INVENTORY OF THE PAPERS OF JOSEF FRANZ MARIA HOFFMANN, 1895-1950
Finding aid created by Carl Wuellner
Getty Research Institute
Research Library
Special Collections and Visual Resources
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Los Angeles, California 90049-1688
Phone: (310) 440-7390
Fax: (310) 440-7780
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URL: http://www.getty.edu/research/conducting_research/library
©1998
J. Paul Getty Trust.
INVENTORY OF THE PAPERS OF JOSEF FRANZ MARIA HOFFMANN, 1895-1950
Accession no. 850997
Finding aid prepared by Carl Wuellner
Getty Research Institute
Contact Information:
- The Getty Research Institute
- Research Library
- Special Collections and Visual Resources
- 1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 1100
- Los Angeles, California 90049-1688
- Phone: (310) 440-7390
- Fax: (310) 440-7780
- Email Requests: http://www.getty.edu/research/conducting_research/library/reference_form.html
- URL: http://www.getty.edu/research/conducting_research/library/
- Processed by:
- Carl Wuellner
- Date Completed:
-
December 1995, revised April 2004
- Encoded by:
- Philip Curtis, revised by Julio Vera
©1998 J. Paul Getty Trust.
Descriptive Summary
Title: Papers of Josef Franz Maria Hoffmann
Date (inclusive): 1895-1950
Collection number: 850997
Creator:
Hoffmann, Josef Franz Maria, 1870-1956
Extent:
3 linear feet
(6 boxes)
Repository:
Getty Research Institute
Research Library
Special Collections and Visual Resources
1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 1100
Los Angeles, CA 90049-1688
Abstract: Correspondence, manuscripts, photographs and other papers of the Austrian designer and architect, Josef Hoffmann, document
his involvement in the arts and crafts movement and his writings in art education. The bulk of the papers date to the 1920s
and 1930s.
Language: Collection material in German
Administrative Information
Access
Open for use by qualified researchers.
Publication Rights
Preferred Citation
Papers of Josef Franz Maria Hoffmann, 1895-1950, Getty Research Institute, Research Library, Accession no. 850997
Acquisition Information
Acquired in 1985
Processing History
The Hoffmann Papers were partially processed by staff at the Getty Research Institute in 1985. Carl Wuellner completed the
processing of the archive and wrote the finding aid from October-December, 1995.
Biographical/Historical Note
Josef Franz Maria Hoffmann (1870-1956) was one of the most influential architects and designers to emerge from Austria in
the early twentieth century. He graduated with distinction in 1895 from the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts, where he was a student
of Otto Wagner. Two years later, along with Gustav Klimt, he became a founding member of the Vienna Secession, a group dedicated
to creating more exhibition opportunities for avant-gardeViennese artists. Hoffmann began teaching at the Vienna Kunstgewerbeschule
in 1899, a position he held until 1936, and was artistic director of the Austrian Werkbund until 1933. He and fellow artist
Koloman Moser founded the Wiener Werkstätte in 1903. This renowned artist-run group of workshops was devoted to the melding
of handicraft with high design, and took as its primary goal the complete integration of environment, architecture, art, furniture,
and objects of daily life. Although a great success artistically, it was plagued by frequent fiscal difficulties, and in 1931
its financially-strapped workshops ceased operation. Hoffmann remained active as a designer and lecturer until the end of
his life. He died in Vienna.
Scope and Content of Collection
The Josef Hoffmann papers document Hoffmann's career as an architect, designer, and educator. They date from the year he graduated
from the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts to only a few years before his death. The bulk of the material is from the 1920s and
1930s, and includes many of Hoffmann's writings for public presentations in the years 1924-1932. There are also letters and
correspondence, photographs, architectural drawings, printed matter and ephemera. Much of the material is not dated.
Upon Hoffmann's death, this collection passed to his friend and biographer, Leopold Wolfgang Rochowanski. Later it passed
through the hands of rare-book dealer Oscar Schreyer, who scripted English summaries of a number of the manuscripts and letters.
There are also photocopies of many of the original papers, though these were not part of the collection initially. Specific
manuscripts and letters from the collection are referenced in Eduard Sekler's catalogue raisonné of Hoffmann's architectural
work as "Estate L.W. Rochowanski." (see Bibliography)
The papers deal with the following topics: the relationship between craft and art; handicraft-oriented vs. machine-oriented
means of production; the dignity inherent in manual labor; the evolution of the Wiener Werkstätte and its roots in the example
of Otto Wagner; the Viennese Secession and the English Arts and Crafts Movement; management of the Wiener Werkstätte; art
education; furniture, interior, and fashion design; architecture and architectural projects; the Kunstgewerbeschule; the Viennese
Academy; and the Austrian Werkbund.
