Subheadline:
At The Jewish Museum, more than 200 objects by some 30 Jewish women designers reveal a frequently overlooked chapter of Wiener Werkstätte modernism—from ceramics and textiles to fashion, toys, and graphic design.
Discover Hook:
The history of Viennese modernism is often told through the names of Josef Hoffmann, Koloman Moser, Gustav Klimt, and other celebrated male figures. But behind the geometric patterns, expressive ceramics, textiles, fashion, and decorative objects of the Wiener Werkstätte was a substantial community of women whose contributions helped define the visual language of modern Vienna.
At The Jewish Museum in New York, Modernity and Opulence: Women of the Wiener Werkstätte brings that history into sharper focus.
On view from July 17 through November 15, 2026, the exhibition presents more than 200 objects by approximately 30 Jewish women artists, exploring their roles not only as designers but also as patrons and tastemakers. The exhibition is organized in cooperation with the MAK – Museum of Applied Arts, Vienna, and builds on the institution’s landmark 2021 exhibition Women Artists of the Wiener Werkstätte.
Rewriting the Story of Viennese Modernism
Founded in Vienna in 1903, the Wiener Werkstätte was conceived as a multidisciplinary design workshop devoted to bringing art into everyday life.
Its ambitions extended across architecture, furniture, textiles, fashion, ceramics, graphic design, jewelry, household objects, and other forms of applied art.
The names most closely associated with its founding and development have historically been male. Yet women were involved in the workshop from its early years, and their presence increased substantially during the interwar period.
Research undertaken by the MAK identified approximately 180 women artists associated with the Wiener Werkstätte, revealing the scale of a contribution that had often received less attention in conventional accounts of Viennese modernism.
The Jewish Museum’s New York presentation narrows that history to a particularly important group: Jewish women who worked within, supported, or were connected to the Wiener Werkstätte’s cultural world.
More Than Decorative Art
One of the exhibition’s central contributions is its insistence that these objects should not be understood simply as decorative accessories.
Textiles, ceramics, clothing, toys, household objects, and graphic designs were part of the broader modernist ambition to transform everyday life through design.
The women represented in the exhibition worked across these boundaries.
They designed fabrics and fashion, created ceramics and household objects, developed patterns, produced commercial graphics, and participated in the broader visual culture of Vienna.
The MAK’s research into the Wiener Werkstätte women showed that many had trained at Vienna’s School of Arts and Crafts before entering professional design. Ceramics, in particular, offered some women an opportunity to pursue more independent artistic expression alongside their applied-design work.
That intersection between craft and fine art is central to understanding their historical position.
Vally Wieselthier: Ceramics With a New Language
Among the most prominent figures in the exhibition is Vally Wieselthier, whose expressive ceramic sculptures became an important part of the Wiener Werkstätte’s visual identity.
The Jewish Museum gives particular emphasis to Wieselthier alongside textile designer Felice Rix-Ueno. Both artists demonstrate how women could move beyond the boundaries traditionally assigned to decorative production.
Wieselthier’s Head of a Woman, Model 511 from 1928, for example, is a vivid ceramic portrait with a strongly stylized presence. The work exemplifies the expressive possibilities of ceramics that the Wiener Werkstätte helped cultivate.
Her career also connects Vienna’s design culture with New York.
According to the MAK, Wieselthier moved to New York in 1928, where she continued to build a successful career.
Her trajectory becomes especially meaningful in the context of The Jewish Museum: the exhibition is not simply looking backward toward Vienna but also tracing how the artists and ideas of Viennese modernism traveled beyond Europe.
Felice Rix-Ueno and the Power of Pattern
If Wieselthier represents the expressive possibilities of ceramics, Felice Rix-Ueno demonstrates the extraordinary potential of textile design.
Rix-Ueno created patterns for the Wiener Werkstätte that combined color, geometry, botanical motifs, rhythm, and repetition.
Her work demonstrates why textiles should be understood as an important part of modernist design history rather than as secondary decoration.
The Jewish Museum’s exhibition gives her a central place within the story, highlighting her lasting influence on textile design.
Among the objects associated with her work is the 1924 Purpurnelke textile sample, a printed silk design featuring an energetic arrangement of flowers and vines.
The pattern demonstrates the Wiener Werkstätte’s ability to turn repeated motifs into an immersive visual environment—one that could move from the wall or fabric into clothing, interiors, and everyday life.
The Jewish Dimension of Wiener Werkstätte Modernism
The exhibition’s focus on Jewish women adds another layer to the history of Viennese modernism.
According to the MAK, Jewish women represented approximately one-quarter of the designers working for the Wiener Werkstätte. Their contributions therefore were not marginal to the organization’s story.
