Call for help over ‘lost’ years of renowned exiled artist who lived in Hampshire

The organisers of an exhibition of Sandro von Lorsch’s work are keen to find out more about his exile in the UK.

Born in 1921 to an aristocratic family which lost its lands south of Frankfurt following the Great War, Lorsch grew up in a wealthy suburb of Hamburg and showed a talent for painting and getting into trouble from an early age.

When he was 16 he and some friends were out rowing on a lake and hoisted the Union Jack on the mast of their boat.

When they landed they were detained by the Gestapo and tortured.

Lorsch, who suffered a broken jaw during his interrogation, ended up in prison.

Two years later he was released after promising to join the army. Instead he went into hiding and changed his name to Heinz Lorsch.

Soon after, he surfaced in Prague, where he met Austrian-born expressionist artist, poet and playwright Oskar Kokoschka, who would be his greatest influence.

When the Nazis took over Czechoslovakia Lorsch escaped to Hungary where he obtained a Hungarian passport in the name of Sandor Lorsch which enabled him to travel to Britain, where he is believed to have arrived in 1940.

It is known that he stayed in Southampton and in later years he also spoke of staying in Portsmouth, Salisbury, Stockbridge and nearby North Houghton.

A view of Salisbury Lorsch painted from memory.

“About his time in England hardly anything is known,” said art enthusiast Holger Steinen, who is researching Lorsch.

“It is very probable that he used his name from the passport, Sandor Lorsch. He surely painted in these years, because he lived all his life from selling his paintings or exchanging them for food and lodging.”

At the end of the war Lorsch returned to Germany and in 1947 he was appointed mayor of Reinbek, a town east of Hamburg. Lorsch continued to live in Reinbek, where he was reunited with his mother, until 1960.

His father had died in the concentration camp at Lodzs.

A Self-portrait of the artist at work.

Lorsch led something of a rackety life – he married five times and had many affairs. He enjoyed parties and loved to drink and make music – he could play the guitar, ukulele and violin well.

Lorsch continued to exhibit and sell his artwork up until his death in 1992.

Even though his works had been purchased by the rich and famous and hung in the boardrooms of many large companies, Lorsch seems to have become forgotten, says Holger.

A view of Big Ben and the Thames by Lorsch.

An exhibition of his work opened last month in Reinbek and a major retrospective is planned for 2016 in Hamburg.

If you have any information about the artist’s time in England contact Holger at hmk.stienen@gmx.de