Description

Elisabeth NEUMAYER-SOMOSSY (circa 1890? – after 1938).
[Album of Artwork]
Vienna: Atelier Ilka, Irene Messner (née Blahy 1888 – 1975), Studio Pokorny et al., [1920s-1930s].

Oblong 4°, with 20 thick photo album grey sheets, separated with semi-transparant guards, binding made of tan linen and dark brown faux leather with a golden stripe, bound with brown string. 45 photographs between 7,5 x 11 cm and 11,5 x 16 cm, one photograph 17 x 22 cm, several with printed postcards template verso and hand-written contemporary annotations, with edges inserted in small photo-corners and mounted on cards recto only, last two sheets without photos. Signature of Olga Lavaulx-Vrécourt (prob. Olga Katharina Lavaulx-Vrécourt?) on the inner side of the front board (small tears in the first guard and in the largest photo, but overall good with minor wear).

To our knowledge, no comprehensive research has been conducted on the life of Elisabeth Neumayer-Somossy, and we could only piece together her brief biography using limited online sources. She was of Hungarian descent and came from a family of officials and teachers based in Bratislava. After living and studying in Munich for an extended period, she returned to Bratislava, where she married Miksáné Neumayer sometime in 1909 or later. Eventually, she moved to Vienna, where she became a member of the Austrian Werkbund (Association of Hand Manufacturers) and the Female Association of Applied Arts in Vienna, which was part of Austro-Hungary at the time.

Her work began to appear in exhibitions and magazines in the 1920s, both in Europe and the United States, including Fairchild’s International Magazine in 1927 (Volume 3, p. 75). Initially, she created decorative objects, such as lamps and boxes; however, she later specialized in toys. In the following years, her work began to enter the world of art. In 1933, an Austrian art magazine called Forum reported that she was beginning to gain recognition in Viennese art circles (Vol. 3, p. 348). However, it can be assumed that the political situation in the following years, similar to what many other artists experienced, became increasingly unfriendly towards Neumayer-Somossy’s expressive art.

In 1938, Elisabeth Neumayer-Somossy was an art handicraft producer based at Singerstrasse 12 in the prominent center of Vienna. After this date , Elisabeth Neumayer-Somossy’s name does not appear in any Vienna address books.

The photographs are signed by studios from upscale neighborhoods in Vienna: Atelier Ilka (Ilka Photography), located at Linke Wienzeile 36; Pokorny at Mariahilfer Strasse 55; and Irene Messner (née Blahy, 1888-1975), a female textile artist and photographer who ran a studio specializing in artistic objects. Some of the photographs are marked on the front or back with titles of the figurines and their inventory numbers.

In this private album, Elisabeth Neumayer-Somossy has collected photos of her work, primarily focusing on her well-known figurines. Her collection illustrates the evolution of her artistic style, beginning with traditional Austro-Hungarian toys featuring classic costumes, progressing to more abstract African figurines, and culminating in entirely Art Deco anthropomorphic pieces. Additionally, a special section is devoted to her animal-shaped toys.

The work of Elisabeth Neumayer-Somossy still awaits further research.