Arrangement
The papers are arranged in 6 series:
Series I: Letters from Hoffmann, 1925-1938, arranged chronologically by subject (Box 1);
Series II: Letters received, 1902-1940, arranged chronologically by correspondent (Box 1);
Series III: Manuscripts by Hoffmann, 1895-1938, arranged chronologically by subject (Boxes 1-2);
Series IV: Printed matter, 1919-1945 (Box 2);
Series V: Architectural drawings, photographs, and graphic arts (Boxes 4-6*);
Series VI: Ephemera, 1909-1950 (Box 2). There are also photocopies of many of the letters and manuscripts found in series I, II, and III, filed separately.
Indexing Terms
Subjects
Hoffmann, Josef Franz Maria, 1870-1956
Akademie der Künste
Kunstgewerbeschule (Vienna, Austria)
Oesterreichische Werkbund
Wiener Werkstätte
Architecture—Austria—20th century
Art—Study and teaching
Arts and crafts movement
Decorative arts—Austria
Furniture design
Form Genre
Architectural drawings—20th century
Photographic prints—20th century
Photographs, Original
Contributors
Baudisch, Gudrun
De Fiori, Ernesto, 1884-1945
Dülfer, Martin, 1859-1942
Jastrzembiec, Ludwig
Kopriva, Erna
Likarz, Maria
Loew, Jakob
Lurje, Victor
Peche, Dagobert, 1887-1923
Powolney, Michael, 1871-1954
Rix, Felice
Rix, Kitty
Roller, Alfred, 1864-1935
Schroeder, Any
Singer, Susi
Snischek, Max
Vago, Josef
Bibliography
Kallir, Jane.
Viennese Design and the Wiener Werkstätte. (New York: Galerie St. Etiene/George Braziller: 1986).
Rochowanski, Leopold Wolfgang.
Josef Hoffmann, Eine Studie geschrieben zu seinem 80. Geburtstag. (Vienna: Verlag der Österreichen Staatsdruckerei, 1950).
Sekler Eduard F.
Josef Hoffmann: The Architectural Work. (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1985).
Series I.
Letters from Hoffmann,
1925-1938
Physical Description:
17 letters
Scope and Content Note
Letters arranged chronologically by subject, most neither dated nor addressed, many with typewritten English synopses prepared
by Oscar Schreyer. These letters document Hoffmann's differences with the administration and management of the Wiener Werkstätte,
his role in the Austrian Werkbund and his reasons for leaving it, and his attempts to defend himself against official criticism
after the annexation of Austria in 1938.
Note
(see Box 3 for photocopies)
Box 1, Folder 1
Four letters, ca.
1926-1931,
n.d.
Scope and Content Note
to Hermann Neubacher (president of the Austrian Werkbund and member of the board of the Wiener Werkstätte) regarding the current
state of the design arts (1931); to Heinrich Bischoff (1931); and two unaddressed and undated, discussing the Stoclet House,
Brussels, as a model, and elucidating the idea that education should be a process of integrating all of the arts into everyday
life.
Box 1, Folder 2
Six letters,
1928,
n.d.
Scope and Content Note
One letter concerns financial constraints imposed on an exhibition of the Wiener Werkstätte (1928); five undated letters debate
how to surmount the financial difficulties of the Werkstätte and maintain the quality of the educational program.
Box 1, Folder 3
Seven letters,
n.d.
Scope and Content Note
Includes a letter to Làszlò Gabor explaining reasons for leaving the Austrian Werkbund (quoted in part in Sekler, 209, as
"Estate Rocho[wanski]," see Bibliography); a fragment of a letter, no addressee, expresses concern that the Werkbund is growing
too far from its roots as a native artists' cooperative; a letter to "Sehr geehrter Herr Ministerialrat" written after the
1938 annexation of Austria, in which Hoffmann defends himself against official criticism; and a letter to "Hochgeehrter Herr
Bundespräsident," explaining political reasons for refusing to accept an award from the state at an exhibition in Paris (cited
in Sekler, 516, n.16, as "Estate Rocho[wanski]," (see Bibliography.)
Series II.
Letters received,
1902-1940
Physical Description:
ca. .5 lin. ft.
ca. 1 box
Scope and Content Note
Twenty-four postcards and letters from friends, colleagues, students, and unknown correspondents, all of a personal, informal
character, arranged chronologically.
(See Box 3 for photocopies.)
Box 1, Folder 4
Twenty-four items,
1902-1940 and
n.d.
