August Schaeffer

[1] From 1852 to 1856, he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts with the landscape painter, Franz Steinfeld.

[2] After graduating, he undertook numerous study trips throughout southern and western Europe, notably to the North Sea, Hungary and the Alps.

During his tenure, he worked to create a scientific foundation for the museum and pursued a conservative course for acquisitions.

He wrote a history of the organization: 50 Jahre Genossenschaft der bildenden Künstler Künstlerhaus that was published in 1913.

He was elevated to the aristocracy in 1912, becoming "August Schaeffer Edler von Wienwald".