Herbert Bayer (1900-1985) Bauhaus Designer and American Artist by Jaimie Lillienstein and Jeremy Tessmer *Sullivan Goss seeks to acquire works by this Artist

“Every period, if

Table Of Contents

• I. BIOGRAPHY
• II. AN ANALYSIS OF THE ARTIST'S WORK
• III. CHRONOLOGY
• IV. COLLECTIONS
• V. EXHIBITIONS
• VI. BIBLIOGRAPHY
• VII. WORKS BY THIS ARTIST

I. Biography

Herbert Bayer was born on April 5, 1900 to Maximilian and Rosa Simmer Bayer in Haag am Hausruck, Austria. Haag was a peasant village where his mother’s family owned the local Gasthaus [hotel], while his father was the tax collector for the region. Bayer was the shy second son of four children.

Though this relationship with his parents was marked by emotional distance, they supported his early interest in art. Bayer regularly drew the landscape during his childhood, a motif that would be reflected in his career as an artist. In 1912, the Bayer family moved from Haag to Linz where he attended the Gymnasium. His favorite subjects were history and geometry.

Following school, Bayer made plans to study art in Vienna, but preparations were halted by the unexpected death of his father. Due to lack of finances, Bayer served eighteen months in the Fourteenth Infantry Regiment of the Imperial Austrian Army. Fortunately, Bayer did not see combat in the last years of WWI. After his stint in the army, Bayer returned to Linz and met art historian Gustav Guggenbauer, who opened his large library on Austrian Baroque art to the teen. This inspired the young Bayer to travel Germany and Austria, where he sketched the land and its architecture.

Two years later, he apprenticed under George Schmidthammer, the artist who first introduced Bayer to the arts and craft movement. Schmdthammer was the conductor of the movement in Linz who presented Bayer with new techniques such as lithography and the era’s tools for graphic design. In 1921, he departed from Schmidthammer to work under the Viennese architect Emmanuel Margold in Germany at the Darmstadter Kunslter Kolonie [Darmstadter Artist Colony]. The artist colony introduced Bayer to unseen publications and movements such as Kandinsky’s “Uber das Feistige in der Kunst” [Concerning the Spiritual in Art] and Walter Gropuis’s Bauhaus Manifest [Bauhaus Manifesto]. Ultimately, he became determined to join the Bauhaus, where Kandinsky was teaching at the time. Bayer was interviewed by Groupius himself, and his early training enabled him to bypass the probationary period and enter as a full student.

1925 proved a busy year for Bayer. He innovated the use of the lowercase alphabet in poster design, as well as creating "universal", a geometric sans-serif typeface. That same year, he also married Chicago born Bauhaus student, Irene Angela Hecht, a photographer active in the documentation of the Bauhaus. She later went on to exhibit her images in the Stuttgart Film and Foto Exhibition in 1929.

Two years later, Bayer officially changed the typeface used in Bauhaus communications and even changed the name of “the Department of Printing and Advertising” to “Typographie and Werbsachengestaltung” [workshop for typography and advertising design]. A year later, Bayer joined Walter Gropius, Marcel Breuer and Lazslo Moholy-Nagy in resigning from the Bauhaus. He next took a job in Berlin, where he became Art Director of the German edition of Vogue magazine. At the same time, he also worked as Design Director of the international advertising agency, Dorland Studio.

In 1929, he and wife, Irene, gave birth to their only child, Julia Alexandra Bayer. That same year, he worked with Gropius, Breuer and Moholy-Nagy to design the Baugewerkschafts Ausstellung [Building Workers Union Exhibition] in Berlin. Befitting his stature in the art world, the Bauhaus honored him with a solo exhibition and he was awarded first prize in the inaugural International Exhibition of Advertising Photography. In 1930, he separated from his wife.

II. An Analysis of the Artist's Work

(Under Construction)

III. Chronology

1900 Born on April 5 in Haag Am Hausruck, Austria

1917 Father dies unexpectedly at age 46; after initially planning to study art in Vienna, his lack of finances make it impossible. He serves eighteen months in the Fourteenth Infantry Regiment of the Imperial Austrian Army (fortunately does not see combat). Meets a Linzer, art historian Gustav Guggenbauer who opens his art library to the teen whom inspires to sketch the land in Germany.

