Portrait of Anna Sacher (Vienna 1859-1930), owner of the hotel of the same name in Vienna, signed and dated E. Seidl 1900, oil on canvas, 135 x 90.5 cm, strip frame, (Rei)

Anna Maria Sacher, née Fuchs, married the hotelier Eduard Sacher on 21 February 1880, soon thereafter joining her husband’s business. In 1876, he had opened the Hotel de l’Opera, later renamed Hotel Sacher, on Philharmonikerstrasse. Within a few years, the hotel gained an excellent reputation at home and abroad, which Anna Sacher increased further after the death of her husband in 1892. Under her management, the Hotel Sacher and the Sachergarten in the Prater developed into a popular gathering place for prominent guests, members of the aristocracy and the imperial family as well as the Viennese upper middle classes. Anna Sacher was awarded several prizes during her lifetime, including the “Golden Medal of Merit of the City of Vienna with Crown” and became the first woman to receive the “Golden Medal of Honour of the Republic of Austria”. In addition, she was awarded numerous prizes at culinary exhibitions and appointed Purveyor to the Imperial and Royal Court. She was famous for her originality, her strong and resolute nature as well as her charm.