Postcards of the Wiener Werkstätte

From 1903 to 1932 the Wiener Werkstätte (Vienna Workshops), a cooperative for artists and artisans founded by members of the larger Vienna Secession movement, produced postcards, textiles, jewelry, ceramics and other high-quality wares, with the goal of designing every aspect of daily life to create a “total work of art” (or, in German,Gesamtkunstwerk). Postcards, made by designers such as Josef Hoffmann, Oskar Kokoschka, Dagobert Peche and Egon Schiele, were an important element in the overall program of the Wiener Werkstätte, and the renowned Leonard A. Lauder Collection, a promised gift to Neue Galerie New York, contains more than 300 examples. Some of the more exceptional designs were produced by women artists, including Mela Koehler and Maria Likarz. The variety of thematic cards reflect the rich social fabric of turn-of-the-century Vienna—its cafés, architecture, and fashion. The postcards in the exhibition will be complemented with objects loaned from The Wolfsonian–Florida International University, Miami Beach, such as textiles, decorative arts and printed materials.

Postcards of the Wiener Werkstätte: Selections from the Leonard A. Lauder Collection is organized by the Neue Galerie New York with additional loans from The Wolfsonian–Florida International University, Miami Beach.

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