). Katinka Lehmann, who appears here and there in writing Leman, paints portraits, pictures of saints, genre pieces and the like. m., and is mainly employed in the studio of the Viennese history painter Schilcher."

About Moritz Lehmann (source: ÖBL):

Lehmann Moritz, decorative painter and theater director. * Dresden, 1819; †Budapest, 9. 9. 1877. son of a builder; After attending the painting school in Dresden, he found his first job as a decorative painter in the workshops of the court theater there. After an engagement in Breslau, Carl (see Bernbrunn) brought him to Vienna in 1843, where he first created sets for the Leopoldstadt Theater and later for the Theater an der Wien. In 1850, the extremely versatile and capable artist was appointed Imperial Court Theater Painter, a position he held until 1862. During this time he mainly designed Laube's (sd) productions at the Hofburgtheater. In 1862 he leased the Carl Theater, but lost his entire fortune within a few months and had to flee Vienna because of his large debts. He now led an adventurous and erratic life of wandering, worked for the Riga Theater and the Wallner Theater in Berlin, decorated the newly renovated theater in Bad Ischl in early 1865 and created sets for Pest and Leipzig. L. was one of the busiest and most respected decorative painters of his time, combining extraordinary working speed with a rare inventive talent, a precise knowledge of perspective and mastery of all the effects possible on the stage of the time.