Postcards of the Wiener Werkstätte: Selections from the Leonard A. Lauder Collection with additional loans from The Wolfsonian–Florida International University

Artist-designed postcards, textiles, decorative arts and printed materials from the acclaimed Wiener Werkstätte (or Vienna Workshops), an association of artists and artisans founded by members of the broader Vienna Secession movement, will be on display in the Frist Center’s Upper-Level Galleries from June 26 to October 12, 2015.

From 1903 to 1932 the Wiener Werkstätte produced high-quality household wares, from furniture and glassware to postcards and garments, with the goal of designing every aspect of daily life. Postcards made by designers such as Josef Hoffmann, Oskar Kokoschka, Dagobert Peche and Egon Schiele were important in the overall program of the Wiener Werkstätte. The renowned collector Leonard A. Lauder has a nearly complete set of more than 900 cards, more than 300 of which were selected for this exhibition.

The variety of the cards’ thematic subject matter reflects the social fabric of turn-of-the-century Vienna—its cabarets, cafés, historic sites, fashions, and holiday celebrations—delivering memorable images that range in tone from humorous and whimsical to brooding. “Underscoring the value of well-designed objects in all aspects of everyday life, this exhibition provides a refreshing look at a time when communication with family and friends was largely handwritten,” says Frist Center Curator Katie Delmez. “Visitors to the Frist Center will also have a unique opportunity to see these small treasures in the appropriate setting of our historic building, which served as Nashville’s former main post office from 1934 to 1986.”

This selection of postcards is contextualized by more than 70 Wiener Werkstätte works from The Wolfsonian–Florida International University, a museum of art and design in Miami Beach, including painted glassware, ceramics, leather wallets, and intricately designed textiles. Together, they bring to life the rich world of Vienna in the early 20th century.

Drawing inspiration from the Arts and Crafts movement in England, architect Josef Hoffmann and artist Koloman Moser cofounded the Wiener Werkstätte in 1903 with the aim of creating a “total work of art” (or, in German, Gesamtkunstwerk) and elevating the status of the decorative arts. This goal was shared by members of the Vienna Secession, a group begun in 1897 by Gustav Klimt and other artists, including Hoffmann and Moser. Originally conceived as a metal workshop, the Wiener Werkstätte soon added departments for bookbinding, furniture, lacquerwork and leatherwork. In 1907, it began publishing a numbered series of postcards, a line that would eventually include nearly a thousand designs. “The cards were an affordable way to share good design with a wide audience and the program was among the workshop’s most successful sectors,” says Ms. Delmez. “They have been in great demand as collector’s items since their creation.”

Between 1909 and 1929, the Wiener Werkstätte established sales branches in Berlin, Karlsbad, Lucerne, Marienbad, New York, Velden and Zurich. The disruption of the First World War and the subsequent breakup of the Austro-Hungarian Empire contributed to the decline in the workshop’s economic viability. In 1932, after severe financial losses, it was dissolved and the complete inventory sold at auction.

Chairman Emeritus of the Estée Lauder Companies Leonard Lauder took a special interest in collecting postcards at an early age. “He acquired his first postcard at the age of eight,” says Ms. Delmez. “He acquired nearly two hundred thousand cards, many of which are now in museum collections. He has stated that the Wiener Werkstätte cards in particular hold a special place in his heart, and he considers them the gold standard in postcard production.” Mr. Lauder has promised a nearly complete set of the Wiener Werkstätte postcards to the Neue Galerie in New York, a museum devoted to modern Austrian and German art, which was founded by his brother, Ronald S. Lauder.

The black and white geometric exhibition design was influenced by Josef Hoffmann’s designs at the first Wiener Werkstätte exhibition held in the fall of 1904 at the Hohenzollern-Kunsgewerbehaus in Berlin. The display cases were inspired by a 1917 writing desk designed by Dagobert Peche. Both are the creative work of The Wolfsonian-FIU.

Education Gallery: The Spaces of the Wiener Werkstätte
The Education Gallery contains large-scale reproductions of photographs from the Wiener Werkstätte archive at the MAK (Museum für angewandte Kunst), the Austrian Museum of Applied Arts in Vienna. These images of workshop facilities, where objects ranging from silverware to printed silk were designed, produced, and sold, reveal the scope of this artistic enterprise and provide additional context to the exhibition Postcards of the Wiener Werkstätte. The Education Gallery also features a reading area where visitors can explore books about the Wiener Werkstätte, its affiliated artists, and the postcard collections of Leonard Lauder in greater depth. 

