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Artists›Walter Von Nessen

Walter Von Nessen

Artist

Bauhaus

Representation

None documented

Institutional Exhibitions

Works in Collection

Assets Indexed

Authority-backed Facts

Publications Referenced

80%

Profile Completeness

Cultural Positioning

Movements

• Bauhaus

Related Artists

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Selected Institutional Exhibitions

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20th Century Design from the Museum Collection

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1958–1959

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100 Useful Objects of Fine Design (available under $100)

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1947–1948

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Machine Art

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1938

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Machine Art

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1934

About

Why this artist matters now

Walter von Nessen was an American designer and metalworker known for modernist lighting and decorative objects in brass, chrome, and steel. Active in the 1920s and 1930s, he developed a signature approach to functional form that merged Bauhaus principles with American industrial production. His table lamps and sculptural vessels combined geometric severity with handcrafted refinement, establishing a model for designer-craftsman practice in the interwar period. Von Nessen's work bridged European modernism and American manufacture during a formative moment in twentieth-century design.

Source: Moma Bulk 2026 05 04 · Trust score: 92% · Updated 25d ago

Graph relationships

Taste overlap and adjacency

Movement

Bauhaus

Medium

—

Related Artists

12 in graph

Institutional

Museum Collections

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Museum of Modern ArtNew York Art Institute of Chicago

Canonical record

Artworks (21)

Coronet Coffee Service

1938 · Chrome-plated metal, Bakelite, acrylic, aluminum, electric heating element, and cloth-bound electrical cord

Coffee urn: 31 × 27 × 27.5 cm (12 1/4 × 10 11/16 × 10 7/8 in.); Creamer: 8.5 × 11 × 8.9 cm (3 3/8 × 4 3/8 × 3 9/16 in.); Sugar: 11.6 × 9 × 9.2 cm (4 5/8 × 3 9/16 × 3 5/8 in.); Tray: 2.4 × 49.6 × 31.1 cm (1 × 19 9/16 × 12 1/4 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Comet Tea Kettle (model 17083)

1938 · Chromium-plated brass and bakelite

7 3/4 × 8 1/4 × 5 7/8" (19.7 × 21 × 14.9 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Table lamp

1935 · Aluminum, enamelled steel, brass, and glass

19 3/4 × 8" (50.2 × 20.3 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

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Table lamp

1935 · Copper and steel

11 1/2 × 9 1/4 × 8" (29.2 × 23.5 × 20.3 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

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"Continental" Creamer and Sugar Bowl

1934 · Graphite on paper

10 7/16 × 13 1/16 in. (26.5 × 33.2 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

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Continental Coffee-Making Service

1934 · Chrome-plated copper, composition 9/4/19 - title updated to 'Continental Coffee-Making Service" as per Marilyn Friedman research

Coffee maker H. 9 5/8, W. 6-3/8, D. 3 7/8 inches (24.4 x 16.2 x 9.8 cm) Sugar H. 3-7/8, Diam. 3 inches (9.8 x 7.6 cm) Creamer H. 2-7/8, W. 5 1/8, D. 3 inches (7.3 x 13 x 7.6 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

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"Continental" Creamer

1934 · Chrome-plated copper, composition

2 7/8 × 5 1/8 × 3 in., 0.4 lb. (7.3 × 13 × 7.6 cm, 0.2 kg)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

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"Continental" Coffee-Maker

1934 · Graphite on paper

14 1/2 × 10 1/2 in. (36.8 × 26.7 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

View all 21 artworks →

Record

Images

Artsy

Art Institute of Chicago

Related artists

Adjacent in the graph

Record

Movements and affiliations

Bauhaus

Movement

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Institutional

Representation & Collections

In collection

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

In collection

Museum of Modern Art

New York, US

In collection

Art Institute of Chicago

Record

Exhibitions and timeline

Group Exhibition 20th Century Design from the Museum Collection

New York · 1958

Group Exhibition 100 Useful Objects of Fine Design (available under $100)

New York · 1947

Group Exhibition Machine Art

New York · 1938

Group Exhibition Machine Art

New York · 1934