Art @ Top Hat

In a letter of October 7th, 1944 to Mia Le Comte,  Albert Einstein wrote, "Your paintings deeply impressed me".

"I admire the art of Mia Le Comte". - Leonard Bernstein

Mia Munzer Le Comte was born in Prague and received her master's degree there at the Academy of Fine Arts and Architecture by the time she was twenty. She also studied as an exchange student at the Berlin Academy under Karl Hofer.  Later, Mia moved to Paris where she worked privately with Oskar Kokoschka and with Paul Colin, creating theatrical designs and posters.

Madame Le Comte was given one-woman shows at the Feigl Gallery in Prague, the Galerie Rousseau in Paris and at numerous galleries and museums in the USA.  Soon after she immigrated to the States, Mia's work was included in an exhibition of modern Czech artists which toured the US and Canada.  Paintings by Le Comte have appeared in group-exhibitions in Prague, Paris, Nice, and from New York to San Francisco.  Her works have hung in the Prague Museum of Modern Art and Ministry of Education, as well as many private collections in Europe and America.

Shortly after her exhibition at the Galerie Rousseau in 1939, Hitler occupied Paris, and Mme. Le Comte fled to the United States, arriving after a harrowing journey which took many months.  She left most of her paintings in the custody of a friend, the writer Andre Germain.  When Mia returned to Paris after the war, her friend had disappeared without a trace, and the paintings have never been located.

The Berkshires were Le Comte's home from 1966 until 2003.  She brought something of Central Europe with her which lent special character to her works.  Wit adn humor infuse the art she created.  "The enthusiasm - the strength - the ebullience - the originality of her work deserve the widest audience." - Renova Art Gallery