Karl Heffner (1849-1925)
Karl Heffner (Professor) was born in Würzburg, Bavaria, studied under Adolf Stademann and Adolf Henirich Lier, was an honorary member of the Academy of Munich, and obtained from the Prince Regent the title of professor. Heffner enjoyed the patonage of Thomas Wallis, art dealer son of William Wallis manager of the French Gallery, Pall Mall, and also exhibited at the Grovenor Gallery and the Royal Academy. Successful in his day Heffner was commissioned by King Edward VII to paint a landscape but as well as in England he painted in Germany, Italy and the Netherlands. His favoured theme was fluvial landscapes - rivers, flooded meadows, flat open marsh or fens, and clouded skies - with some considering his English landscapes the best of his work. Today his works are held in collections of, among others, the Victoria & Albert Museum, Galleries of NSW Sydney, Victoria, Melbourne, the Neue Pinakothek, Munich, and the Museum im Kulturspeicher, Würzburg.