Harry Graf Kessler

Harry Graf Kessler (1868–1937) was a German writer, diplomat, patron of the arts, and cultural promoter. He studied law in Bonn and Leipzig and worked, among other roles, for the journal PAN, the Nietzsche Archive, and as director of the Grand Ducal Museum of Art and Applied Arts in Weimar. In 1913, he founded the Cranach Press there, which became known for its finely produced bibliophile books. Kessler supported artists including Henry van de Velde, Edvard Munch, and Aristide Maillol, and collaborated with Hugo von Hofmannsthal on Der Rosenkavalier and Josephslegende. From 1918 onward, he was also active in politics and diplomacy, including as Germany’s envoy in Warsaw. His diaries, kept for decades, are regarded as important sources on cultural and political history.