Eric Schaal: Portrait photograph of Bruno Walter (1939)
In March and April of 1939, conductor Bruno Walter was in the United States trying to break into the concert scene as a guest conductor in New York and Washington. Walter, his wife Elsa and his older daughter Lotte, who had come with him, were horrified at the news reports coming out of Europe.
Eric Schaal: Portrait photograph of Ernst Krenek (1937)
In October 1937, the composer Ernst Krenek travelled to the United States for his first time. While still in Austria, Krenek experienced a strange episode with a photographer in connection with his trip to America, during which he was to accompany an opera troupe on its tour.
Eric Schaal: Portrait photograph of Ernst Toller (1938)
In late January, 1938, the author Ernst Toller decided to move from Hollywood to New York. Toller had emigrated in 1933, spending periods in Switzerland and England before finally moving to the United States in 1936.
Eric Schaal: Portrait photograph of Paul Hindemith (1937)
After Paul Hindemith quit his post on March 22, 1937 at the Berliner Musikhochschule in protest against the defamation of his music in Nazi Germany, he set off on his first trip to the United States. There, he gave concerts as a soloist, conductor and composer in Washington, Boston, New York City, Chicago and Buffalo.
Eric Schaal: Portrait photograph of Stefan Zweig (1939)
A pocket calendar of the photographer Eric Schaal includes an appointment on February 25, 1939, for a photo session with the author Stefan Zweig. On a postcard sent to Schaal, Zweig himself had suggested the date and his hotel as a meeting place.
Eric Schaal: Portrait photograph of Thomas Mann (1937)
The photographer Eric Schaal took several portraits of the author Thomas Mann. One photo taken in Princeton in the spring of 1937 carries Mann's inscription to Schaal: "To Mr. Eric Schaal, the best portraitist I can remember. New York 21.IV.37 Thomas Mann“.
Eric Schaal: Portrait photograph of Thornton Wilder (1938)
It is impossible to determine the occasion on which Eric Schaal took portraits of the narrator and playwright Thornton Wilder in New York in 1938. An undated letter in which Wilder replies to Schaal's request for a photo session does provide some indications, however.
Eric Schaal: Portrait photography of Arnold Zweig (1939)
In April 1939, the writer Arnold Zweig travelled from Palestine to New York to attend the world conference of the PEN Club, which was taking place in New York to coincide with the World's Fair. He was accompanied by his eldest son Michael.
Eric Zeisl: Motion Picture Employee Identification Card (issued on 18 June 1942)
The writer Hans Kafka, who Eric Zeisl knew from Paris and who later wrote the libretto for the opera Hiob, brought the pianist and composer Eric Zeisl from New York to Los Angeles on the West Coast “at the shortest notice” as a “movie composer”. Kafka gave him tips in letters about the film industry also providing him with a breakdown of the costs of moving to Los Angeles.
Erich Arendt’s journey through exile as an illustrated menu (1943)
What to do when you’ve finally found a place to stay after ten years in exile?
