SwissArtGallery · Documented identity
In the work of Franz Grabmayr, an Austrian painter born in 1927 in Pfaffenberg, near Obervellach, landscape emerges from prolonged observation of the subject and takes shape through physical intervention on the canvas. Motifs drawn from nature accompanied him throughout his career; in the 1980s, he developed a “mobile studio”, having himself driven by tractor around his subjects while standing on a trailer with his easel and paint pots. His palette, inspired by Cézanne’s, draws in particular on the greens and ochres observed in nature. He could build up as much as 100 kg of paint on a canvas, applying the layers with a palette knife; he also mixed in materials collected on site, such as cereal stalks, sand or ash. The thick layers, placed side by side or superimposed, were sometimes quickly scraped away when they did not satisfy him. This vigour of gesture did not result from unprepared execution: according to the description of his practice, it was preceded by a long period of observing the subject. His painting thus combines attentiveness to place with successive reworkings of the material.
The 1987 work *Roter Sand* concretely testifies to the use of materials incorporated into the paint: the catalogue entry describes it as oil on canvas mixed with sand and ash, signed and dated on the verso “Grabmayr, 1987”.
Before devoting himself fully to his artistic career, he left the vocational school for building trades in Villach, trained at the teacher-training institute in Vienna, and then taught for several years in St. Jakob in Rosental. One source subsequently places his activity between Vienna and the Waldviertel. Appointed honorary professor in 1984, he received the Cultural Prize of the Province of Lower Austria in 2008. He died in Vienna on 5 May 2015.
This profile brings together identity references for Franz Grabmayr and paintings, drawings and works on paper documented in auction catalogues.
1 references are documented at Germann. Each record links to its source; the amounts are not a general valuation of the artist’s work.
Oil, sand and ash on canvas
Roter Sand, 1987
Öl, Sand und Asche auf Leinwand.
Catalogue period : 2023-11-27
Published result : 20000 CHF
Hammer price, excluding fees
Estimate : CHF 10000–15000
View the lot at the auction house ↗SwissArtGallery documentary note based on the cited sources. Titles, media and qualifications are provided in the profile language; the original catalogue wording remains available in each record.
Documentation updated : 2026-10-19
