The cosmopolitan artist Josef Oppenheimer had a long and successful career. He painted a wide variety of subjects, but mainly focused on portraits of celebrities and beautiful women from high society in Europe, especially in England where he lived for a long time. His style developed from an academic realism to a 'vibrating' impressionism. Oppenheimer studied at the Akademies in Munich and Rome. After his studies, he traveled to Egypt and America, among other places. In 1900 he had his own studio in New York for six months. The internationally oriented artist subsequently also lived in London and Berlin.