Defiantly modern: the unconventional life and work of ella briggs

Despina stratigakos, SUNY Distinguished Professor of Architecture at the University at Buffalo

Ella Briggs was a pioneering Viennese architect, designer, and writer whose influential practice across Vienna, New York, Berlin, and London actively shaped global perspectives on modern living. She trained with members of the Vienna Secession, designed modernist housing for the masses in Austria, was jailed as a suspected spy in Mussolini’s Italy, and thrived in Weimar Germany before suffering persecution under the Nazis and fleeing to London where she contributed to England’s postwar reconstruction. Despite a long and prolific career, her name faded into obscurity. The newly published biography, Finding Ella Briggs, presents previously unpublished research from archives around the world and restores Briggs’s groundbreaking legacy and rightful place in the history of modernist design.

Neue Galerie New York is delighted to participate in the celebration of Archtober, New York City’s Architecture and Design Month. This annual festival of architecture activities, programs, and exhibitions takes place each October. 

This event is made possible in part by the generous support of Princeton University Press.

Please note

The museum galleries remain closed through October while Café Sabarsky, the Book Store and Design Shop are open with regular hours. The museum galleries will reopen on November 12th.

Members may reserve a complimentary ticket for themselves and up to one guest for Neue Galerie lectures. Proof of membership must be presented upon arrival.