The Hundertwasser Stamp Resource

Dedicated to the memory of

Friedensreich Hundertwasser

About Hundertwasser Philately

Even though only 35 stamps are needed in order to have a complete Hundertwasser collection, truly complete collections are rare. Part of the reason for this is that many of the stamps issued as minisheets were printed as numbered, limited editions and bought up by art collectors and galleries. Few initially found their way onto the philatelic market. Correspondingly, many of the stamps issued as regular commemoratives did not find their way into the art world. That means that many Hundertwasser collectors have only half a collection.

Here, however, you can view every stamp issued with a Hundertwasser design, from the Cuban issue from 1967 right up to the recent New Zealand Universal Post issue. You'll also find rough frafts, progressive proofs, die prrofs and first day covers of his stamps aw well as examples of some of his other populist work in the form of telephone cards.

For those of you interested in starting or completing a collection, a checklist of all the stamps can be found here.

Hundertwasser was personally involved in the design of all but three of the stamps portraying his works. The exceptions are the Cuban issue from 1967 which pictures his painting "Night of the Drunken Woman" and the posthumous Austrian minisheet designed by Prof. Wolfgang Seidel, based on Hundertwasser's work Blue Blues, and the recent New Zealan Universal Post issue. Every other stamp was designed by Hundertwasser or had a design approved by him for the purpose of being a postage stamp. However (and this is the second point), not everyone used the same engraver and printer to make the stamps and this shows.

The two French European Council issues were engraved and printed in France, as opposed to the other Hundertwasser stamps, which were engraved by Wolfgang Seidel and printed by the Austrian Federal Printers - and it shows. The same design pictured on the French stamps is also on the Austrian issue from 1993. The French issues are relatively drab. The Austrian issue, on the other hand, shows subtle detail and nuances that make the stamp a work of art. Indeed, to be a fan of Hundertwasser's philatelic work is to be a fan of that of Dr. Wolfgang Seidel.
In my collection is an Austrian promotional folder from 1975 signed on the cover by both Hundertwasser and Seidel. I look at this as a fitting acknowledgement that together , these two men gave us some of the most beautiful and intersting stamps we could ever hope for.

On that note, welcome once again and enjoy the site!

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