1919 Apprenticeship in October through September with architect and designer Georg Schmidthammer’s bureau in Linz (producing posters, letterhead and advertisements); he learns the rudiments of architectural drawing

1920 Leaves Schmidthammer and Austria worked as an assistant of the architect Joef Emmanuel Margold at the artist’s colony (Darmstadter Kunstler Kolonie) in Darmstadt; Reads Kandinsky’s Uber das Geistige in der Kunst (Concerning the Spiritual in Art) as well as Walter Gropius’ Bauhaus Manifest published in April 1919. Chooses to leave Margold and travel via foot to Weimar

1921 Enrolled at the Bauhaus in Weimar, attended Johannes Itten’s preliminary class and the workshop for mural painting taught by Wassily Kandinsky

1922 -1923 Assists in painting the Kandinsky mural for the Juryfrei in Berlin; Briefly studies painting with Paul Klee whose work he greatly admires. Designs exhibition binding for Staatliches Bauhaus in Weimar

1923-1924 With contemporary Bauhausler “Sepp” Maltan, the artists’ hike throughout northern and southern Italy and Sicily from fall 1923 through spring 1924, spending the winter in Rome Paints a series from his travels

1925 Passed final examination on February 3. April 5 appointed to director of the newly arranged workshop for printing and advertising at the Bauhaus in Dessau. In October establishes lowercase as style for all Bauhaus letterhead Designs signage for new complex; Marries Chicago born Bauhaus student Irene Angela Hecht

1927 Bayer changes name of the Bauhaus workshop from Druck und Reklame (printing and advertising) to Werkstatt fur Typographie und Werbsachengestaltung (workshop for typography and advertising designs)

1928 Left the Bauhaus to attend his own work and moved to Berlin. Worked as a commercial artist and director of the advertising agency Studio Dorland. Bicycle trip to Jmarseilles, Niece and Corsica beings program of straight photography

Art Director of Vogues magazines Berlin Office

1929 Birth of only child, Julia Alexandria Bayer. Participates in the international film und Foto exhibition in Stuttgard where nineteen of his photographs are exhibited

1930 With Walter Gropius, Moholy-Nagy, and Marcel Breuer, they design display, exhibition circulation catalogue and poster for the Section Allemande of the German Werkbund Exhibition at the Paris Exposition de la Societe des Artistes Decorateurs

1931 With Gropius Breuer and Moholy-Nagy design the Baugewerkschafts Ausstenllung (Building Workers Union Exhibition) in Berlin. Wins first prize in the inaugural international exhibition of advertising

photograph y representing fifty photographers from eight European nations

1932 Participates in-group show at the Julien Levy Gallery, New York where he will be represented until 1940. Separates from Irene Bayer

1933 Bayer type manufactured and distributed by H. Berthold, Berlin

1934 With Marcel Breuer, travels by Kayak down the Daube to Belgrade and overland to the now destroyed medieval city of Skopje in Dalmatia, Yugoslavia, through Macedonia, mainland Greece and the Greek Isles. Extensive photography and painting based on Greek motif.

1935 Important series for advertisements for Adrianol-Emulsion in which Bayer employs classical statuary in photomontage. Executes brochure for exhibition Das Wunder des Lebens (The Wonder of Life).

1936 1937 Begins “Dunstlocher” series basses on Austrian peasant architectural motifs. Three works removed by German Nazis and exhibited as Degenerate Art (Entartete Kunst)

1937 Travels from London with Breuer to US to explore possibilities of employment after emigration. Meets with Gropius, Moholy-Nagy, Alexander Drner, John McAndrew (then director

1938 Emigrated to USA

1946 Settled in Aspen Colorado and worked as a painter graphic artist, architect and landscape designer

1946 Hired by Walter Paepcke Worked exclusively for Container Corporation of America (CCA) and the Atlantic Richfield Corporation (Design Consultant)

