Moved Permanently

Forgotten paintings by a holocaust survivor have been rediscovered by a Kingston University professor.

Jewish artist Ernst Eisenmayer was sent to Dachau concentration camp in Germany after trying to flee his native Austria several times. He eventually escaped to England and had some artistic success during the 1960s and 70s but his work has been largely forgotten ever since.

Eisenmayer's work has recently seen a revival thanks to the efforts of Professor Frances Lloyd, Acting Dean in the Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture at Kingston. She has made a series of short films on the artist, who is now 88, which tell the story of his life and art.

“The interview is important because he can provide a live voice for whole generations that have no concept of what London or Austria was like at that time,” said Professor Lloyd, who discovered Eisenmayer's work by chance when she discovered that her son was friends with his grandson.

In one of Professor Lloyd's films Eisenmayer describes how he was transported to the concentration camp and was ignored when he sought help while changing trains. He said: “I looked around and tried to find whether anybody would show any sign of sympathy. There was no one. And this is still one of my worst experiences, worse than all the insults and hitting and so on. There was not a single person that showed any sympathy or any interest. They turned away.” 

Eisenmayer's time in Dachau features prominently in his work, which also depicts wartime England and the post-war years. He works through the mediums of painting, drawing and sculpture and is largely self-taught.

In April this year Eisenmayer's work featured in the London Jewish Museum of Art's exhibition  Forced Journeys, Artists in Exile in Britain 1933-45, alongside one of Professor Lloyd's films.

Co-curator of the exhibition Rachel Dickson was introduced to Eisenmayer's work through Professor Lloyd. She said: “His extraordinary experience fitted into the theme of the exhibition and his work was the biggest aesthetic revelation, it made us go ’wow, this is really exceptional’.”

Up until the exhibition Eisenmayer's work decorated his daughter's house in South London. Dickson said: “It was fantastic, a real treasure trove of work that was well presented, with sculptures in the garden and paintings that had not been seen for years.”

Professor Lloyd is currently working on an exhibition to mark Eisenmayer's ninetieth birthday next year.