Scope and Content Note
Letters and postcards of an informal, personal nature received from students, friends, and colleagues. Correspondents include
Dagobert Peche, Adolph Vetter, Camilla Eber-Birke (plus 2 photos), and Alfred Roller.
Box 5, Folder 1-15
Photocopies of many of the above letters.
Series III.
Manuscripts by Hoffmann,
1985-1938
Physical Description:
ca. 1 lin. ft.
3 boxes
Scope and Content Note
Sixty-six manuscripts (forty-two holographs; seven holographs with annotated typescripts; seventeen typescripts) are arranged
chronologically by subject. Mostly unpublished, these are drafts and transcriptions of speeches, lectures, essays, articles
and memoranda. English synopses prepared by Oscar Schreyer accompany the majority of them. Subjects include most of the topics
listed above.
Note
(see Box 3 for photocopies)
Box 1, Folder 5
Seven items,
1895-1924
Scope and Content Note
Included are partial typed drafts of two early articles published in
Der Architekt I (1895) and III (1897); a handwritten draft of an article published in Das
Kunstblatt 8 (1924) on the schooling of architects; three handwritten and one typed manuscript, reprinted in Sekler as follows:
Speech About Otto Wagner, 1909;
My Work, 1911; and
Vienna's Future, originally published in
Der Merker, December 1919. See Bibliography.
Box 1, Folder 6
Ten items,
1926-1933,
n.d.
Scope and Content Note
Writings on the Wiener Werkstätte, including essays on the following topics: the role of the artistic manager in an organization
such as Wiener Werkstätte (1928); artistic principles of the Werkstätte (1930); the Werkstätte in its historical context (1933);
the Werkstätte in its Austrian/Viennese context (undated); why the city of Vienna should lend financial assistance to the
Werkstätte (1926 and undated)
Box 1, Folder 7
Five items,
1933-1935,
n.d.
Scope and Content Note
Writings on Hoffmann's relationship with the Austrian Werkbund and the Neuer Werkbund Österreichs, the group he formed upon
resigning from the Austrian Werkbund, including an essay expressing his differences with the Austrian Werkbund (1933) and
two introductions to
Das befreite Handwerk, the first exhibition by the Neuer Werkbund Österreichs (1935 and undated.)
Box 1, Folder 8
Seven manuscripts,
n.d.
Scope and Content Note
Includes essays/speeches on the following topics: how interior decoration should complement the way we live in the modern
world; the interiors of the Werkbundsiedlung Wien housing colony; the fragmentation of the contemporary system of art education;
the integration of art, industry, and handicraft to create a national style.
Box 1, Folder 9
Notes: Eight items,
1933,
n.d.
Scope and Content Note
Notes on various topics in architecture and fashion, including the following: the blending of practicality and aesthetic appeal
in workers' clothing to enhance the inherent dignity of labor (undated); the re-establishment of the defunct Wiener Werkstätte
(undated); the absurdities of thoughtless imitation of past styles in the arts and architecture (undated); a new concert hall
and international cultural complex for Vienna (undated); the Vienna Ringstraße and the urban landscape (undated). There is
also a forward to an unidentified architectural book (1933).
Box 2, Folder 1
Manuscripts: Four items,
1926,
n.d.
Scope and Content Note
Essays/speeches on the following topics: the differing qualities of mass-produced and handicraft objects; that a return of
hand-craftsmanship will yield objects of high quality and useful design (undated); the future of
Kunsthandwerk (1926); the decline in quality of everyday objects due to commercialized, mass-produced imitation of older styles (1926).
Box 2, Folder 2
Manuscripts: Ten items,
1932,
n.d.
Scope and Content Note
Essays/speeches on the following topics: that all branches of art and architecture should be products of their own time and
place; that the traditional workshop is the ideal setting for this approach to making art (undated); that architecture should
incorporate traditional local materials as well as modern technical innovations (1932); and that comfort and convenience for
all should take precedence over lavish splendor for a few (undated.)
Box 2, Folder 3
Manuscripts: Sixteen items,
1938,
n.d.
Scope and Content Note
Essays/speeches on the following topics: unification of the various academies and schools of art (1938 and undated); that
artistic talent can only be inspired and awakened from within by a competent teacher (undated); that a degree from the Kunstgewerbeschule
be held equal to that from a University (undated).
Box 5, Folder 1-15
Photocopies of many of the above items.
Series IV.
Printed matter,
1919-1945
Physical Description:
ca. 1 lin. ft.
2 boxes
Scope and Content Note
Four newspaper clippings of articles written by Hoffmann, 1931-ca. 1945, covering such topics as the artistic mission of
the Wiener Werkstätte, the encouragement of women artists, the reconstruction of Vienna after World War II, and the place
of the arts and crafts in modern culture. There are eight items about or referring to Hoffmann, including published journal
articles about Hoffmann's architectural work, pamphlets and exhibition flyers, ca. 1919-1934.