Co-designed Aspen Institute, restored the Wheeler Opera House

1956 - 1965 Chairman of the department of design, for the CCA

1959 Designed his “fonetik alfabet” (san-serif and without capital letters

1970 Awarded the AIGA medal

1974 Artist relocated to Montecito, California

1985 Died in Montecito at the age of 85

IV. Collections

National

Busch-Reisinger Museum, Cambridge, MA

Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, MA

Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, Colorado Springs, CO

Bayer Archive, Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO

Evansville Museum of Arts and Science, Evansville, IN

Fort Worth Art Center, Fort Worth, TX

Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY

Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY

Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY

Oklahoma Art Center, Oklahoma City, OK

Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, Ridgefield, CT

Roswell Museum and Art Center, Roswell, NM

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA

Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, CA

Bayer Photographic Archive, Center for Creative Photography,

University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ

Hudson River Museum, Yonkers, NY

International

Bauhaus-Archivm Berlin, Germany

Staatliches Museum Preussischer Kulturbesitz Nationalgalerie

Schubladen Museum, Bern, Switzerland

Museum Bochum, Bochum, Germany

Museum Ludwig, Cologne, Germany

Wallraf-Richartz Museum

StŠdtische Kunstmuseum, Saamlungen Duisburg-Rheinhausen

Wilhelm-Lehmbruck-Museum der Stadt, Duisburg, Germany

Folkwang Museum, Essen, Germany

Kunsthalle, Hamburg, Germany

Landesgalerie, Hannover, Germany

Museum des 20 Jahrhunderts, Vienna, Austria

StaatsgemŠlde Sammlung Museum, Kassel, Germany

StŠdtisches Museum Leverkusen, Leverkusen, Germany

StŠdtische Kunsthalle, Mannheim, Germany

Bayerische StaatsgemŠldesammlungen, Munich, Germany

Landesmuseum fŸr Kunst und Kulturgeschichte, MŸnster, Germany

Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg, Germany

Galleria Nazionale dÕArte Moderna, Rome, Italy

Saarland Museum, SaarbrŸcken, Germany

Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart, Germany

Museum Wiesbaden, Wiesbaden, Germany

Museum of Modern Art, Mexico City, D.F.

V. Exhibitions

Selected Solo Exhibitions

1929 Kunstverein Maerz, Linz, Austria

1929 Galerie Povolotsky, Paris, France

1931 Bauhaus, Dessau. Germany

1936 Herbert Bayer, Kunstverein, Salzburg, Austria

1937 Herbert Bayer: Austrian, London Gallery, Ltd., London, UK

1939 Black Mountain College, Black Mountain, NC

1939 Herbert Bayer, former master of the Bauhaus, P.M. Gallery, New York City, NY

1940 Art Gallery, Yale University, New Haven, CT

1942 Herbert Bayer: Recent Work for Advertising: New York Art Headquarters, New York City, NY

1943 Herbert Bayer: Paintings, 1942, Willard Gallery, New York City, NY

1943 Herbert Bayer; Exhibition of Paintings, Posters, Montages, Advertising design: North Texas State Teachers College, Denton, TX, Outline Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA

1947-9 Retrospective: The Way Beyond Art. Brown University, Providence, RI, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, Institute of Design, Chicago, IL, Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, Colorado Springs, CO, Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha, NE, Boise Art Museum, Boise, ID, Bozeman Museum, Bozeman, Montana, Portland Art Museum, Portland, OR, Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, WA, San Francisco Museum of Art, San Francisco, CA

1952 Herbert Bayer, Cleveland Institute of Art, Cleveland, OH

1953 Herbert Bayer exhibition of paintings, Hanns Schaeffer Galleries, New York City, NY

1954 Herbert Bayer, Bilder aus Sizilien, Kunstkabinett Klihm, Munich, Germany

1954 Galleria del Milione, Milan, Italy

1955 Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies, Aspen, CO

1956-7 Retrospective: Herbert Bayer, 33 Jahres Seines Schaffens. Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg, Germany, Die Neue Sammlung, Munich, Germany, Kunstgewerbemuseum, Zurich, Switzerland, Hochschule für Bildende Künste, Berlin, Germany, Städtisches Museum, Braunschweig, Germany, Kunst und Industriesmuseum, Vienna, Austria, Kunstkabinett Klihm, Munich, Germany

1958 Recent Works of Herbert Bayer. Fort Worth Art Center, Fort Worth, TX; Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK

1959 Kunstkabinett Klihm, Munich, Germany

1960 Städtische Kunsthalle, Dusseldorf, Germany

1960 Museum am Ostwall, Dortmund [source: Forum Metall Linz1979]

1961 Bauhaus-Archiv, Darmstadt, Germany

1962-3 Retrospective: Herbert Bayer, Paintings, Architecture, Graphics. Städtisches Kunstmuseum, Duisburg, Germany, Roswell Museum and Art Center, Roswell, NM, Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, Colorado Springs, CO, The Art Gallery, University of California at Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, La Jolla Museum of Art, La Jolla, CA; Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha, NE, Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, Galleria del Levante, Milan, Italy; Kunstkabinett Klihm, Munich, Germany

1963 Bayer, Recent Paintings, Andrew Morris Gallery, New York City, NY

1963 Herbert Bayer: Gemälde, Graphik, Plastik, Die Neue Galerie der Stadt Linz, Austria, Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies, Aspen, CO

