Franz Sedlacek (1891 – 1945) was an Austrian painter who belonged to the tradition known as "New Objectivity" ("neue Sachlichkeit"), an artistic movement similar to Magical Realism. At the end of the Second World War he "disappeared" as a soldier of the Wehrmacht near Toruń, Poland. He was declared missing on February 1, 1945 and pronounced dead in 1972.
Franz Sedlacek was born in Breslau, and moved with his family to Linz in 1897. In 1909 he graduated from the Royal High School at the Fadingerstraße. A year later, he moved to Vienna and studied architecture and chemistry. After serving in World War I, he completed his studies and in 1921 began working at the Technical Museum of Vienna.
In 1913, Sedlacek founded an artistic association in Linz with Anton Lutz, Klemens Brosch and Heinz Bitzan. Sedlacek began as a graphic artist, and later turned to oil painting.
In 1925 he produced a number of watercolours for Claire Annabel Caroline Grant Duff's Book The Unicorn.
In 1927, Sedlacek joined the Viennese Secession, an association of artists that was founded by Gustav Klimt and others in 1897.
In 1930, Sedlacek's work was included in an exhibition of Austrian art at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. He was subsequently awarded the Austrian State Prize for painting thrice: in 1933, 1935 and 1937.
© 2026. All content on this blog is protected by international copyright laws All images are copyrighted © by Franz Sedlacek or assignee. Apart from fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review as permitted under the Copyright Act, the use of any image from this site is prohibited unless prior written permission is obtained. All images used for illustrative purposes only
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| Franz Sedlacek |
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| The Test, 1913 |
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| Flower Piece, 1922 |
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| Nocturnal Brawl, 1927 |
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| Nocturnal Homecoming, 1927 |
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| Ghost Over the Trees, 1928 |
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| Interrior, 1928 |
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| Bavarian Landscape, 1930 |
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| The Ship of Fools, 1930 |
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| Fanciful Ink Drawing II, 1931 |
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| Mountain Landscape with Automobile, 1931 |
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| Song in the Twilight, 1931 |
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| The Late Night Ghost and the Drunkards, 1931 |
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| Winter Landscape with Tower, 1931 |
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| Moulage Studio, 1932 |
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| The Chemist, (self-portrait), 1932 |
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| Double Heads, 1933 |
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| Ghosts on a Tree, 1933 |
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| Ghost with a Butcher Knife, 1934 |
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| Industrial Landscape, 1934 |
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| Flowers and Insects, 1935 |
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| The Sad Family, 1935 |
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| Imaginary Heads, Study, 1936 |
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| The Moon Calf, 1936 |
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| Evening Song, 1938 |
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| The Library, 1938 |
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| The Mill of Rejuvenation, 1938 |
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| The Resurrection of the Flesh (Sheet 1) 1938 |
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| The Road, 1939 |
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