Box 2, Folder 4
Printed matter: Eight items,
ca. 1914-ca. 1934
Scope and Content Note
Offprints and tear sheets about Hoffmann's work. Of special note is a checklist of works shown in an exhibition held at the
Österreichischen Museum in honor of Hoffmann's sixtieth birthday (1930.)
Box 2, Folder 5
Clippings,
ca. 1931-ca. 1945
Scope and Content Note
Four newspaper clippings of articles written by Hoffmann. Of interest is a newspaper article in which Hoffmann encourages
the participation of women artists in the arts and crafts movement. Also a clipping of an article in which Hoffmann pleads
for a sensible approach to rebuilding the city of Vienna after World War II.
Box 3, Folder 1-15
Photocopies of many of the letters, some manuscripts in Boxes 1-2.
Series V.
Architectural drawings, photographs and graphic arts,
n.d.
Physical Description:
ca. 1.5 lin. ft.
3 boxes
Scope and Content Note
Four architectural drawings, bearing the Wiener Werkstätte stamp, for a casino/hotel with adjacent house in Kapfenburg, Austria.
There are approximately 195 photographs, in two binders, including portraits of Hoffmann and other artists associated with
the Wiener Werkstätte; photographs of ceramics, glassware, textiles, lamps and other functional and decorative objects designed
by Werkstätte artists; three photographs of architectural drawings; and one color lithograph by an unknown artist labeled
"Herta Zuckerman, Aged 14 Years."
Box 4
Photographs,
n.d.
Scope and Content Note
Binder contains approximately ninety-five photographs. Includes portraits of Hoffmann and other artists associated with the
Wiener Werkstätte; and photographs of architectural drawings, ceramics, glassware, textiles, lamps and other functional and
decorative objects designed by Werkstätte artists, A-P. Artists whose works are included: Gudrun Baudisch, Herta Bucher, Lotte
Calm, Otto Czechska, Alice Ehmann, Mathilde Flögl, Erna Kopriva, Maria Likarz, Jakob Löw, Victor Lurge, Dagobert Peche, Michael
Powolny.
Box 5
Photographs,
n.d.
Scope and Content Note
Binder contains approximately one hundred photographs. Includes photographs of artists associated with the Wiener Werkstätte;
and photographs of ceramics, glassware, textiles, lamps and other functional and decorative objects designed by Werkstätte
artists, R-W, and collaborative works, unidentified works. Artists whose work is included: Felice Rix, Kitty Rix, Rochowanski,
Irene Schaschl, Hedwig Schmidl, Any Schröder, Susi Singer, Max Snischek, Grete Spannring, Vally Wieselthier.
Box 6*, Folder 1
Architectural drawings,
n.d.
Scope and Content Note
Four design drawings bearing the stamp of the Wiener Werkstätte, labeled "Bau: Casino in Kapfenburg für Herrn Consul Böhler."
Box 6*, Folder 1
Plan
Scope and Content Note
Parterre des Hauses Gallerie des Saales
Box 6*, Folder 1
Plan
Scope and Content Note
Souterrain des Hauses Parterre des grossen Saales
Box 6*, Folder 1
Plan
Scope and Content Note
1 Stock des Hauses dach des Saales
Box 6*, Folder 1
Elevation
Scope and Content Note
Haupt Ansicht
Box 6*, Folder 2
Color lithograph,
n.d.
Scope and Content Note
with the Wiener Kunstgewerbeschule stamp, artist unknown, labeled "Herta Zuckerman, Aged 14 Years."
Series VI.
Ephemera,
1909-1950
Physical Description:
2 folders
Scope and Content Note
Twelve items referring to Hoffmann, to objects produced by the Wiener Werkstätte, and to the role of the Werkstätte in Viennese
cultural life, 1909-1950, arranged chronologically. Also invoices and receipts from the Wiener Werkstätte, 1928-1930.
Box 2, Folder 6
Manuscripts: Twelve items,
1909-1950
Scope and Content Note
Includes an annotated typescript of an article by Ludwig Jastrzembiec on the poet Peter Altenberg, with a handwritten dedication
to Hoffmann (1909.) Also a typed list of tributes to Hoffmann by other noted architects and artists in honor of his eightieth
birthday (1950.)
Box 2, Folder 7
Invoices and receipts,
1909-1950
Scope and Content Note
Twelve items, principally between the Wiener Werkstätte and the firm of Franz Unterberger (1928-1930.)
