Koloman Moser

Moser was born in Vienna in 1868 to parents Josef and Thresia Moser (née Hirsch); he was the oldest of three siblings. He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna and the Kunstgewerbeschule (School of Applied Arts), where he also taught from 1899.

Moser's designs in architecture, furniture, jewellery, graphics, and tapestries helped characterise the work of this era. He drew upon the clean lines and repetitive motifs of classical Greek and Roman art and architecture in reaction to the Baroque decadence of his turn-of-the-century Viennese surroundings. Between 1900 and 1902, he published with Martin Gerlach and Carl Otto Czeschka a three volume portfolio titled Die Quelle ("The Source") of elegant graphic designs for such things as tapestries, fabrics, and wallpaper.

In 1903, Moser and his colleague Josef Hoffmann founded Wiener Werkstätte(Vienna Workshops), whose studios and artisans produced a number of aesthetically and functionally designed household goods, including glassware, flatware, silverware, rugs, textiles, and graphic designs as well as eventually clothing. Vienna Workshops would become the new commercial standard for Vienna art during the period of the succession. The company saw early success thanks to an organized exhibit of some of their artistic home furnishings by ten of Moser and Hoffmans students (Five women and five men) called "Wiener Kunst im Hause," (Viennese Art in the Home) in the two years before its official establishment. The exhibit was presented at both the Paris exhibition of 1900 and the Vienna secession exhibition of 1902 being met with critical praise for the practicality and affordability of the works and the female creativity in some of the works. His sketches and preparatory drawings for fabrication have been archived. He became recognized in Vienna as influential applied artist capable of two-dimensional and three dimensional design.

In 1904, he created the Apse mosaic and glass windows for the Kirche am Steinhof in Vienna, and designed the decoration of the Medallion House of the Linke Wienzeile Buildings for architect Otto Wagner. In 1905, together with the Klimt group, he separated from the Vienna Secession. The same year, he married Editha (Ditha) Mautner von Markhof, an artist in her own right as well as the daughter to one of Austria's great industry fortunes. Due to internal conflicts and as his plans for reorganising the Werkstätte (to cope with financial problems) weren't realised, Moser withdrew from the Wiener Werkstätte in 1907.

Moser became ill with throat cancer in 1916. Correspondence with Alfred Roller detailed Moser's despair over who would succeed to his position at the University of Applied Arts Vienna. Moser died on 18 October 1918; he was buried three days later in the Hietzing Cemetery.