Francesca Thyssen-Bornemisza

Francesca Thyssen-Bornemisza (born 7 June 1958), formerly Francesca von Habsburg-Lothringen, is an art collector. She is the former wife of Karl von Habsburg, current head of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine.

Francesca Thyssen-Bornemisza
Francesca promoting a 'Tibet event', in Vienna, Austria, on 26 May 2012
Born	7 June 1958 Lausanne, Switzerland
Spouse	Karl von Habsburg ​ ​ (m. 1993; div. 2017)​
Issue	Eleonore von Habsburg Ferdinand Zvonimir von Habsburg Gloria von Habsburg
Father	Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza
Mother	Fiona Frances Elaine Campbell-Walter
Religion	Roman Catholic

Early life

Thyssen-Bornemisza was born Francesca Anne Dolores Freiin Thyssen-Bornemisza de Kászon et Impérfalva in Lausanne, the daughter of Baron Hans Heinrich von Thyssen-Bornemisza and his third wife, fashion model Fiona Frances Elaine Campbell-Walter, descendant of the Campbell baronets. She was educated at Le Rosey in Switzerland[1] and at the age of eighteen attended Saint Martin's School of Art in London,[2] but left after two years.

Career

After leaving Saint Martin's School of Art, she worked as an actress, singer and model.[3] Her partying lifestyle in London in the 1980s earned her reputation as an It girl.[1]

For the ten years after she left Saint Martin's, she lived in England, New York and Los Angeles before moving to Lugano to become curator for her father's art collection.[4] During the 1991–1995 Croatian War of Independence she visited the country to help protect Croatia's heritage and artworks[1] and to help restore churches and paintings damaged during the fighting.[3]

Thyssen-Bornemisza also appeared as Queen Marie-Henriette in the production Kronprinz Rudolf (2006), directed by Robert Dornhelm.[2]

TBA21

Thyssen-Bornemisza regularly participates in biennales by commissioning new works of contemporary art through a foundation called Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary (TBA21) which she founded in 2002 in Vienna.[1] She has built up her own art collection with around 700 works of contemporary video and digital art,[4] by artists such as Candice Breitz, Simon Starling and Kutluğ Ataman.[5]

In 2002, Thyssen-Bornemisza rented a four-storey palace in Vienna’s UNESCO-protected first district, set up home there and opened TBA21's first exhibition space in the same building.[6] From 2012 until 2017,[7] TBA21 had an exhibition space in Vienna's second district, within the Augarten park. It exhibited works from the collection in thematic exhibitions twice a year. The Foundation also organises exhibitions of its collection worldwide. In 2018, works from the collection went on show at the National Gallery Prague.[8]

Between 2008 and 2012, Thyssen-Bornemisza regularly criticised her stepmother, Carmen Cervera, for the latter's management of the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Madrid, including on the 2012 sale of John Constable's painting, The Lock.[9] In 2018, the museum unveiled a multichannel video installation by the British artist John Akomfrah that was co-commissioned by TBA21.[10] By 2019, TBA21 signed a four-year agreement with the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza to present a series of contemporary art exhibitions from the TBA21 collection, along with contemporary commissions.[11]

TBA21 Academy

Established in Vienna in 2011,[12] the TBA21 Academy is an offshoot of TBA21 that focuses on ecological and social issues.[13] In 2017, it relocated to London.[14]

Personal life

Francesca married the heir to the Habsburg dynasty, Karl von Habsburg, son of Otto von Habsburg, in Mariazell on 31 January 1993. They have three children.

• Eleonore von Habsburg (born 28 February 1994 in Salzburg). Married civilly to Jérôme d'Ambrosio on 20 July 2020. [15]
• Ferdinand Zvonimir von Habsburg (born 21 June 1997 in Salzburg).
• Gloria (born 15 October 1999 in Salzburg), whose godparents are Gloria, Princess of Thurn and Taxis, and Hereditary Prince Heinrich of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn.

