Preface

Joseph Oppenheimer was a great artist, but a modest man. His life and his love was painting. He was interested neither in fame nor in fortune and never sought representation or promotion by galleries or dealers - and he never was! Thus, his fame went into hibernation with his death, although luckily his works survived.

Joseph Oppenheimer always hoped his paintings would be kept together as much as possible, to be enjoyed by future generations. The Joseph and Fanny Oppenheimer Foundation which I, his oldest grandson, have had the privilege of establishing, is doing posthumously what Joseph Oppenheimer could not do during his life: ensuring that his work will be preserved, seen and given the due place in art history that it deserves. As part of this effort, the Foundation has substantially assisted in bringing about the 1998 Joseph Oppenheimer Exhibition of the Municipal Gallery Würzburg, and will further link itself with the Gallery by donating and lending works to form a permanent collection in Würzburg for exhibit in a future permanent Joseph Oppenheimer space. Similar activities will hopefully in the future be paralleled in England and Canada, so that the three centers of Joseph Oppenheimer's life will have permanent collections of his work for future showing. The Foundation will also work towards producing, alone or in collaboration with others, and more detailed biography and Catalogue Raisonné of the life and works of Joseph Oppenheimer.

I want to thank specifically Air Canada for assisting the Foundation with transportation and travel to make the exhibition possible. They're close sponsorship is most sincerely appreciated. Thanks also to Helen Sitcotte for compiling a biographical part of this catalog and in general cataloguing Joseph Oppenheimer's work; and to the Municipal Gallery Würzburg, specifically to Beate Reese. Thanks also to Marc Leblanc for his photography.

Vincent M. Prager (grandson)