Marie-Louise von Motesiczky Charitable Trust
The Marie-Louise von Motesiczky Charitable Trust was created as a Trust by foundation document on the 28 October, 1992, some four years before Marie-Louise died. It received charitable status on the 21 November, 1996 and was incorporated as a company limited by guarantee with charitable status in 2011. The creation of the Trust was the vision of Marie-Louise to provide a vehicle after her death for the preservation and promotion of her work, and the charitable support of the arts and other objects as stated below. One of the original Trustees, Sean Rainbird, is still on the Board.
The Charitable Objects of the Trust are defined as:
1) The advancement of education of the public in the fine arts particularly painting and sculpture by any means but primarily by:
a) arranging public exhibitions of paintings and works of art and in particular those by Marie-Louise von Motesiczky;
b) the publication of literary works about the life and works of artists including Marie-Louise von Motesiczky.
2) The relief of diseases and other medical conditions impairing vision by assisting with the payment of medical and other expenses incurred in the treatment and care of eyes, including but not limited to, the costs of patient care, support and assistance to enable sufferers to live independently.
3) The general purposes of such charitable bodies or for such other purposes as shall be exclusively charitable as the trustees may from time to time decide.
Our Guiding Principles
- We focus on projects which are linked to Marie-Louise’s personal history and interests, as well as fulfilling the charitable objects.
- We only fund organisations registered as charities in England and Wales and do not accept unsolicited applications.
- We look for effective leadership and governance.
- We recognise the value of core funding.
- We value a reflexive approach and honesty about what works or does not work well.
- We ask that grantees do their best to draw the attention of beneficiaries to the life and work of Marie-Louise von Motesiczky (1906-1996).
In support of the Trust’s Charitable Objects, the following organisations and projects are either currently in receipt of grants or have funding promised to them in the near future:
Amersham Museum (CC1140890)
A grant was awarded in 2022 for the creation of a dedicated temporary exhibition space to be named after Marie-Louise von Motesiczky, that will display historic and contemporary work from the collection, as well as material lent from outside. The inaugural exhibition in 2024 will explore Marie-Louise’s time in Amersham during the Second World War and beyond.
A number of paintings by Marie-Louise have been given to Amersham Museum and two previous grants for public programming around her time in the town. Workshops for children and adults were held in 2019 and 2021, and an online art history course for adults in 2021.
The British Museum (an exempt charity)
International Training Programme
The Marie-Louise von Motesiczky Charitable Trust has been a major supporter of the British Museum’s International Training Programme since 2011, making a substantial commitment to fund the programme for five years from 2015 (its tenth anniversary) in honour of Neil MacGregor’s directorship of the British Museum (2002-2015). A further funding period has been guaranteed for 2020-26.
The Programme was started in 2006 to create, develop and enhance relationships with museum professionals in a wide range of countries, providing lasting benefits to both individuals and their organisations to form the basis for ongoing international collaboration. The British Museum and its network of UK partners involved in the Programme, have engaged overall with 353 Fellows from 60 countries ranging from Armenia to Zimbabwe, covering Africa, the Americas, Asia and Europe. Additionally the impact of the training and collaboration has cascaded to many others. Through sharing knowledge, skills and experiences, the ITP is working to create and promote a sustainable global network of museum and heritage professionals.
www.britishmuseum.org/our-work/international/international-training-programme
Burgh House, Hampstead (CC 1159634)
Burgh House, an historic building and independent museum, is concerned with the history of Hampstead. Marie-Louise von Motesiczky was one of a notable community of émigrés to come there in the 1930s and 1940s. As well as a gift of eight paintings, the Trust has provided a grant for the improvement of the art gallery which has been named for Marie-Louise von Motesiczky, a future exhibition of Marie-Louise’s work and other aspects of programming, collections care and development at Burgh House.
www.burghhouse.museumssites.com/
Carers UK (CC 1140890)
Listening Support Service
Established in 1965, Carers UK is the only national membership charity for carers, a respected expert on advice to carers, a support network and a movement for change. The outstanding example from 2023 has been the passage of the Carers’ Leave Bill which gives working carers the right to take unpaid leave from work to care for older, disabled or seriously ill relatives or friends. This will become law in 2024.
