AESWON is proud to offer some final pieces of Amalia de Schulthess’ personal collection of her works.
If you are interested in purchasing a piece, please contact Cindy at (310) 625-9984 for a private showing.
Amalia de Schulthess lived a life deeply and unwaveringly rooted in art. Born and raised in Switzerland, she studied at the State College in Trogen, Appenzell Ausserrhoden, and at the Kunstgewerbeschule in Zurich. She came from a family of passionate art patrons, and her early exposure to great artists shaped her future path. Paul Klee, a close family friend, was a frequent guest in her childhood home and encouraged her creative expression, leaving a lasting impression on her artistic sensibility.
In 1941, Amalia emigrated to the United States, initially settling in New York. There, she renewed her friendship with Piet Mondrian, becoming both his patron and a close confidante. Mondrian actively encouraged her to paint and offered guidance that helped refine her technique and deepen her commitment to artmaking. Through these formative relationships, Amalia was immersed in the most vital Modernist circles of the twentieth century and formed lasting friendships with artists such as Alberto Giacometti, Marino Marini, and François Stahly.
Amalia later moved west, spending much of her adult life working in California and New Mexico. She painted and exhibited extensively throughout the 1940s, 1950s, and early 1960s. In Taos, she met Andrew Dasburg and played a pivotal role in reviving the career of the important American Modernist, who had fallen into obscurity after the war. Her own work was celebrated in solo exhibitions at institutions and galleries including the Museum of New Mexico in Santa Fe, the Esther Robles Gallery in Los Angeles, the Rose Rabow Gallery and David Cole Gallery in San Francisco, as well as galleries throughout Europe. A major retrospective of her work was held at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art in 1976.
By the late 1960s, Amalia shifted her focus entirely from painting to sculpture. Driven by a deep respect for materials and process, she relocated to Florence, Italy, and established herself in Pietrasanta, working in close proximity to the Carrara marble quarries. She shared a foundry with Henry Moore and remained based in Italy for a decade, while regularly returning to California with completed works for her American dealers. Her sculpture is characterized by organic, biomorphic forms and a sensitivity to the inherent “voice” of stone and bronze, aligning her work with the avant-garde Modernist tradition. Notable series such as Canto d’Estate and Bird reflect influences ranging from Jean Arp and Constantin Brancusi to Surrealist ideas inspired by René Magritte.
Throughout her life, Amalia balanced the dual roles of artist and collector. Alongside her former husband, Hans George Martin de Schulthess, she assembled a remarkable collection of Modern masterworks, many of which were later gifted to major institutions including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Her sculptures and paintings are held in numerous public and private collections in Europe and the United States, including the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, the La Jolla Art Centre, and the Long Beach Museum of Art. She continued sculpting in Los Angeles and Apple Valley well into her nineties, guided by an enduring passion to create.
Amalia de Schulthess passed away on May 28, 2021, in her home in Santa Monica, leaving behind an extraordinary artistic and cultural legacy.
