Else Unger

Else Unger was an Austrian designer of the decorative arts. Unger was connected to the Vienna Secession movement.

Education Unger was a student at the Kunstgewerbeschule Wien (School of Applied Arts, Austria).

Work A member of the Wiener Werkstätte, Unger designed many decorative objects, including fabric, vases, and furniture.

Unger made a splash at the Exposition Universelle (1900) with a secretary desk carved with a hydrangea motif. This piece in particular brought together both a curved style and botanical patterns that were associated with Secessionist designs. Art critic Ludwig Hevesi noted that the piece's motif was "taken from less frequently tread areas of botany." Unger's carved desk fit nicely with the Secession motto "Ver Sacrum" (Sacred Spring).

Unger was a founding member, along with Gisela Falke von Lilienstein and Josef Hoffmann, and others, of the Wiener Kunst im Hause (Viennese Art in the Home), an exhibiting group, established in 1901. During the winter of 1901–1902, the group showcased three fully furnished interiors — a bedroom, a men's room, a dining room — to show that rooms could be well-designed on a budget. The group's women artists produced the decorative objects, including the rugs, linens, porcelain, and silver; these objects received more critical attention than the items made by the men of the group.