1965 Byron Gallery, New York City, NY

1965 Herbert Bayer, Recent Paintings, Esther Robles Gallery, Los Angeles, CA

1965 Boise Art Association, Boise, ID

1966 Herbert Bayer, Retrospective: Scudder Gallery, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH

1967 fotoauge herbert bayer: Galerie Klihm, Munich, Germany

1967 Herbert Bayer: Ausstellung Neue Bilder: Galerie Klihm, Munich, Germany

1967 Galerie Conzen, Dusseldorf, Germany

1967 Philadelphia Art Alliance, Philadelphia, PA

1968 Herbert Bayer: Marlborough New London Gallery, London, UK

1969 Herbert Bayer, some recent works on paper: The Art Gallery, University of California at Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA

1969 Two Visions of Space. (joint exhibition with Ingevorg ten Haeff), the Hudson River Museum, Yonkers, NY

1970 Dunkelman Gallery, Toronto, Canada

1970 Herbert Bayer, 9 Wandteppiche und 34 Entwürfe: Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg, Germany

1970 Galerie Conzen, Dusseldorf, Germany

1971 Herbert Bayer, recent works: Marlborough Gallery, New York City, NY

1971 Centre Culturel Allemand, Paris, France

1971 Goethe-Institut, Paris, France

1971 Die Neue Sammlung, Munich, Germany

1971 Österreichisches Museum für angewandte Kunst, Vienna, Austria

1971 Herbert Bayer, Foto Galerie die Brücke, Vienna, Austria, 1971

1971 Herbert Bayer. Arbeiten, 1936-1956, Galerie Klihm, Munich, Germany

1972 Marlborough Gallery, Montreal, Canada

1972 Galerias Mer-kup, Mexico City, D.F.

1973 Retrospective: Herbert Bayer: Fotografien, Fotomontagen, 1926-1937. Landesbildstelle, Hamburg, Germany

1973 Kaiser Wilhelm Museum, Krefeld, Germany

1973 Fotohistorisches Museum, Leverkusen, Germany

1973 Saarland Museum, Saarbrücken, Germany

Herbert Bayer Arbeiten 1936-1956, Aquarelle, Zeichnungen, Ölbilder 1936-56: Munich, Germany, Galerie Klihm, Germany

1973 Retrospective: Herbert Bayer, A Total Concept. The Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO

1974 Herbert Bayer, neue Werke und Projekte: Marlborough Galerie, Zurich, Switzerland, Galerie Klihm, Munich, Germany

Traveling Retrospective: Herbert Bayer, Ölbilder, Aquarelle, Foto, Galerie Nächst St. Stephan, Vienna, Austria; Galerie im Taxis Palais, Innsbruck, Austria

1974 Neue Galerie am Landesmuseum Joanneum, Graz, Austria

1974 Herbert Bayer, Das druckgrafische Werk bis 1971. Exhibition catalogue with foreword by Hans M. Wingler and introduction by Peter Hahn. The exhibition traveled to Bauhaus

1974 Archiv, Berlin; Haus Deutscher Ring, Hamburg; Landesmuseum für Kunst und Kulturgeschichte, Munster; Museum Wiesbaden, Wiesbaden.

1974-5 Traveling Exhibition; Herbert Bayer, Lithographs and Screenprints, 1969-1973: Marlborough Graphics, New York City, NY

1974-5 Benjamin Mangel Gallery, Bala Cynwyd, PA; Malvina Miller Gallery, San Francisco, CA

1974-5 Van Straaten Gallery, Chicago, IL; Hokin Gallery, Palm Beach, FL; Collaborative Gallery, Los Angeles, CA

1974-5 Desmond Muirhead Galleries, Newport Beach, CA; Michael Berger Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA

1974-8 Retrospective: Herbert Bayer, Das druckgrafische Werk bis 1971. Haus Deutscher Ring, Hamburg, Germany

1974-8 Landesmuseum für Kunst und Kulturgeschichte, Munster, Germany

1974-8 Museum Wiesbaden, Wiesbaden, Germany

1974-8 Bauhaus-Archiv, Berlin, Germany

1974-8 Kunstgewerbemuseum, Zurich, Switzerland

1974-8 Museum Bochum, Bochum, Germany

1974-8 Hochschule für Gestaltung, Offenbach, Germany

1974-8 Museu Nacional de Machado de Castro, Coimbra, Portugal

1974-8 Museu Nacional de Soares dos Reis, Porto, Portugal

1974-8 Museo Español de Arte Contemporaneo, Madrid, Spain

1974-8 Museo de Arte Moderno, Barcelona, Spain

1975 Marlborough Gallery, Toronto, Canada

1975 Art Contacto Galleria, Caracas, Venezuela

1976 Retrospective: Herbert Bayer, Beispiele aus dem Gesamtwerk 1919-1974. Die Neue Galerie der Stadt Linz, Austria.

1976 Herbert Bayer: Photomontages and Photoplastics 1929-1936: Marlborough Gallery, New York City, NY

1977 Retrospective, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, CA, Marian Locks Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

