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INVENTORY OF THE PAPERS OF JOSEF FRANZ MARIA HOFFMANN, 1895-1950
850997
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Table of contents
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.
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Language: Collection material in German
Open for use by qualified researchers.
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Library Rights and Reproductions
Papers of Josef Franz Maria Hoffmann, 1895-1950, Getty Research Institute, Research Library, Accession no. 850997
Acquired in 1985
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.
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.
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
Architectural drawings—20th century
Photographic prints—20th century
Photographs, Original
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
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).