Friedl Dicker-Brandeis (1898–1944) was an Austrian architect, interior designer, and educator whose multifaceted career spanned architecture, furniture, textile design, and art education.
Education and Early Career
Born in Vienna, Dicker-Brandeis began her artistic education in photography and fabric design at the Kunstgewerbeschule in Vienna from 1912 to 1914. She continued her studies under Johannes Itten in Vienna between 1916 and 1919. In 1919, she followed Itten to the Bauhaus in Weimar, where she studied until 1923, engaging in textile design, printmaking, bookbinding, and typography workshops. (Wikipedia)
Professional Collaborations and Design Work
Between 1923 and 1926, Dicker-Brandeis collaborated with Franz Singer in their Werkstätten bildender Kunst in Berlin, focusing on various design projects. She later established studios in Vienna, first with Anny Moller-Wottitz and subsequently with Martha Döberl. In 1926, she merged her studio with Singer’s, leading to the design of houses, apartments, kindergartens, offices, textiles, interiors, and furniture. Their work was recognized at the 1924 Deutscher Spitzenmesse in Berlin.
Teaching and Artistic Endeavors
After the closure of the Dicker-Singer studio, Dicker-Brandeis established her practice in Vienna from 1930 to 1931. During the mid-1930s, she was active in Prague, practising interior architecture with Grete Bauer-Fröhlich, teaching drawing, and engaging in anti-fascist activities. Her work was exhibited at the 1927 Kunstschau in Vienna and the 1929 ‘Ausstellung Moderner Inneneinrichtungen’ at the Österreichisches Museum in Vienna.
World War II and Legacy
In 1942, Dicker-Brandeis was deported to the Theresienstadt concentration camp near Prague. There, she organized secret art classes for children, using art as a means for them to process their experiences. Before her deportation to Auschwitz in 1944, she entrusted two suitcases containing 4,500 children’s drawings to Raja Engländerova, ensuring their preservation. These artworks are now housed in the Jewish Museum in Prague’s collection, with some on display in the Pinkas Synagogue. (Wikipedia)
Dicker-Brandeis’s contributions to design and art education, particularly her innovative approaches at the Bauhaus and her dedication to teaching under dire circumstances, continue to be recognized and honoured posthumously.
Sources
Byars, M., & Riley, T. (2004). The design encyclopedia. Laurence King Publishing.
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