Karasz art deco vintage tea pot, silver plate vintage circa 1930 for Payne Baker. Ionka Karasz(American, b. Hungary, 1896–1981) is an important yet overlooked figure in 20th-century design. During her long and prolific career, she worked in a wide variety of media, producing designs for wall coverings, textiles, carpets, lighting, ceramics, metalwork, toys, and furniture. She is perhaps most well known for her popular cover illustrations for the New Yorker magazine. Through her ambitious creative output, Karaszhelped popularize a modern aesthetic in the United States. Karaszstudied at the Royal School of Arts and Crafts in Budapest before arriving in New York in 1913 and immersing herself in the city’s avant-gardeartistic community. Her prize-winning textile designs for the “Designed in America” campaign, sponsored by Women’s Wear Daily, propelled her career forward in the early 1920s. Turning to industrial design, Karaszcreated furnishings and metalwork for the high-profile exhibitions of American Designers’ Gallery in 1928 and 1929. She collaborated with notable designers such as Donald Deskey(American, 1894–1989), who frequently employed her textiles in his designs for interiors. From the 1940s–1960s, her wallpaper designs for the firm Katzenbachand Warren brought her national exposure, as she produced contemporary designs that deliberately called attention to the two-dimensional aspects of wall coverings and referenced Asian art and Islamic architecture.

Commensurate with age. All lots are sold "AS IS" The condition of lots can vary widely and are unlikely to be in a perfect condition.