Anton Josef Trčka

1893–1940

Anton Josef Trčka (Czech, born Austrian, 1893-1940) grew up in Bohemia. He completed photography training between 1911 and 1915 at the Graphische Lehr- und Versuchsanstalt in Vienna with Karel Novák, joining the artistic circle of Egon Schiele and Gustav Klimt. Starting in 1912 Trčka took portraits of Czech and Austrian artists and writers and became interested in the anthroposophic teachings of Rudolf Steiner, which would profoundly influence his intellectual development. After serving in World War I Trčka joined the military department of the Ministry in Prague as a photographer in 1919. In 1926 he founded Vienna’s Ringwerkstätten für Kunsthandwerk und Photographie but turned three years later to poetry, writing, and book design.