Dr. Hugo Feigl

Dr. Hugo Feigl, brother of the renowned painter Friedrich Bedřich Feigl (1884-1965), was born in Prague on March 15, 1889.  He received a Doctor of Laws degree from Prague University in 1919 but never practiced law.  Instead, he owned and operated the prestigious Feigl Gallery in Prague from 1924 to March 15, 1939, at which time, fearing the German invasion, he fled from Prague to New York.  His wife Margaret (Greta) Feigl née Meller and daughter Marion Feigl followed him a month later.

Before leaving Prague, Dr. Feigl gave several works of art to his friend and attorney Dr. František Cerovský for safekeeping.   The remainder of his collection was placed in storage by his sisters, Camilla and Irene Feigl, with Kirchenberger & Co. (later Rudolf Herrmann), while some specific pieces were selected for transport to the United States.  However, due to the German occupation of Czechoslovakia, the shipment never occurred. Both of Dr. Feigl’s sisters were later interned at the Theresienstadt Ghetto and deported to Riga, where they perished.

Dr. Feigl settled in New York, where he founded the Feigl Gallery at 601 Madison Avenue in 1942, which specialized in the sale of German and French Expressionist painting.  He passed away in 1961.