Marie Müller

Marie Müller (10 July 1847 – 21 March 1935) was an Austrian portrait painter.

Biography She was born in Vienna. Her father, Leopold Müller (1807–1862), was a surveyor who later became a lithographer. Her mother, Josefa née Bichler, was the daughter of a master furrier. She had nine siblings, four of whom died as children. Her brother, Leopold Carl, and sister Bertha also became painters. Her sister, Josefine (1839–1906), married the painter Eduard Swoboda.

In 1872, she attended the preparatory figure drawing classes at the Kunstgewerbeschule (now the University of Applied Arts), under the direction of Michael Rieser. The following year, she began taking private painting lessons from Ferdinand Laufberger. She studied with him until 1880. The city of Vienna commissioned her to paint a portrait of the novelist, Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach, in 1891. The two became friends and corresponded regularly.

During the post-war period of hyperinflation, she and Bertha lost a considerable amount of money. She was an agent for Leopold's works from 1925 until 1931, and organized a memorial exhibition in 1932. That same year, she sold her letters and cards from Ebner-Eschenbach to the Vienna State Library. She died in 1935 in Vienna.

Selected portraits