The Trust has funded Carers UK since 2016 for a variety of carer support services online, in print and by telephone.
Marie-Louise von Motesiczky cared for her mother Henriette (1882-1978) of whom she made many memorable portraits, especially in the latter part of her life. These were accorded a special exhibition in New York in 2014 at Galerie St Etienne (The Mother Paintings). Examples held in public collections in the UK and elsewhere can be seen on the web pages dedicated to her work.
Fitzwilliam Museum
The Marie-Louise von Motesiczky Charitable Trust has made a grant in memory of our former Trustee David Scrase, who spent the greater part of his career at the Fitzwilliam in Cambridge. The Museum is using the money to support the post of a Research Associate – Storyteller. This new role for a period from December 2022 to the end of July 2025 is playing a key part in developing and delivering interpretative schemes for the Fitzwilliam, starting with a major redisplay of the upper floor galleries, known as the ‘Founder’s Galleries’, due to reopen in the first quarter of 2024.
Freud Museum (CC 1112854)
The Marie-Louise von Motesiczky Charitable Trust has made a grant in 2023 for the refurbishment of the Exhibition Room and for two special exhibitions in that space in 2024 and 2025. Marie-Louise and the Trust will be acknowledged within the Room for 25 years from 1 October 2024.
The Trust supported public programming in connection with two previous exhibitions at the Freud Museum: ‘Leaving Today’: The Freuds in Exile 1938 (18 July – 30 September 2018) and Code Name Mary: The Extraordinary Life of Muriel Gardiner (15 September 2021 – 23 January 2022). Marie-Louise’s maternal grandmother Anna von Lieben was one of Freud’s early patients and she and her brother Karl both underwent psychoanalysis; the latter hoped to practice in the field before the Nazi annexation of Austria prevented him from continuing his studies. Marie-Louise’s painting, Psychoanalyst, 1962, was presented by the Trust to the Freud Museum in 2017. The subject was subsequently identified as Ernst Kris (1900-57), the Austrian art historian and psychoanalyst who worked closely with Freud and with Ernst Gombrich.
Ikon Gallery (CC 528892) and HMP Grendon: Artist in Residence
The Marie-Louise von Motesiczky Charitable Trust has been funding an artist in residence programme at HMP Grendon since 2010. The funding was initially channelled through the Friends of Grendon then, since 2014, through Ikon Gallery in Birmingham. Simon Harris has been appointed for 2024-25 as the fourth artist in residence, following on from Dean Kelland (2019-23), Edmund Clark (2014-19) and Lorna Giezot (2010-14). Grendon is the only dedicated therapeutic prison in the UK. The purpose of the residencies has been to provide the men with the opportunity for artistic expression and discussion, to facilitate their work in a variety of media, to support their submissions to the annual Koestler awards, to mount exhibitions of the work made at Grendon and since the opening of the Marie-Louise von Motesiczky Studio in 2022, to showcase the work of others at Grendon. Edmund Clark and Dean Kelland both had exhibitions at Ikon of their work done in response to the Grendon residencies under the titles of In Place of Hate (6 December 2017- 11 March 2018) and Imposter Syndrome (20 September – 27 December 2023).
On 10 August 2022 the Marie-Louise von Motesiczky Studio was officially inaugurated at HMP Grendon, providing both a workshop and display space, which were shown to invited members of the press on 16 March 2023 (see News/Events).
Kiln Theatre (formerly known as Tricycle Theatre)
(CC 276892)
Since 2014 the Marie-Louise von Motesiczky Charitable Trust has supported Minding the Gap, a programme run by Kiln (named London Theatre of the Year at the beginning of 2021) for integrating young migrants in the London Borough of Brent, one of the most diverse local authority areas in Europe. From September 2020 that support was widened to contribute to Kiln’s cultural engagement programme as a whole. In addition, the Trust has made capital grants to the theatre’s redevelopment from 2016-18 and to enhance its resilience in the face of losses incurred during and immediately following the Covid-19 lockdowns.
