Born in Bohemia (Ceská Lípa) in 1884, Beckert studied at the glass school in Haida (Nový Bor) at the beginning of the century before joing the Debschitz School in Munich from 1904-1905 and subsequently, from 1905-1907, the Prague School of Applied Arts in Prague, where he failed to graduate.
Prague School of Applied Arts (UPŠ)
He worked at the Loetz factory from 1908, and in 1909 was appointed its first and only artistic director. Loetz glass was falling out of fashion at this time, losing market share especially to von Poschinger, and von Spaun and Prochaska hoped that Beckert's expertise in engraved and acid-etched glass might revive their waning fortunes. It was not to be; although highly prized today, Beckert's designs for Loetz did not meet with commercial success and the company declared bankruptcy in 1911, releasing Beckert; he continued as an external 'artistic consultant' for Loetz until 1926, designing six vases between 1913 and 1915. After leaving Loetz, Beckert worked briefly at the Dresden glass house Muegeln before joining the faculty at the Steinschoenau (Kamenický Šenov) glass school where he was promoted to director in 1918.
Steinschoenau Glass Museum
He lost his position as director when the Steinschoenau glass school fused with that of Haida in 1926, and died of lung disease shortly afterwards in 1929, aged just 45.
While Loetz collectors know Beckert best for his engraved and acid-etched work, often with applications, the bulk of his oeuvre was the enameled gold and black ('schwarzlot') glass that he produced while in Steinschoenau.
Schwarzlot glass by Beckert