Karl Hagenauer was an important and popular figure in the decorative arts in Vienna in the decades bracketing the Second World War. While primarily a maker of sculptural decorative pieces, Hagenauer — in the same spirit as his peer Carl Auböck— created a wide array of household objects, from barware to office accessories, all designed with wit and a sleek modernist aesthetic.
Hagenauer’s father was a trained metalsmith who founded a bronzewares manufactory that produced decorative metalwork and housewares in both traditional and the then-novel Art Nouveau styles and cast small sculptures based on Old Masters paintings. After studying art and design at Vienna’s School of Applied Arts, where his teachers included architect Josef Hoffmann, a founder of the Wiener Werkstätte, he joined his father’s workshop in 1919 and began crafting items that reflected Hoffman’s modernist aesthetic. In the 1920s and ’30s, he developed an often-imitated style that combines the lithe, lissome lines of Art Nouveau (known in central Europe as Jugendstil) with the simple, unadorned forms of Art Deco. He worked primarily in brass — both polished and nickel-plated — as well as wood.
In addition to domestic items such as smoking accoutrements, teapots, trays, bowls, candleholders and tableware, Hagenauer produced a wide array of small-scale sculptures. (His younger brother, Franz— who took over the family business when their father died — was also a noted sculptor, with a style that could be described as Art-Deco-meets-Brancusi.) Karl’s sculptures fall into two main groups: humorous and whimsical animal and character figures that will remind many of the work of artist Tom Otterness and sleek, stylized animal and human forms, many with an African theme — an “exotic” connotation that was a 20th-century remnant of colonialism. As you will see from the items on offer, Karl Hagenauer was an artist-designer of great talent and many moods: affable, stylish and practical.
$2,890Sale Price|27% Off
Side Table by Julius Jirasek for Hagenauer Wien
By Werkstätte Hagenauer Wien, Karl Hagenauer, Julius Jirasek
Located in Vienna, AT
Solid walnut construction with caned shelf and glass table top designed by Julius Jirasek for Werkstätte Karl Hagenauer, Vienna, circa 1932. Original condition. Dimension: height ...
Cane, Glass, Walnut
Side Table, Bar by Julius Jirasek for Hagenauer Wien
By Karl Hagenauer, Julius Jirasek, Werkstätte Hagenauer Wien
Located in Vienna, AT
Solid walnut construction with caned shelf and glass table top designed by Julius Jirasek for Werkstätte Karl Hagenauer, Vienna, circa 1957. Original condition.
Cane, Glass, Walnut
Seldom Seen Art Deco Occasional Table by Hagenauer for Rena Rosenthal
By Rena Rosenthal, Karl Hagenauer
Located in Buffalo, NY
This lovely table was cast with incredible detail and is stamped RWR for Rena Rosenthal Werkstatt. She often commissioned Hagenauer to make pieces for her, which is well documented.,...
Metal, Iron
$4,400Sale Price|20% Off
H 21 in Dm 19.5 in
Nikolaus Hagenauer for Rena Rosenthal Cast Metal Art Deco Table
By Rena Rosenthal
Located in Chicago, IL
Intricately cast Art Deco tripodal side table by Rena Rosenthal. Tabletop is a beautifully detailed collage of foliage, African women on horses, and a b...
Metal
George Nelson for Arbuck Wrought Iron Patio Side Tables
By Arbuck, George Nelson
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Pair of elegant, tiered, wrought iron side tables by George Nelson For Arbuck feature travertine tops that lay within the frames and mesh bottom tiers at 14 inches height.
Travertine, Wrought Iron
Cast Resin 'Bilbouquet' Table by Zachary A. Design
By Zachary A. Bitner
Located in Chicago, IL
A symmetrical sculptural balance of elegance and function. Dimensions: Diameter 15 in. (38 cm), height 16 in. (40.6 cm). Weight 20 lbs. (9 kg). Materials: Resin, stone aggregate, ...
Resin, Fiberglass
Cast Resin 'Ray' Table by Zachary A. Design
By Zachary A. Bitner
Located in Chicago, IL
Architecturally-inclined, its open interior pulls the viewer through the form, drawing attention to its congruent stone arches. Structural, grounding, and a frame to the rest of the ...
Resin, Fiberglass
Walter Lamb for Brown Jordan Bronze Patio Square Side Table
By Walter Lamb, Brown Jordan
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A side table in patinated bronze designed by Walter Lamb and produced by Brown Jordan. The table has a square shape with rounded corners, supported by four legs in matching bronze. T...
Bronze
Cast Resin 'Bilbouquet' Table by Zachary A. Design
By Zachary A. Bitner
Located in Chicago, IL
A symmetrical sculptural balance of elegance and function. Dimensions: Diameter 18 in. (45.7 cm), height 18 in. (45.7 cm). Weight 20 lbs. (9 kg). Materials: Resin, stone aggregate...
Resin, Fiberglass
$4,800
H 10 in W 29.5 in D 14.25 in
Bronze Patio Beach Table with Wood Top by Walter Lamb for Brown Jordan
By Walter Lamb, Brown Jordan
Located in Los Angeles, CA
The WT-3715 Beach Table designed by Walter Lamb for Brown Jordan features a tubular bronze frame and a new oak slatted wood tabletop. Recalling Lamb’s earlier work, the table has mol...
Bronze
Kipp Stewart Bronze Patio Side Table for Terra
By Kipp Stewart, Terra
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Round bronze side table with glass top by Kipp Stewart for Terra of California, USA, c.1970s. The table features four patinated bronze tubing legs which attach the round frame of the...
Bronze
Art Deco Garden Patio Table with Crossed Arrow Legs
By Leinfelder, Salterini
Located in New York, NY
Unusual Art Deco wrought iron table having classical X-form arrow base, with glass top. Currently in older white paint finish, glass top has damage, top is ...
Wrought Iron
Side table by Bruno Mathsson for Dux, Sweden
By Bruno Mathsson
Located in Eskilstuna, SE
'Annika' side table by Swedish designer Bruno Mathsson in 1936. Sculpted legs with a beautiful birch top. Some wear on table top.
Birch
Side Table Designed by Severin Hansen for Haslev
By Haslev Mobelsnedkeri, Severin Hansen
Located in Praha, CZ
- Produced in Denmark. - Made of rosewood and rosewood veneer. Carefully refurbished. jr
Rosewood
Side Table B by Konstantin Grcic for BD Barcelona
By BD Barcelona Design, Konstantin Grcic
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Side table B designed by Konstantin Grcic for BD Barcelona. Konstantin Grcic is a German Industrial designer known for creating mass-manufactured items, s...
Concrete
Cast Metal Art Deco Table by Hagenauer for Rena Rosenthal
By Rena Rosenthal, Karl Hagenauer
Located in New York, NY
Rare and sought after Art Deco table made by Hagenauer for Rena Rosenthal. This classic table features stylized female figures on horses amid foliate as the top surface, on three dra...
Iron
Sold
H 16.5 in W 20 in D 20 in
Two-Tiered Werkstätte Hagenauer Coffee Table by Julius Jirasek, Austria, 1930s
By Karl Hagenauer, Julius Jirasek, Werkstätte Hagenauer Wien
Located in Vienna, AT
An elegant Austrian coffee or side table from the 1930s. Designed in 1932 by Julius Jirasek for Werkstätte Karl Hagenauer. This table has a clear glass top and a woven cane storage...
Cane, Rattan, Glass, Wood