Special exhibition: Max Beckmann

Gretl Lackner(Puck)

Gretl Lackner, saleswoman
Gretl Lackner (nicknamed “Puck”) in the Lackners’ house in Santa Barbara in 1969
Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Fotoabteilung, © Max Beckmann Archiv, estate of Stephan Lackner
Special exhibition: Max Beckmann

Gretl Lackner(Puck)

Bornon 31 March 1914 in Salzburg, Austria
Diedon 11 June 2001 in Santa Barbara, California, United States of America
ExileUnited States of America
Professionsaleswoman

Writer and art collector Stephan Lackner met his wife Gretl von Bronneck (neé Pernkopf) in 1939 in New York. She was originally from Bad Ischl, was nicknamed “Puck” and worked in the Lanz of Salzburg boutique on Madison Avenue. In his 1988 autobiography Selbstbildnis mit Feder [Self-portrait with a Feather], Stephan Lackner wrote the following about his wife: “Puck was born in Salzburg, had helped run a publishing house for theatrical works in Vienna, had many Jewish friends and emigrated to New York six months before me.” On 21 June 1940, they married, settled down in Santa Barbara and had three sons.

Further reading:
Lackner, Stephan: Selbstbildnis mit Feder. Berlin: Limes 1988

Gallery