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Adolf Loos

Austrian, 1870-1933

Essentially dubbed the Frank Llyoyd Wright of Europe by Wright himself, Adolf Loos possessed a talent for architecture and interior design as potent as his outspoken criticism of Art Nouveau and excessive ornamentation. A forerunner of the International Style, Loos exercised immense restraint in his building projects as well as his designs for chairs, tables, storage pieces and other furniture, and wrote prolifically on his disdain for taking a decorative approach to architecture. 

The son of a stonemason and sculptor, Loos was born in 1870 in what is now Brno in the Czech Republic. He studied architecture in Dresden in 1889, completed a year of military service and moved to the United States by 1893. He visited the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago and came to appreciate the American approach to design over his three-year stay before returning to Vienna. 

An avid proponent of simplicity, Loos hated fluff above all else. In his best known essay, “Ornament and Crime,” he states “the evolution of culture is synonymous with the removal of ornamentation from objects of everyday use” — a principle evident in both his architectural work and furniture. His writing was profoundly influential for practitioners of the International Style that would emerge later as well as the likes of prolific Swiss-born French architect and modernist prophet Le Corbusier

Loos challenged the prevailing architecture and decorating styles of his time, and disliked the ornate work associated with the Vienna Secession and Gesamtkunstwerk — the concept of a house as total work of art — an ideal pursued by a collective born from the Secession called the Wiener Werkstätte. To Loos, design should prioritize function, and any ornamentation devoid of a structural purpose was childish and unnecessary. 

Loos’s furniture — alongside the work of fellow Austrian architect Josef Hoffmanwas the subject of an exhibition at the Museum of Applied Arts in 2014. His architecture projects, including the Viennese Goldman and Salatsch building, the Austrian Steiner House and the Villa Müller in Prague, are celebrated by design enthusiasts all over the world. 

Find vintage Adolf Loos seating, lighting and other furniture on 1stDibs.

Average Sold Price
$4,025
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20th Century Austrian Art Nouveau Vintage Brass Coat Stand, Rack by Adolf Loos
By Adolf Loos
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
An early 20th Century, vintage Austrian Art Nouveau coat rack made of hand crafted brass designed by Adolf Loos, in good condition. The clothing stand is composed with eight large ho...
Category

Early 19th Century Austrian Art Nouveau Antique Adolf Loos

Materials

Metal, Brass

Adolf Loos Cafe Museum Jugendstil Chandelier, Re Edtion
By Adolf Loos, Woka Lamps
Located in Vienna, AT
Chandelier first used in 1899 at the Cafe Museum, later for the apartment of Leopold Goldman, the builder of the famous "Looshaus, Goldman & Salatsch" "in Vienna. This chandelier has...
Category

2010s Austrian Jugendstil Adolf Loos

Materials

Brass

Adolf Loos´s round Table, with eight columned Legs and Brass Fittings
By Adolf Loos
Located in Vienna, Austria
A rare table from Adolf Loos with eight columned legs and brass fittings. Adolf Loos designed several variations of a round table with eight legs using different woods. This table ...
Category

1910s Czech Modern Vintage Adolf Loos

Materials

Palisander

Original of the Time Adolf Loos Jugendstil Pendant Haus Mueller
By Woka Lamps, Adolf Loos
Located in Vienna, AT
A pendant, Adolf Loos has used several times, for example for the Villa Müller in Praha circa 1930, or before that in the Country House of the Food-manufacturer Kuhner at Kreuzberg n...
Category

1910s Austrian Jugendstil Vintage Adolf Loos

Materials

Brass

Austrian Art Nouveau Brass and Glass Dodekaeder Lamp by Adolf Loos
By Adolf Loos, Friedrich Otto Schmidt
Located in Vienna, AT
Original and rare Viennese Art Nouveau brass Dodekaeder pendant light designed by Adolf Loos, produced ca 1900 by Friedrich Otto Schmidt. It features beautiful facetted cut pentagon ...
Category

Early 1900s Austrian Art Nouveau Antique Adolf Loos

Materials

Brass

Jugendstil hanging lamp by Adolf Loos
By Adolf Loos
Located in Banská Štiavnica, SK
Jugendstil hanging lamp by Adolf Loos in very nice original condition.
Category

Early 1900s Austrian Jugendstil Antique Adolf Loos

Materials

Brass

Set of 6 shot glasses by Adolf Loos for Bakalowits & Söhne
By Bakalowits & Söhne, Adolf Loos
Located in Banská Štiavnica, SK
Set of 6 shot glasses by Adolf Loos for Bakalowits & Söhne with brass edge. Alpaca tray. Original vintage condition with signs of use.
Category

1910s Austrian Jugendstil Vintage Adolf Loos

Materials

Alpaca, Glass

Adolf Loos, Secessionist, "Brioni" Chandelier, Jugendstil, Re-Edition
By Adolf Loos, Woka Lamps
Located in Vienna, AT
These kind of chandeliers were often used by Adolf Loos in mansions he designed. All components according to the UL regulations, with an additional charge we will UL-list and label ...
Category

2010s Austrian Jugendstil Adolf Loos

Materials

Brass

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Adolf Loos furniture for sale on 1stDibs.

Adolf Loos furniture are available for sale on 1stDibs. These distinctive items are frequently made of wood and are designed with extraordinary care. There are many options to choose from in our collection of Adolf Loos furniture, although brown editions of this piece are particularly popular. We have 44 vintage editions of these items in-stock, while there is 152 modern edition to choose from as well. Many of the original furniture by Adolf Loos were created in the modern style in europe during the 21st century and contemporary. If you’re looking for additional options, many customers also consider furniture by Josef Hoffmann, Hermann Czech, and Gebrüder Thonet Vienna GmbH. Prices for Adolf Loos furniture can differ depending upon size, time period and other attributes — on 1stDibs, these items begin at $695 and can go as high as $36,615, while a piece like these, on average, fetch $2,479.

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