Francesca and Karl separated in 2003.[3] Considering this separation, Karl's sister, Archduchess Gabriella, has assumed, since their mother Regina's death in 2010, the rank of Grand Mistress of the Order of the Starry Cross that Francesca would otherwise normally have assumed as the wife of the heir. As the wife of the head of the House of Hapsburg Francesca and her children are often accorded the unofficial honorifics of Imperial and Royal Archdukes (or duchesses) of Austria. However these titles have no legal recognition as Austria is a republic and all former royal and noble titles were abolished in 1918.[16] She owns a residence in Port Antonio, Jamaica, where she is a keen supporter of the reggae music industry.[17] The couple divorced in 2017.[18]

Honours

Dynastic Orders

• Dame of the Order of the Starry Cross (House of Habsburg)

Austrian Order

• Commander of the Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria, Gold

Ancestry[19]

Ancestors of Francesca Thyssen-Bornemisza

16. Friedrich Thyssen 8. August Thyssen 17. Katharina Thyssen 4. Heinrich, Baron Thyssen-Bornemisza de Kászon 18. Johann-Heinrich Pelzer 9. Hedwig Pelzer 19. Hedwig Troost 2. Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza de Kászon 20. Baron Albert Bornemisza de Kászon et Impérfalva 10. Baron Gábor Bornemisza de Kászon et Impérfalva 21. Countess Gabrielle Kornis de Göncz-Ruszka 5. Baroness Margit Bornemisza de Kászon et Impérfalva 22. James Price 11. Matilda Louise Price 23. Sarah M. Harlan 1. Francesca von Habsburg 24. Major Frederick Arthur Walter 12. Alexander McNeil Walter 25. Emma Elizabeth ... 6. Keith McNeill Campbell-Walter 26. Clifford Young Palmer Downing 13. Florence Ruth Gisella Downing 27. Florence Beatrice Crow 3. Fiona Frances Campbell-Walter 28. Lieutenant-Colonel Frederick Campbell 14. Sir Edward Campbell, 1st Baronet Campbell of Airds 29. Emilie Guillamine MacLaine 7. Frances Henriette Campbell 30. Arthur John Warren 15. Edith Jane Warren 31. Sophia Jane Wilson

See also

• Thyssen
• Thyssen family

References

1. Byrnes, Sholto (18 June 2006). "Francesca von Habsburg: The It-girl who became an empress". The Independent. Retrieved 22 February 2008.
2. Paco Barragán ([n.d.]). Interview with Francesca von Habsburg. ArtPulse Magazine. Retrieved August 2013.
3. Milner, Catherine (13 May 2006). "'It's like an invasion – without rape and pillage'". The Daily Telegraph. p. 1. Retrieved 22 February 2008.
4. Milner, Catherine (13 May 2006). "'It's like an invasion – without rape and pillage'". The Daily Telegraph. p. 2. Retrieved 22 February 2008.
5. Gareth Harris (May 30, 2017), Final show in Vienna for Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary as organisation relocates to Prague The Art Newspaper.
6. Emma O’Kelly (February 28, 2019), Art patron and TBA21 gallery founder Francesca von Habsburg opens the doors to her Vienna residence Wallpaper.
7. Gareth Harris (May 30, 2017), Final show in Vienna for Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary as organisation relocates to Prague The Art Newspaper.
8. Gareth Harris (May 30, 2017), Final show in Vienna for Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary as organisation relocates to Prague The Art Newspaper.
9. "Euro Weekly News – Spain's largest FREE local newspaper in English". euroweeklynews.com.
10. Gareth Harris (February 27, 2018), Family feud forgotten as Thyssen-Bornemisza plans contemporary shows The Art Newspaper.
11. Gareth Harris (March 3, 2020), Collector Francesca Thyssen-Bornemisza invests in Madrid after leaving Vienna The Art Newspaper.
12. Andy Battaglia (March 12, 2019), To Save the Ailing Oceans, TBA21-Academy Turns to Art and Science ARTnews.
13. Gareth Harris (May 30, 2017), Final show in Vienna for Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary as organisation relocates to Prague The Art Newspaper.
14. Gareth Harris (May 30, 2017), Final show in Vienna for Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary as organisation relocates to Prague The Art Newspaper.
15. Foussiane, Chloe. "Eleonore von Habsburg Weds Race Driver Jérôme d'Ambrosio in Low-Key Royal Wedding". Town & Country. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
16. Archdiocese of Vienna – " Oberste Schutzfrau: Gabriela Habsburg-Lothringen "
17. Jamaica Gleaner Archived 22 January 2012 at the Wayback Machine
18. "Collector Francesca Thyssen-Bornemisza on artists being advocates for change". Financial Times. 1 November 2019. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
19. Enache, Nicolas (1999). "La Descendance de Marie-Therese de Habsburg Reine de Hongrie et de Boheme". L'Intermediaire des Chercheurs et Curieux. Paris. pp. 44, 50. ISBN 2-908003-04-X.

External links

• Francesca von Habsburg at IMDb
• We Are Not a Muse