A large plaster plaque carved in low relief. The scene depicts a family with a young woman playing the piano, four children at study, the mother at the table holding a vase and the father holding books near a globe. Signed and dated for 1941 at the lower left. The piece was commissioned by the consignor's grandfather. Valerie Wieselthier was born to a Jewish family in Vienna, Austria. Her father, Wilhelm Wieselthier, was a lawyer. She attended the Wiener Frauenakademie in Vienna from 1912 to 1914 and studied at the Vienna School of Applied Arts with Rosalinda Rothhansl, Kolo Moser, Josef Hoffmann, and Michael Powolny from 1914 to 1920. In addition, she worked as an auxiliary nurse during the First World War. From 1917 to 1922, she worked for the Wiener Werkstätte. From 1922 to 1927, she ran her own ceramic workshop in cooperation with the Augarten porcelain factory, which was newly founded in 1923, but also with other companies such as Friedrich Goldscheider, Gmundner Keramik and Lobmeyr. Her expressive and humorous porcelain figures attracted attention at the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et industriels modern in Paris in 1925 and are considered typical examples of the Art Deco style. From 1928, the artist increasingly moved her center of life to the United States. She went to the International Exhibition of Ceramic Art in New York City in October 1928. In 1933, she moved to Chicago with Paul Lester Wiener and worked as a designer for the Contempora Group and the Sebring Pottery Company.

Dimensions: 56" x 34".

Very good condition, minor expected wear and losses.