Beran, Irene

Irene Beran, née Subak (1886–1979), was an important collector of art and a loyal supporter of the Mährischer Kunstverein in her hometown of Brünn/Brno. Her collection comprised works by Austrian contemporary artists such as Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele and Oskar Kokoschka, as well as German artists such as Hugo von Habermann and Franz Stuck, amongst others.

Irene Beran’s first husband was the industrialist Philipp Beran, a well-known producer of woolen yarns. Irene’s second husband was Philipp’s brother, the painter Bruno Beran. Irene and Bruno Beran escaped occupied Europe in 1943. Philipp Beran and Irene’s mother Leopoldine Subak, who had remained in the family home in Brno, perished in the Holocaust.

Research on the Beran collection has led to the restitution of several works in recent years, including but not limited to Hugo von Habermann’s "Portrait of Irene Beran" and Thomas Theodor Heine’s, "Schäfchen" (which were restituted by the Stiftung Preussische Schlösser und Gärten in 2007 and 2022 respectively), and Gustav Klimt’s "Black Feather Hat" (restituted in 2022 by a private collection).