
WIENER WERKSTATTE: FROM NATURE TO ABSTRACTION
In the early 1900s, artists of the Wiener Werkstätte (Vienna Workshop) propelled Austria into a prolific center of modern design. The Wiener Werkstätte came to be a powerhouse of Viennese pattern design established by architect Josef Hoffmann and artist Koloman Moser. Dynamic block-printed dress and furnishing fabrics, produced from 1910 onwards, were refreshingly original and eclectic, with patterns ranging from punchy abstracts to zingy florals.
A new exhibition,Wiener Werkstätte: From Nature to Abstraction on show at The George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum displays fabric samples from these pioneering designers and features the work of George Washington art students inspired by the workshop’s legacy.

Image:Josef Hoffmann (1870-1956); Adler; Austria, Vienna; 1910 (designed), 1912 (reprinted). Cotsen Textile Traces Study Collection T-0193.086. © Bruce M. White Photography. Image above: Maria Likarz-Strauss (1893-1971); Royal; Austria, Vienna; 1928 (designed). Cotsen Textile Traces Study Collection T-0193.166. © Bruce M. White Photography.
A new exhibition,Wiener Werkstätte: From Nature to Abstraction on show at The George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum displays fabric samples from these pioneering designers and features the work of George Washington art students inspired by the workshop’s legacy.

Image:Josef Hoffmann (1870-1956); Adler; Austria, Vienna; 1910 (designed), 1912 (reprinted). Cotsen Textile Traces Study Collection T-0193.086. © Bruce M. White Photography. Image above: Maria Likarz-Strauss (1893-1971); Royal; Austria, Vienna; 1928 (designed). Cotsen Textile Traces Study Collection T-0193.166. © Bruce M. White Photography.
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