"Unknown young lady of Vienna"

The original of this painting has been attributed to an artist by the name of Taflinger.
The only known artist by the name of Taflinger is Elmer Edward Taflinger (1891-1981), a native of Indianapolis.
Before beginning a position at the Minneapolis School of Art in 1925, Taflinger contracted diphtheria while on one of his trips to Italy. During his first year at the art school, Taflinger suffered from progressive paralysis, a result of the disease, but still taught his classes. At the end of the academic year, Taflinger's health had improved and he returned to Florence, Italy, to continue his studies. He returned to the United States in 1927.
For several reasons it is unlikely that it was Elmer Taflinger who painted a "young unknown lady from Vienna", reproduced here in miniature.
As reported, Elmer only lived in Italy and no stays in Vienna are reported where he could have painted this "Unknown young lady from Vienna".
One option is that it isn't a "young lady from Vienna" but a "young lady from Florence (Italy)".
Another option is that it still is a "young lady from Vienna" but made by another artist.
This painting has been retraced in the archives of the frame maker. Under number 221 it is mentioned as "Unbek. junge Wienerin" but no name of the original artist has been given. The name Taflinger only appears handwritten on the backside of the miniature.
It is well possible that a young girl from Florence was turned into a young girl from Vienna to make it sell better, or that Florence or perhaps Venice (Italy) was misread by Vienna. An unsolved mistery for the moment being.

waterbased painting on a sheet of ivory
frame chips of ivory
backside information: 019/221N Taflinger Unbekannte junge Dame
Condition painting: excellent
Condition frame: excellent
suspension eyelet
convex glass
dimension frame vertically: 105 mm
inner dimension frame: 46 mm





stock number 449