Hilda Schmid-Jesser

_{Marburg a.d. Drau 1894 - 1985 Wien}

Hilda Jesser was born in 1894 in Marburg an der Drau as the daughter of a chief superintendent of the Südbahn Railway Company. In 1912 she enrolled as a guest student at the Wiener Kunstgewerbeschule (Vienna School for Applied Arts), where she became a full student in 1914. She completed a year-long basic training course in the general department under Oskar Strnad and in 1915 was admitted to the class of architecture headed by Josef Hoffmann. Under Hoffmann’s aegis Hilda Jesser worked primarily on fabric and fashion design and gained practical experience in lace and embroidery techniques. In 1916 she began to produce her first works for the Wiener Werkstätte. Hilda Jesser continued to work for WW until 1922, distinguishing herself as one of the most versatile artists producing designs for ceramics and textiles (lace, embroidery, printed fabrics) as well as in the field of interior decoration, for glass, china, leather goods and industrial designs. Painting also played a significant role in Hilda Jesser’s œuvre. She designed only a handful of ceramic pieces for the Wiener Werkstätte. These rare ceramic works are characterized by a deliberate reduction in colour and décor, special emphasis was placed on the usability of the ceramics. In 1922 Hilda Jesser was appointed assistant professor at the Wiener Kunstgewerbeschule, and in 1935 she received a full professorship. Although Hilda Jesser was forced to retire in 1938 by the National Socialists, she was able to resume her teaching position at the Kunstgewerbeschule in 1945. Hilda Jesser died in 1985 in Vienna.