cover image Design for Living

Design for Living

Lillian Langseth-Christensen, C. L. Langset. Viking Books, $18.95 (214pp) ISBN 978-0-670-80089-6

In this witty memoir, cookbook author and Gourmet magazine contributor Langseth-Christensen recreates her heady experiences in the revolutionary design studios of early 20th century Vienna. The author was only 14 in 1922 when she arrived from home in New York City to join pupils of the renowned architect/designer Josef Hoffmann. A disciple of the Secession movement launched by Austrian artists in 1898, Hoffmann passed on to his students a distaste for Victorian fussiness. The Secessionists (Klimt, Schiele et al.) were despised, even persecuted, in their time but have long been recognized with Hoffmann for the exquisite simplicity of their designs. The author's fond recollections deepen awareness of our legacy from these daring style-setters. Photos. First serial to Gourmet. (August 13)