1868 - Vienna - 1918

painter, designer and teacher

Professor, regarded as one of the most important and versatile artistic personalities in Vienna at the turn of the century. Founder member of the Vienna Secession. Co-founder of the Wiener Werkstätte (1903) and, together with Josef Hoffmann, its director until his resignation in 1906. He was not only a designer of furniture and interior decoration but also a painter and graphic artist (book illustration) who created various objects of rare quality in silver and other metals.

Cf: Vera J. Behal, Möbel des Jugendstils, Munich 1981, p. 75

Kolo Moser studied at the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts (1886-1892) and at the Vienna School of Applied Arts (1893-1895). He became a founding member of the Vienna Secession (1897), a professor at the Vienna School of Applied Arts (1899-1918), and artistic director of the Wiener Werkstätte, which he co-founded (1903-1906). After leaving the WW, he turned primarily to painting.

In addition to his work as a painter, he created designs for all branches of the arts and crafts, his special talent was in the field of typography and commercial graphics.

Ref.: C. Brandstätter, Design der Wiener Werkstätte 1903 – 1932, Vienna, p. 24