Jacques Groag was born in Olomouc, Moravia [now the Czech Republic] on 5 January 1897. He studied architecture under Adolf Loos at the Technische Hochschule in Vienna from where he graduated in 1919. He then assisted Loos on the Moller House in Vienna, Paul Engelmann on the Wittgenstein House in Vienna, and France Singer in the design of the Hans Heller tennis club house in Vienna. In c.1926 Groag established his own independent architectural office and designed a number of houses in Vienna and Olomouc. He also designed furniture and participated in the design of the Wiener Werkbundsiedlung (1930-32).
Following the Anschluss [Nazi annexation of Austria] in 1938, Groag left Austria with his wife, the textile designer (Hilde) Jacqueline Groag (1908-1986), and moved to Prague, and then to England via France and the Netherlands just before the outbreak of World War Two. Although he did get some work with the John Lewis Partnership, Groag found it difficult initially to obtain employment in England. However, during the second half of the war he was recruited to work on the Utility furniture design panel under Gordon Russell.
Following the war Groag established his own independent practice. In addition to his work as an architect he was also a sculptor and designed textiles, wallpaper and furniture. He contributed to the 'Britain Can Make It' exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Museum in 1946, to the Festival of Britain in 1951. A sofa and low furniture designed by Groag was shown at the Ideal Home Exhibition in London in 1949.
His work was reproduced in the British journals ‘Architectural Review’ and ‘Architectural Journal’ and in foreign journals. Jacques Groag was the co-author of two books: ‘Bombed Churches as War Memorials’ with Hugh Casson, Brenda Colvin. (Cheam, England: The Architectural Press, 1945.) and ‘The Story of Furniture’ with Gordon Russell. (Harmondsworth, England: Penguin Books, 1947). Groag was elected to the National Register of Industrial Art Designers (NRD), and was a Fellow of the Society of Industrial Artists (FSIA). With Jacqueline Groag he lived in north London. Jacques Groag died in London on 28 January 1962. The National Archives at Kew in England has a collection of the papers and illustrations of Jacqueline and Jacques Groag [AAD/1994/2]
Prokop, Ursula. Jacques and Jacqueline Groag, architect and designer: two hidden figures of the Viennese Modern Movement. Los Angeles, California: DoppelHouse Press, 2019