Exhibition Credit 
This exhibition was organized by the Neue Galerie New York, with additional loans from The Wolfsonian–Florida International University, Miami Beach.

Sponsor Acknowledgment 
The Frist Center for the Visual Arts is supported in part by the Metro Nashville Arts Commission, the Tennessee Arts Commission, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Public Programs

Friday, June 26  
Curator’s Perspective Postcards of the Wiener Werkstätte Presented by Janis Staggs, associate director for curatorial and publications, Neue Galerie New York

Noon                                                                                    

Frist Center Auditorium                                                  
Gallery admission required; members free
First come, first seated

The Wiener Werkstätte (or Vienna Workshops) produced a numbered series of postcards from 1907 until the end of World War I. These miniature works of art were both a way to advertise the many products the firm created as well as an inexpensive vehicle for sharing good design with a broad audience. Nearly one thousand unique postcard designs were issued by more than fifty artists. This talk will provide an overview of the firm’s postcards and cover the various subjects depicted, including cabarets and coffeehouses, fashion and holidays, children’s themes and humor, and even contemporary events and places in the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Friday, August 21, and Saturday, August 22        
Two-Day Studio Workshop The Social Print: Postcards with Sawtooth Print Shop
6:00–8:00 p.m. Friday                                                    
and 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Saturday

(lunch included)
Frist Center Studio A
$75 members; $85 not-yet-members; advance registration required by August 14. Contact Jessica Orvis (615.744.3355 or jorvis@fristcenter.org) to reserve your place. Participants must be 18 or older, please; all levels of artistry welcome.

Before social media existed, illustrated postcards sent personal messages across the globe. Join Chris Cheney and Nieves Uhl, owners of Nashville’s Sawtooth Print Shop, as they lead a printmaking workshop celebrating postcards made from 1907 to 1919 by the Wiener Werkstätte (or Vienna Workshops), on display at the Frist Center from June 22 through October 5. Participants will study the various designs and thematic works in the exhibition to produce their own two-color postcards, which will be carved and printed by hand, forming a limited-edition collection to be shared among the creators.

Saturday, September 19                                              
The Art of Viennese Coffee
2:00–4:00 p.m.
Frist Center Rechter Room
$25 members; $35 not-yet-members; registration fee includes gallery admission

Advance registration required by September 14. Contact Jessica Orvis (615.744.3355 or jorvis@fristcenter.org) to reserve your place.

In connection with the exhibition Postcards of the Wiener Werkstätte: Selections from the Leonard A. Lauder Collection, the Frist Center and Crema Coffee Roasters present a unique workshop where good taste will reign supreme. Learn more about a vital part of Vienna’s culture during the time of the Wiener Werkstätte. Participants will also prepare authentic Viennese coffee as taught by the expert baristas of Crema.

Saturday, September 26                                              
Studio Workshop Wool-stätte: Needle Felting  with Cassie Stephens
10:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.                                                      
Frist Center Studio A and galleries
$40 members; $50 not-yet-members; materials and lunch provided
Advance registration required by September 19. Contact Jessica Orvis (615.744.3355 or jorvis@fristcenter.org) to reserve your place. Participants must be 18 or older, please; all levels of artistry welcome.

Join fiber artist Cassie Stephens for a studio workshop as she teaches the art of needle felting with wool roving. Participants will draw inspiration from the aesthetics of the Postcards of the Wiener Werkstätte exhibition and create a series of textile interpretations of the postcards. You will leave with an understanding of the craft of needle felting and how to pursue your artistic vision further with this exciting medium.

Sunday, September 27                                                 
A Musical Taste of Coffee
2:00–3:00 p.m.
Frist Center Auditorium
Gallery admission required; members free
First come, first seated
 

The Frist Center, in partnership with the Vanderbilt Institute for Coffee Studies and Music City Baroque, presents an afternoon of classical music inspired by everyone’s favorite beverage—coffee! Enjoy delicious coffee as you listen to the music of master composers, including J. S. Bach’s famous “Coffee Cantata.” The program will also include a brief talk by Dr. Ted Fischer, the director of Vanderbilt’s Center for Latin American Studies and the Institute of Coffee Studies, bringing to life the coffeehouses of early twentieth-century Vienna. Enjoy the delights of Baroque music, the taste of expertly brewed coffee, and the world of the artists featured in Postcards of the Wiener Werkstätte: Selections from the Leonard A. Lauder Collection.