Goldscheider – A World Brand from Vienna: Commerce and Art in an Age of Transformation

The Leo Baeck Institute Gallery, based in New York, organizes a unique exhibition of porcelain produced by the Viennese brand Goldscheider. From 1885 to the arrival of Nazism, this porcelain manufacture gradually developed into a synonym of high artistic quality and innovation on first European and later global scale. The always topical production – topical both from the point of style and subjects – made its way from historicism and Art Nouveau to Art Deco during the existence of the company. Leading designers of their period received numerous awards at international exhibitions and fairs for the Goldscheider brand. In the course of over 30 years, more than 10,000 models left the Viennese manufacture. They came to decorate a good many middle-class households and still represent a highly valued art even in the most prestigious auction halls like Sotheby’s and Christie’s. Probably the most famous works are busts of noble beaus and figural motifs inspired by the grace of movie actresses and revue dancers. The objects exhibited in the New York gallery are loaned from the private collection of Kathryn Hausman, the President of the Art Deco Society New York. The collector herself confirms that her collection focuses on the women’s beauty of the 1920s. Apart from the works, the exhibition also illustrates the historical and social development from the fall of the Austrian-Hungarian monarchy to the early 20th century. The story of the Jewish entrepreneur Goldscheider and his company thus faithfully reflects not only the taste of the given period but also the contemporary political atmosphere in Europe.