Agnes Husslein, also Agnes Husslein-Arco, (born 22 May 1954) is an Austrian art historian and art manager.

Life

Husslein was born the daughter of Felicitas (''née'' Boeckl) and Carl Heinrich

Arco Arco may refer to: Places * Arco, Trentino, a town in Trentino, Italy * Arco, Idaho, in the United States * Arco, Minnesota, a city in the United States * ARCO Arena in Sacramento, California, home of the Sacramento Kings Companies * ARCO (b ...

in Vienna (1920–1978).genealogy.euweb. cz
''Karl Heinrich'' in the family tree list after Karl Ferdinand Anton Graf von Arco (1776–1845) She is a granddaughter of the Austrian painter . After a sports career as a

figure skater Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, with its introduction occurring at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic d ...

in her youth – she became Austrian champion in ice dancing with Adrian Perco in 1971 – she studied

history of art The history of art focuses on objects made by humans for any number of spiritual, narrative, philosophical, symbolic, conceptual, documentary, decorative, and even functional and other purposes, but with a primary emphasis on its aesthetics ...

and

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...

, the Sorbonne and the

École du Louvre The École du Louvre () is a selective institution of higher education and prestigious ''grande école'' located in the Aile de Flore of the Louvre Palace in Paris, France. It is dedicated to the study of archaeology, art history, anthropology ...

in Paris. Husslein was managing director of

Sotheby's Sotheby's ( ) is a British-founded multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine art, fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...

Austria, Managing Director of Sotheby's Prague and Sotheby's Budapest from 1989 to 2000, and Senior Director, Sotheby's Europe from 1990 to 2000. She was Director of European Development of the Guggenheim Museum from 1990 to 1998 and organiser of the Guggenheim Association Salzburg and the Austrian Guggenheim Advisory Board from 1990 to 2000. In 1994, she stood as a candidate for the

ÖVP The Austrian People's Party ( , ÖVP ) is a Christian-democratic and liberal-conservative political party in Austria. Since January 2025, the party has been led by Christian Stocker (as an acting leader). It is currently the second-largest p ...

in the 1994 Austrian legislative election. In 1996–2000, she was a member of the board of the Society of Friends of the

Vienna Secession The Vienna Secession (; also known as the Union of Austrian Artists or ) is an art movement, closely related to Art Nouveau, that was formed in 1897 by a group of Austrian painters, graphic artists, sculptors and architects, including Josef Ho ...

and in 1996–1998 vice-president of the . Husslein was director of the in Salzburg from 2001 to 2003 and founding director of the

Museum der Moderne Salzburg The Museum der Moderne Salzburg has two buildings at two different locations in Salzburg, Austria. The Rupertinum in the old town for new artistic concepts opened in 1983 and the Museum on the Mönchsberg for modern art in a contemporary setting op ...

from 2003 to 2005. From 2002 to 2004, she organised the establishment of the . From 2007 to 2016, she was director of the

Österreichische Galerie Belvedere The Österreichische Galerie Belvedere is a museum housed in the Belvedere (palace), Belvedere palace, in Vienna, Austria. The Belvedere palaces were the summer residence of Prince Eugene of Savoy (1663–1736). The ensemble was built in the ear ...

. In 2016, she applied for another term of office. Subsequently, the supervisory board investigated allegations that Husslein had had problems with compliance rules for directors. Husslein admitted various allegations and paid 30,000 euros in damages to Belvedere; on the basis of this, otherwise criminally relevant actions were not pursued further because of . The investigation on suspicion of embezzlement was discontinued in January 2018. In July 2016, was appointed interim commercial director. At the end of July 2016, it was published that the Chancellor's Office Minister Thomas Drozda (

SPÖ The Social Democratic Party of Austria ( , SPÖ) is a social democratic political party in Austria. Founded in 1889 as the Social Democratic Workers' Party of Austria (, SDAPÖ) and later known as the Socialist Party of Austria () from 1945 unt ...

) would not renew Husslein's service contract. The contractual relationship ended on 31 December 2016; legal disputes over mutual claims were not settled until August 2019. In October 2016, Drozda announced the duo in charge of the Austrian Gallery Belvedere from 2017. was appointed as her successor for the artistic area. After leaving the Belvedere, she joined the board of the

Leopold Museum The Leopold Museum, housed in the Museumsquartier in Vienna, Austria, is home to one of the largest collections of modern Austrian art, featuring artists such as Egon Schiele, Gustav Klimt, Oskar Kokoschka, and Richard Gerstl. It contains the w ...

-Privatstiftung. In autumn 2018, she was elected president of the Austrian National Committee of

Blue Shield International The Blue Shield, formerly the International Committee of the Blue Shield, is an international organization founded in 1996 to protect the world's cultural heritage from threats such as armed conflict and natural disasters. Originally intended as ...

, succeeding Ursula Stenzel. For billionaire Heidi Horten, she is currently overseeing the construction of a museum to showcase her private art collection in the in Vienna from 2022. Husslein is married to gynaecologist (born 1952), until 2020 head of the

Medical University of Vienna The Medical University of Vienna (MedUni Wien, German language, German: ''Medizinische Universität Wien'') is a public university located in Vienna, Austria. It is the direct successor to the faculty of medicine at the University of Vienna, foun ...

, and has two children with him.

Awards

* 2008: * 2011: * 2013: . * 2013 Artis Bohemiae Amicis * 2014 Member of the

European Academy of Sciences and Arts The European Academy of Sciences and Arts (EASA, ) is a transnational and interdisciplinary network, connecting about 2,000 recommended scientists and artists worldwide, including 38 Nobel Prize laureates. The European Academy of Sciences and ...

Critic

* In 2001, it has been alleged that she lost her job at Sotheby's because she invited the

FPÖ The Freedom Party of Austria (, FPÖ) is a political party in Austria, variously described as far-right, right-wing populist, national-conservative, and Eurosceptic. It has been led by Herbert Kickl since 2021. It is the largest of five par ...

politician Thomas Prinzhorn to give a lecture. In 2000, a birthday party for Prinzhorn was held in her private flat. * In 2003, she opened the Museum of Modern Art Carinthia in Klagenfurt with the FPÖ politician and then Carinthian governor

Jörg Haider Jörg Haider (; 26 January 1950 – 11 October 2008) was an Austrian politician. He was Governor of Carinthia on two occasions, the long-time leader of the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) and later Chairman of the Alliance for the Future of Au ...

. * In Salzburg (Museum der Moderne), most of the staff was replaced after she took office (early 2001); during her first months at the Belvedere, numerous staff members resigned. * '' Die Grünen'' criticised her as a "jet-setter" and a "side-eye lady". * Her inaugural exhibition at the Belvedere was probably based on an exhibition from the Salzburg museum that was cancelled after Husslein's departure, but without naming Christian Huemer, the art historian who had been instrumental in the conception of the exhibition in Salzburg. Huemer called in the .

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Husslein, Agnes Austrian art historians Austrian women art historians Austrian female ice dancers Figure skaters from Vienna Recipients of the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art Members of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts People from Vienna 1954 births Living people