WINTER SPORTS
In addition to Walde’s convincing interpretations of landscapes, he is also well known for his artistic contribution in the areaof winter sports. His work during the early 1920s focused heavily on this subject. Walde was an important contributor tothe rapid development of organized winter sports in his native Tyrol, which was an ever present factor from at least themid-1920s onward. The artist himself encountered such sports from his earliest years, so it is not surprising that we findthis subject in his paintings. His pre-WWI work includes oil paintings dating from 1912, in which Walde depicts lively winterscenes that function as veritable snapshots of various wintry moments. These small, oil on cardboard paintings include Der Schikurs (The Skiing Class), Der Zieleinlauf (The Finish Line) and Das Gasslrennen (The Street Race). Despite being earlyworks, they were to remain virtually unsurpassed in terms of originality. The sports motifs that Walde painted after WWIcarry the “emotional heaviness” that is so characteristic of his work in general during this period. Not until the mid 1920s,most likely in reaction to the buzz and excitement of the rapidly emerging local winter sports scene, did he return to hisroots, once again finding the rhythmic style and vibrant colors that are so evident in his earlier work. Having “rediscovered”the brilliance of color, Walde soon created several excellent examples of what may be most accurately described as unique“painted situations,” the works Grubschanze, 1925, and Mondäne Wintergäste (Fashionable Winter Guests).
Ascent “Aufstieg der Schifahrer”, around 1927
Oil on cardboard, 16.38 x 26.38 in (41,6 x 67 cm)
Museum Kitzbühel
Winter Dreams “Winterträume”, around 1925
Pencil on paper, 9.45 x 11.81 in (240 x 300 mm)
Ascent “Aufstieg”, 1930
Tempera on cardboard, 37.01 x 25.98 in (94 x 66 cm)
Auktionshaus Hassfurther
Ascent Aufstieg, 1930
Oil on Cardboard (Postcard), 18.50 x 20.47 in (47 x 52 cm)
Auktionshaus Hassfurther
Skiers at the alpine Farm “Schifahrer bei der Alm”, 1935
Oil on cardboard, 18.50 x 18.5 in (47 x 47 cm)
Auktionshaus Hassfurther
Skiers at the on the snowed in Farm
“Schifahrer und verschneite Alm”, around 1935
Oil on cardboard, 18.50 x 22.98 in (47 x 57,4 cm)
Kunsthandel Moskat
Skiers at the on the snowed in Farm
“Schifahrer und verschneite Alm”, around 1928
Oil on Cardboard, 16.88 x 23.42 in (42,9 x 59,5 cm)
privately owned
(Top of the) Peak “Gipfelrast am Pengelstein”, 1928
Oil on canvas, 30.71 x 39.37 in (78 x 100 cm)
Museum Kitzbühel
The Turn “Kristiania”, um 1925
Tempera on cardboard, 10.43 x 8.94 in (26,5 x 22,7 cm)
privately owned
The Turn “Der Schwung”, around 1924
Watercolor / tempera on paper, 10.43 x 14.17 in (265 x 360 mm)
privately owned
Training Slop “Übungshang”, around 1925
Tempera on cardboard, 22.76 x 17.13 in (57,8 x 43,5 cm)
privately owned
Woman putting on her skies
“Dame beim Schianschnallen”, around 1927
Oil on Cardboard, diameter 10.24 in (26 cm)
formerly Kunsthandlung Kovacek, Wien
Two female Skiers “Zwei Schifahrerinnen”, around 1925
Tempera on cardboard, 13.8 x 13.8 in (34 x 34 cm)
Museum Kitzbühel
Winterguest “Wintergast (Hilde Walde)”,
around 1925/26
Tempera on cardboard, 13.98 x 8.86 in (35,5 x 22,5 cm)
Museum Kitzbühel
Mount Twothousand “Zweitausender”, around 1935
Oil/tempera on cardboard, 11.3 x 10.04 in (30,3 x 25,5 cm)
privately owned
Winter Sun “Wintersonne”, 1919
Oil on cardboard, 10.43 x 7.28 in (26,5 x 18,5 cm)
privately owned
On the Way to Ski “Zum Schilauf”, around 1923
Tempera on cardboard, 9.66 x 9.44 in (24,5 x 24 cm)
privately owned
Grubschanze at Kitzbühel “Grubschanze bei Kitzbühel”, 1925
Tempera on cardboard, 22.24 x 17.72 in (56,5 x 45 cm)
privately owned
Grubschanze at Kitzbühel
“Grubschanze bei Kitzbühel”, 1925
Tempera on cardboard, 22.24 x 17.72 in (56,5 x 45 cm)
Museum Kitzbühel
The Swallow “Die Schwalbe”, around 1924
Oil tempera on canvas , 70.87 x 39.76 in (180 x 101 cm)
formerly Kunsthandel Wienerroither & Fohlbacher