
Josef Hoffmann 1870–1956
Josef Hoffmann was first exposed to architecture as a child in his hometown of Brtnice in the Czech Republic. He would later enroll in the Architecture Department at Brünn’s Höhere Staatsgewerbeschule and apply to Vienna’s Akademie der bildenden Kunste in 1892. Upon acceptance, Hoffmann moved to Vienna to attend school under the tutelage of Otto Wagner. In 1895, he received the Rome Prize for his final project and was granted a fellowship, traveling to Italy to study and sketch. Returning to Vienna, Hoffmann was one of the founding members of the Vienna Secession and in 1899, began a long teaching career at Vienna’s Kunstegewerbeschule. Traveling to England in 1900, Hoffmann met Charles Rennie Mackintosh and visited the workshops of the C.R. Ashbee’s Guild of Handicraft. This meeting would have a profound influence on the Wiener Werkstätte, founded in 1903, which Hoffmann was the director of until 1932. Hoffmann designed numerous exhibitions for the Secession, and in 1904 he completed one of his most important commissions, the Pukersdorf Sanatorium. A year later, after officially leaving the Secession, Hoffmann would complete what would be called the pinnacle of his architecture career, the Palais Stoclet. A tireless designer, Hoffmann created over 5,000 drawings through his lifetime and completed over 500 commissions. He died in 1956 at the age of 85.
Auction Results Josef Hoffmann

Josef Hoffmann
armchair, model 826
result: $2,750

Josef Hoffmann
hair comb
result: $47,500

Josef Hoffmann
salon suite
result: $5,000

Josef Hoffmann
vanity, model 1134
result: $625

Josef Hoffmann
vase
result: $12,500

Josef Hoffmann
Pair of armchairs
result: $4,375

Josef Hoffmann
Display cabinet
result: $8,750

Josef Hoffmann
Small tongs and two-handled butter dish
result: $3,750

Josef Hoffmann
Small martelé fluted bowl
result: $1,188

Josef Hoffmann
Napkin ring and bottle stopper
result: $2,000

Josef Hoffmann
Three hinged boxes
result: $2,250

Josef Hoffmann
Cigarette case
result: $3,500

Josef Hoffmann
Vitrine

Josef Hoffmann
Rare mocha set
result: $6,250

Josef Hoffmann
Vases, pair
result: $23,750

Josef Hoffmann
Vases, pair
result: $20,000

Josef Hoffmann
Four-piece tea service with tray
result: $16,250

Josef Hoffmann
Centerpiece bowl
result: $27,500

Josef Hoffmann
Nesting tables, set of four
result: $2,470