Koestler Trust (CC1105759)
Founded in 1962, The Koestler Trust is the oldest arts charity working with offenders. At the heart of its activity are the annual Koestler awards and exhibition which tours outside London, as well as being shown in the Royal Festival Hall at the South Bank Centre .The awards cover fifty art forms as practised by those who are detained within UK prisons and other secure establishments, including UK prisoners abroad, or who are on probation. For 2019-21 the Trust was the principal sponsor in the Portraits category.
From 2008 Koestler has run a mentoring scheme offering bespoke support to those recently released from the criminal justice system who would like to continue with their arts-based work. The scholarships are awarded for a period of a year each and the Marie-Louise von Motesiczky Charitable Trust has supported this scheme since 2016, complementing the work the Trust has funded through the artist-in-residence programme at HMP Grendon.
Moorfields Eye Charity (CC:1140679)
Since 2012 the Marie-Louise von Motesiczky Charitable Trust has funded a succession of pilot schemes and posts connected to the Eye Clinic Liaison service, which have led to long-term expansion of provision across Moorfields Hospital’s main site and its satellites elsewhere in London. Eye Clinic Liaison Officers (ECLOS) are available to offer psychological counselling and practical advice to patients, their families and carers, including information about services outside the hospital. They have helped to develop a volunteer service in support of the ECLOS and to ensure that Moorfields continues to provide care for patients in the community as well as in a hospital setting.
11 July 2023 saw the official ‘ground breaking’ for Oriel, the new clinical and research centre at St Pancras to which the Marie-Louise von Motesiczky Charitable Trust has contributed £1,000,000 towards the cost of outpatient facilities, including patient counselling services.
www.moorfieldseyecharity.org.uk/
National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain (CC 290598)
Founded in 1948, NYO is open to 164 instrumentalists each year aged 13-19. Since 2017 the Trust has funded scholarships in memory of Marie-Louise von Motesiczky’s brother Karl, a gifted amateur cellist who died in Auschwitz in 1943. The number of these awards expanded from two a year for cello players in 2017-20, to three for cellists and one for another instrumentalist in 2021-24. Further grants have been made for bursaries for NYO Inspire Associates, a new group arising from NYO’s Inspire programme to widen access to orchestral playing to a high standard around the UK, and to support the work of a Digital Coordinator to develop NYO’s online activity, which became so important during the period of Covid-19 lockdown.
Publication Grants
Two grants have been made for the cost of colour printing and images for the following publications, both of which refer to Marie-Louise von Motesiczky and reproduce her paintings:
Jeremy Adler and Richard Fardon, Franz Baermann Steiner: A Stranger in the World, Berghahn Books, 2021
Shulamith Behr, Women Artists in Expressionism: From Empire to Emancipation, Princeton University Press, 2022
Refugees at Home (CC 1177765)
Refugees at Home was founded in February 2016 to address the homeless crisis among refugees and asylum seekers by introducing them to registered hosts, who are willing to offer short-term accommodation while their applications and appeals are being processed. The Marie-Louise von Motesiczky Charitable Trust has supported the cost of a placement administrator over three years from 2019-22. From 2022 the Trust has funded a Senior Placement Coordinator for three years; an Administrative Lead for one year and two Placement Coordinators for one year each.
Tate (an exempt charity)
The Marie-Louise von Motesiczky Charitable Trust has been supporting Tate since 2012 when it presented the bulk of Marie-Louise’s personal papers. Since then the Trust has funded the cataloguing and digitisation of those papers, to which a final tranche has been added with almost all her surviving drawings and sketchbooks. Further funding supported a display in 2019-20 dedicated to the life and context of Marie-Louise in the Archive Gallery at Tate Britain, which has been renamed in her honour.
