The Wolfsonian houses a vast public collection of objects associated with German Design Reform (1880-1910). These objects are significant to the history of hand-and machine-made decorative arts, and are generally seen as precursors of Modernism. Beginning in the late 1890s, German artists and architects searched for a new theoretical and stylistic vocabulary appropriate to their own country; work of this period is characterized by the conspicuous intention to create a national vocabulary for modernity. Wolfsonian collections include examples by members of the leading art colonies, workshops, and design associations: the Darmstadt Art Colony, Vereinigte Werkstätten in Munich, and Deutsche Werkbund. Particularly noteworthy are a suite of furniture by August Endell and a wide variety of designs by Peter Behrens and by Joseph Maria Olbrich. Back to Collections Main