Wimmer-Wisgrill Eduard Josef

1882 - Vienna - 1961

Architect, spatial and fashion artist, stage designer

First studied privately with the painter Max Kurzweil, later pupil of Koloman Moser, then of A. Roller at the Vienna School of Applied Arts. 1903/07 Pupil of Josef Hoffmann at the technical school for architecture. 1907-22 worked for the Wiener Werkstätte. In addition to numerous own works for the WW, also designs the furnishings for the Palais Stoclet. Numerous works are carried out together with Hoffmann. From 1918 head of the specialist class for fashion and textile work at the Kunstgewerbeschule. In the 1920s also head of the fashion department of the Wiener Werkstätte. 1922/23 Teacher for interior decoration and applied arts at the Art Institute in Chicago. From 1925 back in Vienna.

Wimmer-Wisgrill was a very important architect. Especially during his collaboration with his teacher at WW from 1907 onwards, he created numerous outstanding designs for silver and metalwork, jewellery, furniture and home furnishings as well as fabrics. Later, he was also head of the fashion department at the WW, which was the only division to make a profit. Many of his works can be found in the MAK, in the Neue Galerie New York as well as in numerous renowned museums and in important private collections.

Lit.: H. Vollmer, Künstlerlexikon des 20. Jahrhunderts, vol. 5, p. 144; V. J. Behal, Möbel des Jugendstils, p. 76