Postcard of the Wiener Werkstätte, no. 744 Happy New Year, n. d.

Maria Likarz-Strauss (1893–1971) worked for the Wiener Werkstätte between 1912 and 1914, as well as after her return from Germany between 1920 and 1931. From its inception, the Wiener Werkstätte produced artists’ and fashion postcards to be used not only for correspondence but also as a means of advertising. These postcards were signed by their designers either at the front or the back. This Postcard of the Wiener Werkstätte, no. 744 “Prosit Neujahr”, wich means Happy New Year, is among the greeting cards designed for special occasions, such as Easter, Christmas, birthdays and name days. The postcards were considered part of the Gesamtkunstwerk, or universal work of art, with matching frames available to use them as decorative or “minor art” objects. There are more than 100 known postcards designed by Likarz-Strauss, including 54 on the theme of fashion. After the dissolution of the Wiener Werkstätte, Likarz-Strauss moved to Rome where she worked as a ceramicist and died in 1971.

EF, 2021