Hans von Hayek(1869-1940) was an Austrian-born German impressionist painter. von Hayek studied at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna, and at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich. After completing his education, von Hayek settled in the Artist’s colony in Dachau where he started a private school devoted to painting, which he operated until 1915. The financial success of his school enabled him to make frequent study trips throughout the world.

During World War I, von Hayek worked as a battle artist where his paintings were praised for accurately depicting the brutality of war. After the war, he settled down in Munich, interrupted by long trips to Ceylon and Indonesia. Many of his works were lost in the fire that destroyed the Munich Glaspalast exhibition hall in 1931. Others were lost after his death when his studio was hit during a bombing in 1945. von Hayek’s works are found in the collections of many major German museums and most of his work from Asia is housed at the Gemäldegalerie Dachau, which he helped create. von Hayek visited Ceylon in the 1920s.