Fritz Wotruba was born in Vienna in 1907 and is considered to be one of the most notable Austrian sculptors of the 20th century. He had a traumatic childhood with an abusive father and criminal family. He trained as an engraver, but studied art in his own time. He remained in Austria until the Anschluss when he escaped to Switzerland. He returned to Vienna after the war and died there in 1975.
His work is very visible throughout Austria and his most famous work was the planning of the church of the Holy Trinity in Mauer, Vienna, better known as Wotruba Church. This was completed in 1976 after his death.
We have one piece from the Blair Lang Collection. It is a figurative piece without the geometric/cubist elements familiar in his later works.