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 Hoffman — was 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.
Original and Documented Jugendstil Adolf Loos Chair, 20th Century, 1907
By Adolf Loos, Friedrich Otto Schmidt, Woka Lamps
Located in Vienna, AT
Chair from the antechamber of the Rudolf Kraus apartment, brother of Karl Kraus, the famous wordsmith. This Apartment in Vienna 1, Nibelungengasse 13, was presented by Adolf Loos on ...
Beech
Rare Pair of Vienna Secession Modern Chairs by Adolf Loos
By Adolf Loos
Located in Atlanta, GA
On offer is a rare original paired Fan-Back Chairs designed by Adolf Loos (1870-1933) circa 1908-20s. As part of the Vienna Secession movement, these chairs display modern silouette ...
Fabric, Wood
$5,097Sale Price / set|21% Off
H 32 in W 17.75 in D 20.5 in
20th Century Czech Set of Four Ebonized Art Deco Chairs by Jindrich Halaba
By Jindřich Halabala
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
A vintage Czech set of four black Art Deco dining room chairs made of hand crafted ebonized Wood designed Jindrich Halabala, in good condition. The side chairs are standing on four l...
Fabric, Upholstery, Wood, Ebony
$6,900
H 31.5 in W 20.48 in D 22.45 in
Adolf Loos Corner Chair, F.O. Schmidt, Oak Wood Leather, Jugendstil, 1898-1900
By Friedrich Otto Schmidt, Adolf Loos
Located in Hausmannstätten, AT
A corner armchair designed by Adolf Loos (1870-1933) and manufactured by Friedrich Otto Schmidt, Vienna, Austria, circa 1900. The condition of the wood is very good. The leather seat...
Leather, Wood
$5,000 / set
H 38.5 in W 17 in D 21.5 in
Set of 6 English Renaissance Ornately-Carved Hall Chairs, Turn of 19th & 20th C
Located in Atlanta, GA
An English set of six Renaissance style elaborately carved hall chairs from the turn of the 19th and 20th century. This set of antique board chairs from England each have been ornately hand-carved in a series of grotesque figures, embellished with swags, volutes, leaves. An arched crest further adorns the toprail. Center backs show a shied entwined with helmet and arrows. The seats, with their decoratively trim carved edges, are raised by a pair of shapely legs consisting of two carved boards, with front leg board continuing the mythological them of the back. These turn of the century chairs...
Wood
$577Sale Price|20% Off
H 32.29 in W 17.72 in D 21.26 in
20th-Century Walnut Folding Chair Upholstered With Dark-Green Leather
Located in Opole, PL
20th-Century Walnut Folding Chair Upholstered With Dark-Green Leather We present you a folding walnut chair from the 1st half of the 20th centur...
Leather, Walnut
Pair of Early 20th Century Inlaid Chippendale Style Side Chairs
Located in San Francisco, CA
Pair of early 20th century inlaid chippendale style side chairs Outstanding inlay work featuring floral and fauna motifs on all sides The frames are carved with Chippendale ball and claw feet...
Walnut
19th Century Single Chair in Black and Yellow
Located in Schöfflisdorf, CH
19th century single chair in black and yellow.
Satin, Wood
$1,295
H 45 in W 20.25 in D 19.25 in
Italian Fan-Backed Chair of Rattan and Bamboo from the Mid-20th Century
Located in Austin, TX
A fine vintage Italian fan-backed chair from the Mid-20th century of woven rattan and bamboo featuring a stylish design to the back, seat, and legs. Two a...
Natural Fiber, Cane, Rattan, Wood, Bamboo
$11,369
H 29.93 in W 22.05 in D 23.63 in
Original Rare Otto Wagner Chair by Thonet Vienna 1901 Jugendstil
By Woka Lamps, Gebrüder Thonet Vienna GmbH, Otto Wagner
Located in Vienna, AT
Stained beachwood, seat and back with leather, seat height 46cm (18,11") Lit.: "Gebogenes Holz", Asenbaum /Hummel 1979, p:29.
Leather, Beech
$4,980Sale Price / item|27% Off
H 35.83 in W 50.4 in D 16.93 in
Vienna Secession J. J. Kohn 717 Settee by Gustav Siegel
By Gustav Siegel, Jacob & Josef Kohn
Located in Vienna, AT
An exquisite and very seldom Vienna Secession bentwood settee by Gustav Siegel. This settee is still not finished and will be restored to cu...
Beech, Bentwood
Pair of Thonet Side Chairs
Located in New York, NY
A pair of Thonet side chairs with original Thonet label. Stained beechwood.
Beech
Office Chair No.6150 by Adolf Loos for Thonet
By Adolf Loos
Located in Banská Štiavnica, SK
Secession office chair no.6150 by Adolf Loos executed by Thonet. Professionally stained and repolished.
Bentwood
Single Vienna Secession Armchair
By Josef Hoffmann
Located in New York, NY
A Vienna Secession armchair. Attributed to Josef Hoffmann. Black lacquered fruitwood.
Fruitwood