Heritage

Velvet Foundation for the Arts traces its origins to one of Vienna’s most respected artistic families. The Rieder lineage begins with Ambros Rieder (1766–1855), the Austrian composer and court musician whose works enriched Vienna’s musical culture during the early 19th century. His son, Wilhelm August Rieder (1796–1880), earned distinction as a painter, celebrated for his intimate and enduring portraits of Franz Schubert. Together, their contributions helped shape the artistic and intellectual fabric of their era.

This creative legacy continued through successive generations, carried by descendants whose lives and talents reflected a natural devotion to art, music, design, and craftsmanship. Among them was Alice Rieder Wilkerson (1928–2018), born in Vienna and raised within this long-standing cultural tradition. Her paintings, personal archives, photographs, and written accounts form the heart of the Alice Rieder Wilkerson Collection, preserving a living link to the family’s artistic past.

The collection remains privately held by her husband, Ret. Major Thomas B. Wilkerson, and the Wilkerson family, who have granted the Velvet Foundation for the Arts permission to publish these works online for the first time. Their support allows this important family heritage to be documented, researched, and shared with audiences beyond the home in which it was treasured.

The Velvet Foundation for the Arts is dedicated to honoring this heritage by stewarding artworks, documents, and research materials that illuminate the breadth and depth of the Rieder family’s creative legacy. Through preservation, scholarly access, and thoughtful presentation, VLAF seeks to ensure that the history of the Rieder family remains part of the cultural record it helped create.

Portrait of Franz Schubert 1825

Wilhelm August Rieder (1796–1880)
Portrait of Franz Schubert, 1825

Pencil and wash on paper

This intimate portrait of Franz Schubert was drawn from life in 1825 by Wilhelm August Rieder, the composer’s close friend and most important visual interpreter. Rieder’s likenesses became the defining images of Schubert and remain the foundation for his visual legacy. This rare surviving drawing bears Rieder’s signature and date, along with his characteristic inscription.

Details

Artist: Wilhelm August Rieder (1796–1880)
Title: Franz Schubert
Date: 1825
Medium: Pencil and wash on paper
Dimensions: 12" x 17"

Signature/Marks:
Signed lower left: “Rieder del.”
Inscribed and dated by the artist, lower left/right, including “1825” and notes referencing the sitting
Titled in the lower margin: “Schubert”
Inventory number 4255 at lower right

Description:
Seated three-quarter portrait of Franz Schubert, executed with delicate washes and precise draftsmanship characteristic of Rieder’s mid-1820s portraits. Schubert is depicted leaning slightly against a chair, wearing a dark coat and scarf, rendered with subtle tonal modeling. The drawing demonstrates Rieder’s mastery of the expressive yet understated style that would become central to the composer’s enduring visual identity.

Related Works:
Wienmuseum, Inv. 105.782 (life portrait, 1825)
Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Porträtersammlung Pk 2390
Additional comparable portraits reproduced in 19th-century Schubert biographies

Scholarly Notes & Lineage Documentation

The genealogical and historical connections presented above are supported by extensive primary-source documentation, including family correspondence, archival records, and academic research compiled in Rieder Family History (completed February 2, 2013). This research traces the documented lineage from Ambros Mathias Rieder, Austrian composer and regenschori, through successive generations of the Rieder family.

Ambros Rieder’s son, Wilhelm August Rieder, is historically recognized for his portrait drawings of Franz Schubert, several of which are held in Viennese institutional collections and remain central to the composer’s visual legacy. Although Wilhelm August Rieder left no direct descendants, the family line continued through his siblings and their descendants, as documented in church records, estate proceedings, and family archives.

The lineage proceeds through Johann Baptist Joseph Rieder and later generations—including Sigismund Rieder, Josef Sigismund Rieder, Josef Johann Rieder, and Alois Rieder—culminating in Alice Charlotte Rieder Wilkerson, born in Vienna and later residing in the United States.

Primary source materials referenced in this research include autograph letters by Ambros Rieder to his son Wilhelm August Rieder (1813–1854), estate and church records from Vienna and Lower Austria, and archival holdings associated with the Heiligenkreuz Abbey, where numerous musical works by Ambros Rieder are preserved. Additional materials are cited from private family collections and scholarly archives in Vienna.

The Velvet Foundation for the Arts presents this lineage based on verifiable historical documentation and ongoing archival stewardship. The Alice Rieder Wilkerson Collection is shown as a curated selection of works and materials and does not represent a complete catalogue raisonné.