Austrian Expressionism

Attributed to:

Vally Wieselthier

Ceramic Sculptural Vase

ca. 1920 

DIMENSIONS:         Height: 13.25 inches        Width: 10.5 inches        Depth: 8.75 inches

Although unsigned, this magnificent Austrian expressionist art ceramic sculptural vase with three receptacles is attributed to Vally Wieselthier for Wiener Werkstatte, ca. 1920.

Valerie "Vally" Wieselthier (Austrian-American, 1895 – 1945) was an outstanding ceramic artist. She was born to a Jewish family in Vienna, Austria. Her father, Wilhelm Wieselthier was a lawyer. Valluy attended theWiener Frauenacademie in Vienna from 1912 to 1914 and studied at the Vienna School of Applied Arts with Rosalinda Rothhansl, Kolo Moser, Jodef Hoffmann and Michael Powolny from 1914 to 1920. In addition, she worked as an auxiliary nurse during the First World War.

From 1917 to 1922, she worked for the Wiener Werkstatte. From 1922 to 1927, she ran her own ceramic workshop in cooperation with the Augarten porcelain factory, which was newly founded in 1923, but also with other companies such as Friedrich Goldschider, Gmundner Keramik and Lobmeyr.

Her expressive and humorous porcelain figures attracted attention at the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et industriels modern in Paris in 1925 and are considered typical examples of the Art Deco style style. From 1928, the artist increasingly moved her center of life to the United States. She went to the International Exhibition of Ceramic Art in New York City in October 1928. In 1933, she moved to Chicago with Paul Lester Wiener and worked as a designer for the Contempora Group and the Sebring Pottery Company. Her extensive use of lead glazes and the potential effect of lead poisoning on her mental and physical health have not been evaluated, nonetheless. She died on September 1, 1945 of stomach cancer in a New York hospital.

Vally Wieselthier’s work is held by many museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Arts in New York City of Arts and the Museum of Applied Arts in Vienna, Austria.

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