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Chest for Photographs

A work made of wood with palisander and maple veneers, nickel silver.

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  • A work made of wood with palisander and maple veneers, nickel silver.

Date:

c. 1902

Artist:

Designed by Josef Hoffmann
Austrian, born Moravia (now Czech Republic) 1870-1956
Made by W. Müller
Vienna, active early 20th century

About this artwork

This chest for photographs was included in the Vienna Seccession’s installation at the 1902 Exhibition of Art and Industry installation in the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Düsseldorf, Germany. It embodies Josef Hoffmann’s ideas of furniture design prior to his involvement with the founding of the Wiener Werkstätte in 1903. Conceived as a piece of miniature architecture, the chest combines the sinuous curves of turn-of-the-century Art Nouveau with the sturdiness and simplicity of late 19th-century English Arts and Crafts furniture.

Status

On View, Gallery 246

Department

Applied Arts of Europe

Artist

Josef Hoffmann (Designer)

Title

Chest for Photographs

Place

Austria (Object made in)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1897–1907

Medium

Wood with palisander and maple veneers, nickel silver

Dimensions

55.9 × 52.8 × 37.1 cm (22 × 20 13/16 × 14 5/8 in.)

Credit Line

Purchased with funds provided by the Antiquarian Society of Mrs. James W. Alsdorf, Mrs. Walter Alexander, Mrs. P. Kelly Armour, Mr. and Mrs. T. Stanton Armour, Mr. John H. Bryan, Mrs. DeWitt W. Buchanan, Jr., Mrs. Henry M. Buchbinder, Mrs. George M. Covington, Dr. Edwin J. DeCosta, Quinn E. Delaney, Mr. David P. Earle III, Mr. and Mrs. Gordon R. Ewing, Marshall Field, Mrs. Robert Hixon Glore, Mrs. Fred A. Krehbiel, Dr. Kenneth J. Maier, Mrs. Harold T. Martin, Mrs. Brooks McCormick, Mr. and Mrs. Charles F. Nadler, Mrs. John K. Notz, Jr., Mrs. Eric Oldberg, Mrs. James C. Pritchard, Mrs Edgar J. Uihlein, Mrs. Morris S. Weeden, and Mrs. George B. Young; purchased with funds provided by John H. Bryan and David P. Earle lll, and the Antiquarian Society, in honor of Lynn Springer Roberts, the Eloise W. Martin curator of European Decorative Arts and Sculpture and Classical Art, 1981-1989

Reference Number

1992.93

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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