From the late nineteenth to the early twentieth century, Japan was a vital world center for postcard art. More than just casual mail pieces, these postcards were often designed by prominent artists and had a visual impact that belied their modest format. Remarkably beautiful examples of graphic design in their own right, they also recorded the shifting definitions of “East” and “West” at a time when such European currents as Art Nouveau began to show up in Japanese visual productions. Art of the Japanese Postcard presents 300 full-color examples of these cards, culled from the vast Leonard A. Lauder Collection. They are astonishing not only for their beauty and the quality of their printing, but also for the insight they provide into contemporary Japanese artistic practices--insights not relayed in standard histories that focus on painting and sculpture--as well as for the fluid interplay of European and Japanese modes. Authoritative essays by leading scholars of Japanese art and culture, plus a statement by the collector himself, highlight the design, development, and cultural function of these rarely studied, but highly influential and visually exciting, expressions of graphic genius.

Art of the Japanese Postcard: Masterpieces fom the Leonard A. Lauder Collection

Arts & Photography

Brown, Kendall

Lauder, Leonard

Nishimura Morse, Anne

Rimer, J. Thomas

History & Criticism

MFA Publications

Founded in 1903 by architect Josef Hoffmann and designer Koloman Moser, the Wiener Werkstätte, or Vienna Workshops, gathered architects, artists and designers committed to making design excellence available to all. As a form, the postcard presented a perfect medium for the transmission of these ideals, and so it was that in 1907 the Werkstätte began publishing a series of numbered postcards commemorating holidays, depicting new fashions and documenting the sights of Vienna. All of the major designers who worked for the Wiener Werkstätte--including Josef Hoffmann, Oskar Kokoschka, Egon Schiele, Dagobert Peche, Moriz Jung, Rudolf Kalvach, Mela Koehler and Maria Likarz--contributed to this project, and consequently these postcards constitute an important genre within Wiener Werkstätte production. This fully illustrated volume, published for the Neue Galerie's Fall 2010 exhibition of Wiener Werkstätte postcards (drawn from the Leonard A. Lauder Collection), is the first catalogue raisonné in English devoted to this fascinating, hitherto little-known genre.

Postcards of the Wiener Werkstätte: Selections from the Leonard A. Lauder Collection

Hilmer, Detlef

Schmuttermeier, Elisabeth

Witt-Doerring, Christian

Graphic Design

Hatje Cantz

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