Each of [Werkstätte Hagenauer's] items is finished to the degree of perfection and in terms of form and color reflects the merits of a technique mastered with great facility.
Armand Weiser in Kunst und Dekoration
We are honored to present works from the Collection of Arthur J. Williams (1936–2021), a man who lived a life dedicated to, and surrounded by, the arts.
Williams began his career in the mailroom at CBS before working in production and editing TV advertisements. He founded Editing Concepts Inc. in 1970, of which he became Chairman of the Board, and was instrumental in expanding the company to six divisions all related to the film and video industry. He was a founding member of the Association of Independent Creative Editors and served as its president for a time. Williams’s success in the media world afforded him the freedom to follow his passion for the arts, and he became a respected member of the International Academy of Ceramics (Geneva, Switzerland) and the Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts (Newcastle, Maine). Additionally, he was on the board of the Craft Alliance of the 52nd St. YWCA, where he curated a number of exhibits for the Elsa Mott Gallery, and he conceptualized the Museum of Ceramic Art - New York, an important virtual platform which celebrates the art of ceramics.
“I am a clay addict. My fixes come in big and small, bright and demure and always quench my need temporarily. Or should I call it a sweet tooth that has a constant craving?...As a collector of clay objects, I am at once picky and open to what shares my home. An artwork has to show creativity, sparks of ingenuity and passion.”
A passionate collector and voracious reader, Williams remarked in a 2000 interview: “Educating oneself is the most exciting thing if not the most important aspect of collecting. Without knowledge, you can’t grow.” His genuine curiosity about art led him to acquire a diverse range of works from Chinese Export Ware and Pennsylvania Red Ware to sculptures by Chakaia Booker and contemporary ceramics from artists around the world. He found great joy in seeking out new pieces and in a note from his personal archive, we are given a wonderful glimpse into his thought process as a collector: “I am a clay addict. My fixes come in big and small, bright and demure and always quench my need temporarily. Or should I call it a sweet tooth that has a constant craving?...As a collector of clay objects, I am at once picky and open to what shares my home. An artwork has to show creativity, sparks of ingenuity and passion.” Williams had a prescient eye for art, especially of the clay variety, and assembled what became one of the most important, and comprehensive, contemporary ceramics collections of the present day.
Auction Results Karl Hagenauer
Vienna's Werkstätte Hagenauer was a multi-generational family business that began in 1898 and produced impressive, handcrafted decorative objects and sculptural works in metal and wood for almost ninety years. Founder Carl Hagenauer trained at silverware firm Würbel & Czokally and as a goldsmith before starting his own company. In the early years of Werkstätte Hagenauer, the shop produced designs by Carl Hagenauer himself as well as those by leading members of the Vienna Secession, such as Josef Hoffmann and Otto Pruscher. Along with tableware, silverware, vases, bowls, candelabra, and other functional forms, Werkstätte Hagenauer became well-known for human and animal artworks that ranged from figurines to sculptures.
Carl Hagenauer's sons Karl Hagenauer (pictured) and Franz Hagenauer both became celebrated designers for Werkstätte Hagenauer. The elder Karl studied at the Vienna School of Applied Arts and trained with Josef Hoffmann and Oskar Strnad. After serving as an infantryman during World War I, Karl returned to assume a role at Werkstätte Hagenauer focused on leading the company's design and management efforts. While Karl was steeped in the aesthetics of the Vienna Secession, he was also attuned to changing public tastes in Europe and America. Incorporating elements of Pablo Picasso's early Cubist style and aspects of traditional African art, Karl Hageneauer was adept at making fanciful Art Deco creatures in brass as well as more practical items like bookends, corkscrews, and lamp bases. Karl's larger sculptures and hood ornaments likewise received wide acclaim. In particular, his stylized dancer sculpture of Josephine Baker drew rave reviews. Karl also developed the Werkstätte Hagenauer's encircled "wHw" trademark, which became commonplace in 1928 (the year that Carl Hagenauer died and Karl took charge of the firm). Throughout the 1920s, Richard Rohac also worked for Werkstätte Hagenauer, designing various striking items in brass and other materials before launching his own shop in 1932.
In the 1930s, Karl Hagenauer's designs became more popular in America thanks to New York gallery owner Rena Rosenthal. She featured Karl's Josephine Baker sculpture in a 1935 window display, creating an instant marketing phenomenon. Karl visited the gallery twice subsequently and added a custom "RENA" mark to merchandise on offer. Eventually, designs by Karl Hagenauer were so coveted that counterfeiters rose up to meet the demand. Following World War II, Werkstätte Hagenauer shifted its focus for several years toward making necessary metal objects and furniture to aid in rebuilding programs. In collaboration with architect Julius Jirasek, Werkstätte Hagenauer had already begun to make furniture before the war.
As the 1950s began, the firm once again emphasized decorative objects. Franz Hagenauer took on a more prominent role increasingly and assumed control of the Werkstätte Hagenauer when Karl died in 1956. Whereas Karl excelled at designing everyday items and smaller figural works, Franz's strength lay firmly in sculpture with sheet metal and wood. He had trained with Franz Cižek at Vienna's School of Applied Arts. Franz would eventually teach metalwork and metal design at the Academy of Applied Arts. He was also responsible for bringing in his former student, Karl Schmidt, who managed the workshop and the company during its later phase, up through 1987, a year after Franz Hagenauer passed away. Although Werkstätte Hagenauer officially closed for business in 1987, its retail location, which had opened in 1938 in downtown Vienna on the Opernring, was converted into a still-active museum and shop. Today works by Werkstätte Hagenauer are held by various notable institutions and continue to be highly sought after by collectors.
Auction Results Werkstätte Hagenauer
