Biographical/Historical Information

Born in Erfurt on April 20, 1890, David Baumgardt studied philosophy at various universities, and was a lecturer and assistant professor at the University of Berlin, 1924-1935. He emigrated to Great Britain in 1935 and to the United States in 1939, where he taught at various colleges and was consultant in philosophy to the Library of Congress. He died in New York City on July 21, 1963.

Lou Albert-Lasard was born in 1885 into a Jewish family of bankers. She studied art in Munich from 1908 until 1914 and later in Paris. In 1909 she married Eugene Albert (1856–1929) and had a daughter, Ingo de Croux-Albert (1911–1997). While still legally married, she lived with the poet Rainer Maria Rilke in Vienna from 1914 until 1916. She moved in an artist circle that included, among others, Romain Rolland, Stefan Zweig, Paul Klee, and Oskar Kokoschka. She lived in Switzerland and Berlin, and in 1928, she returned to Paris and was part of the Montparnesse art society. She befriended Henri Matisse, Alberto Giacometti, and Robert Delaunay. She travelled with her daughter to North Africa, India, Tibet and in 1939 exhibited drawings and watercolors from these travels. In May, 1940, she and her daughter were interned at Gurs in southwestern France, but were later released. While imprisoned, she painted and drew portraits of fellow prisoners and scenes of the camp. After her release, she returned to Paris.

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Citation

Albert-Lasard, Lou: Portrait of David Baumgardt (1890-1963) : head and shoulders, Leo Baeck Institute, 83.24.