Sergius Pauser (1896 - 1970)

Sergius Pauser

Sergius Pauser, an Austrian painter, gained international recognition in the 1930s, receiving prestigious awards such as the Carnegie Exhibition Prize in Pittsburgh. After studying architecture, he switched to painting and was influenced by Max Beckmann, Otto Dix, and Karl Hofer. However, his career was halted by the Nazi regime. Adolf Hitler personally tore down Pauser's paintings, deeming them degenerate art. Pauser was banned from exhibiting and labeled politically unreliable. He ended up in a concentration camp but was later rehabilitated and reinstated as a teacher at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. Despite controversy, he painted the official picture commemorating Austria's sovereignty.

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