Hedwig Abel 1925

Half-length portrait in a seated position, oblique view, head slightly tilted, gaze directed to the right into the distance. The subject, dressed in an ivory-colored tunic that exposes her right shoulder, has black, wavy hair with a pronounced side parting. Her forearms are raised in front of her chest, her hands clasped together at her neck. Background: a stylized park landscape and a cloudy sky.

JQAW# P_1925_060
Oil on canvass 61 x 78 cm
Signature: John Quincy Ɑdams 1925.
Private collection Germany
Picture: private photograph

Hedwig Helene Abel, née Bachrach 13.10.1881 Vienna to 22.9.1929 Vienna.
Hedwig was the only daughter of the court and general barrister Dr. Alfred Bachrach (1853-1932, Edler von Bachrach since 1915) and Luise B., née Bachrach (1854-1940; the couple were first cousins). Her father was a renowned lawyer and attorney who often advised and represented the imperial family and the high aristocracy in delicate family matters and was ennobled in 1915 for his services. In 1902, Hedwig married the lawyer Dr. Paul Abeles/Abel (1874-1971, name change from Abeles to Abel in 1882, see his entry in the OeBL), who then joined his father-in-law's law firm and earned an excellent reputation as an expert in patent law and legal issues relating to intellectual property. (Persecuted on racial grounds, the widower was forced into exile in London in 1938, where he remarried in 1939 and died in 1971 after a productive legal career.) Hedwig and Paul's marriage remained childless. Hedwig died of cancer in 1929 after years of courageously enduring suffering and was laid to rest in the Jewish section of the Vienna Central Cemetery (Gate 1, Group 20, Row 16, Grave #57).

There are only sparse sources about Hedwig's biography and even sparser family memories. Noteworthy is an obituary dedicated to her in 1929 in the Austrian Lawyers' Journal (1929, p. 119), which highlighted her interest in art, especially music, her hospitable home, which was visited by many artists and musicians, and her friendly and modest nature. Her interest in all branches of law was also emphasized: she was an expert listener at numerous specialist lectures given at the Vienna Law Society and accompanied her husband and father to legal conferences at home and abroad. During World War I, Hedwig co-organized several charity concerts and also performed there as a folk singer together with a lutenist in 1917 (Neue Freie Presse, May 27, 1917, p. 12).

The Adams portrait from 1925 captivates viewers with its rather unusual posture: arms raised above the chest and the hands clasped at the neck, reminiscent of Christian martyr iconography. (The subject, however, was of Jewish faith.) The portrait also evokes the tragedy of Hedwig's fate. It is likely that the portrait was commissioned by the family as a lasting memento when the subject's cancer (stomach or colon cancer, according to family recollections) became known, which would mean a four-year ordeal until Hedwig's death in 1929.

The painting was previously unknown in Adams literature and owes its discovery to the artist's catalog of works. In 2023, the owner informed the catalog editor of the painting's existence after discovering the catalog during an internet search. She kindly provided photographs and documentation of the painting. No information was available about the person depicted. Published in the catalog as a “half-portrait of an unknown lady,” the identity of the subject was revealed to the editor in 2025 by her grandniece, who remembered the painting and recognized it in the catalog. She also kindly shared provenance information of the painting up to its sale in the mid-1980s. Both deserve special thanks for their kind assistance in fulfilling the goals of this catalog: to document the artistic work of John Quincy Adams and to combine the description of the works with a brief documentation of the biographies of the subjects.

Cross-references

Press coverage of the marriage of Hedwig and Paul Abel in 1902

Exhibited

Literature

Provenance

1925-1971 the sitter and her husband Dr. Paul Abel, Vienna and London.
1971-1984 by descent to Dr. Paul Abel's second wife Franziska/Fanni Abel and his nephew Stefan Abel.
ca. 1985 sale at auction in London.
1985-1994 art trade UK and Germany.
Since 1994 private collection Germany.