A second strand of funding since 2018 has been the Emigré Art Archives Project, cataloguing and digitising material from archives at Tate that relate to the work of émigré artists, critics and art historians working in this country during the middle years of the twentieth century and beyond.. The first phase was completed in 2023 covering material from the Polish-born artist Jankel Adler (1895-1948), the Czech art historian and critic J.P. Hodin (1905-95) and the curator and publisher David Mayor (b.1948), whose maternal grandmother was related to Marie-Louise. A ‘Show and Share’ day was held in the Hyman Kreitman Reading Rooms at Tate Britain on 27 January and an online symposium on 16 June 2023:
www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/online-event/emigre-art-archives-symposium
A second phase starts in the latter half of 2023 covering the archives of: the Drian Gallery run by the Polish-born Halima Nalecz from 1957-98, the artist Josef Herman (1911-2000), another Polish émigré, Anton Ehrenzweig (1908-66), born in Vienna who became interested in art and psychoanalysis, and Ewan Phillips (1914-94), co-founder of the Artists International Association in 1933, assistant organiser of the Exhibition of Twentieth-Century German Art at the New Burlington Galleries (1938), and one of the ‘Monuments Men’ in Germany after the War.
www.tate.org.uk/research/archive
The Funding Network (CC: 1088315)
TFN International Programme
The Marie-Louise von Motesiczky Charitable Trust has supported the international programme of The Funding Network since 2013, helping it to foster the model of live and now virtual crowdfunding as well, for social change projects around the world. Money has been raised during this period for around 1,000 projects in more than twenty-five countries. TFN provides training and support for a network of affiliates, benefiting from the mutual exchange of ideas and best practice. Since 2022 the Trust’s annual grant has been divided equally between supporting TFN International and TFN UK, in recognition of the importance of TFN UK’s activity for the international affiliates too.
Warburg Institute
Warburg Institute, University of London (an exempt charity and statutory corporation:number RC000661)
In honour of Marie-Louise von Motesiczky’s life, friendships and European heritage, the Trust has made a grant of £500,000 for a new teaching suite as part of the Warburg Renaissance, the capital redevelopment project for the Warburg Institute on Woburn Square, London WC1H 0AB, which forms part of the University of London’s School of Advanced Study. After Marie-Louise settled in England in 1939 she became part of an émigré circle that included friendships with several of those connected to the Warburg, most particularly Sir Ernst Gombrich, another Viennese émigré (1936), who was Director of the Warburg Institute from 1959-76 and a great admirer of Marie-Louise’s work.
A further grant of £100,000 has been made to support the post of Curator for the new gallery space that is part of the Warburg Renaissance.
Previous Grant Recipients
Courtauld Institute of Art, London (an exempt charity)
Collaborative Postgraduate Programme and Publication 2014-19
From 2014-16 the Marie-Louise von Motesiczky Charitable Trust supported an inter-disciplinary, research-led programme about central European art and culture, through a collaboration between Dr Klara Kemp-Welch from the Courtauld, and Dr Beáta Hock from the University of Leipzig. This led to the design and delivery in 2015-16, of a new MA special option at the Courtauld: A Minor Modernism? Central European Art and Culture 1918-1956. A full complement of eight students was recruited of varying international backgrounds, one of whom was awarded the 2016 prize for the best MA dissertation. As a legacy from the programme an e-reader was published at the end of 2019 in the open access Courtauld Books Online series. A post-doctoral Marie-Louise von Motesiczky Charitable Trust Fellowship supported the work required for the publication.
Marie-Louise von Motesiczky Charitable Trust PhD Scholarship 2011-14
The Trust funded a three-year doctoral award in the field of women artists. The recipient Irene Noy, successfully defended her thesis on Sound Art, Gender and the West German Context in 2015. After receiving her PhD, she was appointed as the first Sackler Forum Postdoctoral Fellow from 2015-16, publishing the book based on her doctoral thesis at the end of 2017: Emergency Noises. Sound Art and Gender, German Visual Culture Volume Four, Peter Lang, Oxford 2017
www.courtauld.ac.uk/institute/
Help Musicians UK (the working name of the Musicians Benevolent Fund CC:22808)
Karl Motesiczky Scholarships 2014-20
The Marie-Louise von Motesiczky Charitable Trust provided support for five exceptionally talented cellists as they entered the music profession, to assist with fees in the final years of postgraduate study and the costs attendant upon their early career development: Alexander Rolton (2014), Michael Petrov (2015), Abel Selaocoe (2016), Jamal Aliyev and Toby White (2017). Each scholarship was granted for between three to four years from the date of the initial award.