Friedl Dicker-Brandeis Exhibition at The Jewish Museum Highlights Bauhaus Legacy and Holocaust Heroism

The Jewish Museum in New York presented a retrospective of Friedl Dicker-Brandeis from September 10, 2004, to January 16, 2005, showcasing her diverse artistic output and tragic life. Born in Vienna in 1898, she studied at the Bauhaus under influential figures like Walter Gropius, Paul Klee, and Wassily Kandinsky, embracing mediums from painting to furniture design. In the late 1920s, she partnered with Franz Singer in the Atelier Singer-Dicker, creating modern designs for clients across Vienna, Prague, Budapest, and Berlin. Her work included stackable chairs, interior projects, and a Montessori school, reflecting a vibrant Central European aesthetic. During World War II, Dicker-Brandeis taught art to children in the Theresienstadt camp, where she hid their drawings before being deported to Auschwitz in October 1944; she died at age 46. The exhibition featured pieces like 'Sleeping Cat' (circa 1924) and 'View of the Moldau by Vysehrad' (1934–1936), alongside children's artworks from the book 'I Never Saw Another Butterfly.' Curated with a catalog by Ellen Makarova and Regina Seidman-Miller, the show emphasized her creative vitality and humanitarian impact, linking her to figures like Janusz Korczak in Holocaust history. It served as a poignant reminder of her role as an innovator and educator, with her designs still appearing modern decades later.