Karl Hagenauer (1898–1956) was an influential Austrian designer in the Art Deco style.
Goldsmith.Byars, Mel. The Design Encyclopedia. New York, 2004 Carl Hagenauer founded what became the Werkstätte Hagenauer Wien in 1898. His oldest son, Karl, who would eventually assume leadership of the family business, enrolled at the Vienna School of Applied Arts at age eleven. There he studied with Josef Hoffmann and Oskar StrnadLong, Christopher. “The Werkstätte Hagenauer: Design and Marketing in Vienna Between the World Wars.” Studies in the Decorative Arts 10 (Spring-Summer 2003) and created designs for the Wiener Werkstätte art collective. After wartime service in the infantry, he resumed his training and qualified as an architect. He joined the family business in 1919.
Hagenauer was responsive to the change in public taste influenced by the popularity of the Vienna Secession. His stylized animals and whimsical creatures handcrafted in brass had broad appeal in domestic and American markets.Rosenthal, Rudolph and Helena L. Ratzka. The Story of Modern Applied Art, New York, 1948 Some were useful, such as mirrors, cigar cutters, ashtrays,"MOMA" candlesticks, bookends, hood ornaments and lamp bases. Other larger sculptures in wood and metal (such as the iconic Josephine Baker in the collection of the Casa Lis Art Nouveau and Art Deco Museum in Salamanca) were purely decorative.Miller, Judith. Art Deco. Dorling Kindersley, 2005
Hagenauer's work was presented at the 1925 Paris Exposition, where he won a bronze and a silver medal.Kronsteiner, Olga. Hagenauer, Wiener Moderne und neue sachlichkeit. Vienna, 2011
He designed the company's trademark “wHw” (for Werkstätte Hagenauer Wien) and registered it in 1927. The first catalogue to use the trademark dates to 1928,Werkstätte Karl Hagenauer. Vienna, 1928. the year his father died and Hagenauer assumed leadership of the business. While Hagenauer was the principal designer of everyday objects (and some sculptures), his younger brother Franz specialized in sculpture. The company later also produced furniture, chiefly designed by Julius Jirasek.Beyerle, Tulga and Karin Hirschberge. A Century of Austrian Design: 1900-2005. Basel; Boston : Birkhäuser, 2006
Hagenauer's work found an avid American market partly through the efforts of New York gallery owner Rena Rosenthal, who featured the Josephine Baker sculpture in a 1935 window display. Rosenthal's patronage was critical to the post-war success of the Werkstätte Hagenauer; the hostilities caused a delay of several years in her payment for a last container of products shipped in 1938 and the subsequent change in exchange rate was very advantageous to the Austrian craftsman, supporting rebuilding efforts.
Awards
1923 Prima Mostra Biennale Internazionale delle Arti Decorative, Monza (Diploma) 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes, Paris (Silver and Bronze medal) 1927 World's Fair, Philadelphia (Gold medal) 1929 International Exhibition, BarcelonaHagenauer, Ronald. "The Workshop Hagenauer Wien - wHw." Collectables Trader 91 (December 2009 - March 2010) and 92 (March - May 2010) 1930 Triennale, Monza (with brother Franz Hagenauer) 1934 Austrian State Prize 1937 World Fair, Paris (Grand Prix) 1951 Triennale, Milan (two Gold medals and a Silver medal)
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