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Cathie Pilkington's 'Housekeeper' exhibition at Freud Museum London explores maid Paula Fichtl's legacy

exhibition · 2026-03-19

At the Freud Museum London, Cathie Pilkington's exhibition 'Housekeeper' delves into the life of Paula Fichtl, who served as Sigmund Freud's housekeeper starting in 1929. In 1938, Fichtl escaped Vienna alongside the Freud family after assisting photographer Edmund Engelman in capturing images of Freud's consulting rooms. She brought Freud's artifacts, such as a bronze statuette of Athena, to England. Once in London, she recreated Freud's study, prominently featuring Athena. Pilkington's installation includes mannequin limbs and soft sculptures, alongside her pieces like 'Messenger' (2019) and 'Herself' (2019). Fichtl was detained in 1940 as an 'enemy alien' but was released thanks to Marie Bonaparte's intervention. The exhibition is open until March 1, highlighting the psychological and political aspects of domestic labor.

Key facts

  • Cathie Pilkington's exhibition 'Housekeeper' runs at Freud Museum London through March 1
  • Paula Fichtl worked as Sigmund Freud's housekeeper from 1929 and fled Vienna with the family in 1938
  • Fichtl helped photographer Edmund Engelman secretly document Freud's rooms to avoid Gestapo detection
  • She packed Freud's collection of over 2,000 antiquities and transported Athena statuette hidden in clothing
  • Fichtl was arrested in 1940 as an 'enemy alien' and detained at Holloway Prison and Rushen Internment Camp
  • Marie Bonaparte negotiated Fichtl's release after arranging her escape from Vienna
  • Pilkington's installation includes sculptures like 'Messenger' (2019) and transforms a room into a storeroom
  • The exhibition references Mierle Laderman Ukeles's 1969 'Manifesto for Maintenance Art'

Entities

Artists

  • Cathie Pilkington
  • Sigmund Freud
  • H.D.
  • Edmund Engelman
  • Frankie Goes to Hollywood
  • Mierle Laderman Ukeles
  • Saidiya Hartman
  • Picasso
  • Baya
  • Marianne Brooker
  • Detlef Berthelsen
  • Gemma Blackshaw

Institutions

  • Freud Museum London
  • Gestapo
  • Manx National Heritage Museum
  • British Library
  • Louvre
  • London Museum
  • ArtReview
  • Freud Museum
  • Royal College of Art
  • Arts Council England
  • The Roberts Institute of Art

Locations

  • London
  • England
  • Vienna
  • Austria
  • Paris
  • France
  • Holloway Prison
  • Rushen Internment Camp
  • Isle of Man
  • 20 Maresfield Gardens
  • United Kingdom
  • Hampstead, London

Sources