Adolf Loos, Werkstätte Hagenauer Wien

Austrian, 1870-1933 Essentially dubbed the Frank Lloyd Wright of Europe by Wright himself, Adolf Loos possessed a talent for architecture and interior design as potent as his outspoken criticism of Art Nouveau and excessive ornamentation. A forerunner of the International Style, Loos exercised immense restraint in his building projects as well as his designs for chairs, tables, storage pieces and other furniture, and wrote prolifically on his disdain for taking a decorative approach to architecture.

Werkstätte Hagenauer Wien was a Viennese metal workshop founded by Carl Hagenauer in 1898. Under Karl and Franz Hagenauer it became internationally known for modernist sculptures and functional objects in brass, copper, wood and nickel-plated metal. Its designs range from stylized animals and African-inspired figures to bowls, bookends, mirrors and table accessories, typically marked with the workshop’s wHw monogram.