Ferdinand Andri

_{Waidhofen/ Ybbs 1871 - 1956 Vienna}

Ferdinand Andri was born as the son of a gilder in Waidhofen/Ybbs in 1871. After a two-year apprenticeship as a whittler and builder of altars close to Linz, he began his studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna amongst Julius Victor Berger, Eduard von Lichtenfels and August Eisenmenger as his teachers. His shift to the Academy of Fine Arts in Karlsruhe was perhaps owed to the fact that Vienna only offered a quite conservative education. A number of educational journeys brought the young artist to Italy, France, England and North America. Between 1899 and 1909 he was a member of the Viennese Secession and from 1905 to 1906 president of their association. During this time, he also contributed to the magazine “Ver Sacrum”. Andri was exposed to a greater publicity when he participated in the world fair of 1904 in St. Louis, Missouri. He decorated the Austrian pavilion with a 240m2 mural fresco. During World War I, he engaged in being a war painter and officer. After the end of the war, the artist moved to St. Pölten. In 1945, both his workshop and apartment were destroyed by bombing, thus resulting in the destruction of a large portion of his work. In 1950, he gave the remaining part in his possession to the city of St. Pölten, where his art is on display in the municipal museum to this day. Ferdinand Andri died in 1956 in St. Pölten.
The work of the artist can also be seen at Lentos museum in Linz and in various Viennese museums, including Belvedere, Leopold Museum, Albertina, MAK, Wien Museum and the Museum of Military History.