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Artists›Walter Von Nessen

Walter Von Nessen

Artist

WA-00028681

Bauhaus

Representation

None documented

Institutional Exhibitions

Works in Collection

Assets Indexed

Authority-backed Facts

Publications Referenced

80%

Profile Completeness

Cultural Positioning

Influence Graph

No influence edges encoded yet.

Authority Records (1)

MoMA

Selected Institutional Exhibitions

View all exhibitions →

No image

20th Century Design from the Museum Collection

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1958–1959

No image

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

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1947–1948

No image

Machine Art

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1938

No image

Machine Art

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1934

Source Registry (1)

MoMA bulk 2026-05-04https://www.moma.org/artists/4268
Tier 1 · Institutional92%

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 29d 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

WattsOS

Table lamp

1935 · Copper and steel

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

WattsOS

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

WattsOS

"Continental" Coffee-Maker

1934 · Graphite on paper

14 1/2 × 10 1/2 in. (36.8 × 26.7 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

WattsOS

"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

WattsOS

"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

WattsOS

"Diplomat" Coffee Service

1933 · Chrome-plated copper, phenol-formaldehyde (Bakelite)

2001.722.1a: 10 1/4 × 6 1/2 × 4 3/8 in., 1.4 lb. (26 × 16.5 × 11.1 cm, 0.6 kg) 2001.722.1b: 2 7/8 × 3 1/4 × 2 5/8 in., 0.5 lb. (7.3 × 8.3 × 6.7 cm, 0.2 kg) 2001.722.1cd: 4 1/4 × 5 3/8 × 4 in., 0.7 lb. (10.8 × 13.7 × 10.2 cm, 0.3 kg) 2001.722.1c: 1 3/4 × 2 7/8 × 3 1/2 in., 0.2 lb. (4.4 × 7.3 × 8.9 cm, 0.1 kg) 2001.722.1d: 2 3/4 × 5 3/8 × 4 in., 0.5 lb. (7 × 13.7 × 10.2 cm, 0.2 kg) 2001.722.1e: 1 1/8 × 10 1/2 in., 1 lb. (2.9 × 26.7 cm, 0.5 kg)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Table Lamp

1930 · Silver-plated brass, glass, and ebony

52.1 × 35.6 × 48.3 cm (20 1/2 × 14 × 19 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Occasional Table

1930 · Aluminum, Bakelite, and iron

46 × 46.4 × 30.5 cm (18 1/8 × 18 1/4 × 12 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

WattsOS

Table

1930 · Aluminum, phenol-formaldehyde resin (bakelite)

18 5/8 × 15 1/4 × 15 1/8 in., 11 lb. (47.3 × 38.7 × 38.4 cm, 5 kg)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

1928 · Silvered brass; paper

30 5/16 × 18 1/4 in., 7.9 lb. (77 × 46.3 cm, 3.6 kg)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Desk Lamp

1927 · Chrome-plated brass

16 x 24 1/2" (40.6 x 62.2 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Floor Lamp

1927 · Chrome-plated brass with baked enamel finish

Adjustable h. 48 1/2" (123.2 cm) to 60 1/2" (153.7 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Plates

1925 · Copper

Each: 5/8 x 6 3/8" (1.6 x 16.2 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Coronet coffee urn service

1924 · Chrome-plated metal and bakelite

12 × 10 × 11" (30.5 × 25.4 × 27.9 cm)

Coronet coffee urn service

1924 · Chrome-plated metal and bakelite

12 × 10 × 11" (30.5 × 25.4 × 27.9 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Flower Bowl

Copper

2 3/4 x 11" (7 x 28 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

View all 21 artworks →

Artwork sources (3)

21 published of 30 catalogued · 19 with image

MoMA
11 publishedof 20 catalogued16 img
The Met
7 published
Art Institute Chicago
3 published3 img

Per-Artwork Provenance Chains (top 1)

1 entries · 1 sources

Coronet coffee urn service
1924 · MoMA · 1 prov
MoMA·title

Record

Images

Artsy

Art Institute of Chicago

Relationships

Movements1

Bauhaus

Collections3

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

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