...und
der Zauberschirm der Bildhauerin
Im Erfinderpavillon auf der
Wiener Frühjahrsmesse... Es gibt aber auch weiblicher Erfinder...
so die Bildhauerin Slava
Horowitz, die einen Zauberschirm erfunden hat, denman ganz klein
zusammenklappen und in die Tasche stecken kann ... Nr.58 Neuigkeits-Welt-Blatt
Wien Mittwocjh 11. März 1931, Seite 7
(... and the magic
umbrella of the sculptress.
In
the inventors pavilion at the Vienna spring fair...There are however also
female inventors...the
sculptress Slawa Horowitz, who has invented a magic umbrella that can be
folded small enough to put in a bag….)
Nr.58 Neuigkeits-Welt-Blatt, Vienna
Wednesday 11 March 1931, page 7
Slawa Horowitz was
born in Horucko, near Lwow in Poland, and moved to Vienna with her family
before the First World War. After completing her Matriculation, Slawa
attended painting classes in Vienna, prior to becoming a private student of
the noted Austrian sculptor Anton Hanak (1922-1925). There she first met
fellow sculpture student Karl Duldig. From 1926 to 1929 she studied
sculpture under Professor Hans Bitterlich at the Academy of Fine Arts in
Vienna. Till 1938 she exhibited regularly at the Künstlerhaus and the
Secession and completed a number of private commissions especially in
portraiture.
In 1929 Slawa
Horowitz took out world-wide patents for her invention of the first foldable
umbrella called Flirt (see news item above). The umbrella went into
production in Austria and Germany and Slawa received royalties till 1938.
In 1939 she sold all her rights to the Austrian manufacturer Brüder Wüster.
An example of Slawa's handbuilt prototype of the folding umbrella is in the
collection of the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences (Powerhouse) in
Sydney, Australia.
Slawa Horowitz
married Karl Duldig in 1931. Their only child, Eva, was born just prior to
the family's departure from Vienna in 1938. After a short period in
Switzerland the Duldigs arrived in Singapore in 1939 where Slawa worked as
an artist and teacher and also restored valuable paintings in the Municipal
collection.
The Duldigs were
evacuated to Australia in 1940 and eventually settled in Melbourne. In 1944
Slawa started teaching at Korowa Anglican Girls School and in 1947 became
Senior Art & Craft teacher at St Catherine's Girls School, a position she
held for sixteen years. An Annual Art Prize is presented in her name and in
1992 an exhibition with an accompanying catalogue titled Mrs Duldig's
Girls paid tribute to her work at the school. After her retirement from
St Catherine's Slawa continued to teach part-time and worked on private
commissions till her death in 1975.
In 1977 a Slawa
Duldig retrospective took place at the McClelland Gallery, Langwarrin and
subsequently at St Catherine's. In addition to The Duldig Studio, her art
is represented in private collections in Australia and overseas. Slawa's
work was also represented alongside her husband’s in the Vienna and the
Early Twentieth Century exhibition mounted at the National
Gallery of Victoria in 1990.