Wardrobe

Wardrobe from the Stonborough-Wittgenstein Apartment, Berlin
The Wittgestein family were valued, longstanding patrons of Josef Hoffmann, Koloman Moser and, later, the Wiener Werkstatte. After the Wiener Werkstatte first exhibited at the Hohensollern Kunstgeweberhaus in Berlin in October 1904, with its stark, predominantly white "modernity," it represented perhaps the peak of the collaborative achievement between Hoffmann and Moser. This resulted in the commission of the apartment of newlyweds Margaret Wittgestein and Dr. Jerome Stonborough. A clear example of her patronage, style and societal standing is the portrait of Margaret painted by Klimt in 1905.

White-painted beech, silvered metal lockplate
72 1/2 x 19 1/2 x 47 1/4 in.
(184 x 49.5 x 120 cm)

Provenance:
Margaret Stonborough-Wittgestein
Thence by descent until late 1980s
Christie's, London, May 5, 1995, lot 78

Illustrated:
The Art Revival in Austria, THE STUDIO, special issue, London, 1906, fig. C 34

Literature:
DEUTSCHE KUNST UND DEKORATION, Vol. XVIII, 1905-1906, p. 149