VIENNA.- For five generations, Auböck has shaped and continues to shape Austrian art and furniture design like no other workshop. The characteristically minimalist designs, executed using traditional craftsmanship, combine functionality, innovation and modernity.

Under the title Werkstätte Carl Auböck. Austrian Arts and Crafts in Focus, Dorotheum will be offering around 200 objects by Werkstätte Carl Auböck from Austrian collections on 19 September 2024. These include the legendary tree tables, lamps, home accessories and everyday objects, as well as small pieces of furniture, most of which were designed in the 1950s and 1960s. The unmistakable, objective style, which had virtually no precedents in Austria, began in Vienna in the early 20th century and fascinated collectors all over the world, especially in the USA. The combinations of materials were also new: metal was used with natural elements such as stone, wood, leather or horn.

“Carl Auböck II and his son were not just craftsman or artist/architect; rather each combined two sets of skills in their work,” says Nina Schedlmayer in the catalogue of the ICONIC AUBÖCK exhibition at Vienna’s Museum of Applied Arts, which runs until 6 January 2025. Both a connection to the Bauhaus and Carl Auböck III’s study visit to the USA had a formative impact. Carl Auböck II first studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, then in Weimar, where Walter Gropius became his teacher. After studying architecture at the Vienna University of Technology, Carl Auböck III completed a postgraduate course at the renowned Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston.

Furniture icon

One of the best-known and most coveted Auböck mid-century designs is the tree table, developed from a chance find of material. This object’s special aesthetics are based on the contrast of the materials employed. The table top, which was made from a single piece of wood while retaining its natural shape, is supported by three metal legs that give the piece of furniture its typical lightness (starting price € 1,500).

Woven rattan was also a popular component of small pieces of furniture, such as a ‘seat shell’ chair (€ 600) or tables (from € 120). Whilst leather and brass were used for newspaper stands (€ 150 to € 400), Carl Auböck combined horn and brass for a pair of bookends (€ 200) or a candlestick (€ 200).

Award-winning design

Auböck was awarded a gold medal at the Milan Triennale in 1954 for his reversible “Umkehrlampe”. One example of this floor lamp, whose shade can be mounted in two different ways to create different lighting moods, is on offer with a starting price of 500 euros. A 1950s table lamp with a red lampshade and horn is expected to fetch no less than 400 euros. Rarities include a chess set, designed in around 1970/80, with horn and nickel-plated metal pieces and a black and white leather chessboard, and a decorative table clock in a hemispherical walnut case (starting prices € 900 each).

Small works of art

The everyday objects designed by Auböck are both functional and beautiful - they are small works of art. Items up for auction include teapots, a fruit basket, wine coolers, shoehorns, nutcrackers, corkscrews, paperweights, a magnifying glass, umbrella stands, door handles, coat hooks and hangers.

The objects produced by Werkstätte Carl Auböck are exemplary of 20th century design and continue to influence generations of designers to this day.