1977-8 Retrospective: Herbert Bayer, from type to landscape (traveling exhibition sponsored by the American Federation of Arts): Hopkins Center, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New, NH, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, CA, The Art Gallery, State University of New York, NY, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, Georgia Museum of Art, University of Georgia, Athens, GA

1977-8 Retrospective: Herbert Bayer, photographic works (traveling exhibition organized by ARCO Center for Visual Art) ARCO Center for Visual Art, Los Angeles, CA, Museum of Modern Art, New York City, NY, Fine Art Gallery, San Diego, CA; Portland Art Museum, Portland, OR, South Dakota Memorial Art Center, Brookings, SD, Witte Memorial Museum San Antonio, TX, University of Texas Art Gallery, Arlington, TX, University of Iowa Museum of Art, Iowa City, IA, Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, Center for the Arts, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA, Davidson Art Center, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT, Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, MD, Galerie Klihm, Munich, Germany, Museum Bochum, Bochum, Germany

1978 Herbert Bayer, Photographs, Painting, Drawings. Goethe-Institut, Munich, Germany

1979 Herbert Bayer, Recent Works: Marlborough Gallery, New York City, NY

1979 Herbert Bayer, Bauhaus Fotografien, Fotomontagen, Fotoplastiken, 1925-37: Galerie Breiting, Berlin, Germany

1980 Inaugural Exhibition of the Herbert Bayer Archive. Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO.

1980 Die Neue Galerie der Stadt Linz, Austria.

1980 Inaugural Exhibition of the Herbert Bayer Collection: The Breadkers Seminar Building, Atlantic Richfield Company, Santa Barbara, CA

1981 Aspen Center for the Visual Arts, Aspen, CO

1981 Galerias Mer-kup, Mexico City, D.F.

1981 Ruth Schaffner Gallery, Santa Barbara, CA

1981 Herbert Bayer: A Selected Survey, Paintings Sculpture, Photographs. Grapestake Gallery, San Francisco, CA

1982 Herbert Bayer: Das künstlerische Werk 1918-1938, Bauhaus-Archiv, Berlin, Germany

1982 Herbert Bayer, Recent Paintings: Marlborough Gallery, New York City, NY

1982 The creative genius of Herbert Bayer. The Keystone Gallery, Santa Barbara, CA

1982 Herbert Bayer, Sixty Years of Paintings. Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO

1982 Herbert Bayer, Photographic Works. Galleria, The Arizona Bank, Phoenix, AZ

1983 Herbert Bayer Bei Thomas: Galerie Thomas, Munich, Germany

1983 Herbert Bayer: photographic work: Prakapas Gallery, New York City, NY

1983 Saidenberg Gallery, New York, NY

1983 Herbert Bayer, Anthology paintings 1977-1983, Photographic works 1928-1955: Janus Gallery, Los Angeles, CA

1984 Herbert Bayer, early years, Aldis Browne Fine Arts, Forum Gallery, Saidenberg Gallery, New York City, NY

1985 Herbert Bayer: works on paper: ASB Gallery, London, UK

1985 Herbert Bayer: a decade in Santa Barbara: Santa Barbara Contemporary Arts Forum, Santa Barbara, CA

1986 Herbert Bayer: works on paper: ASB Gallery, London, UK

1986 Herbert Bayer: a decade in Santa Barbara: Santa Barbara Contemporary Arts Forum, Santa Barbara, CA

1987 Herbert Bayer, Graphic design: original drawings, printed works, 1920-1967: Ex Libris, New York City, NY

1987 Herbert Bayer, Bilder und Skulpturen 1925-1981: Galerie Lopes, Zurich, Switzerland

1995 Herbert Bayer: Bauhaus and Beyond. Kent Gallery, New York City, NY

1995 Herbert Bayer, Drawings 1918-1924, Fotoplastiken 1932-1936, Sculpture 1973: Craig Krull Gallery, Santa Monica, CA.

1997 Herbert Bayer: The Aspen Years. Kent Gallery, New York City, NY

1997 Herbert Bayer 1900-1985: Galerie Martin Suppan, Vienna, Austria

1999 Herbert Bayer: The Total Artist. Smallworks Gallery, Las Vegas, NV

2000 Herbert Bayer: Centennial: Kent Gallery, New York City, NY

2000 Herbert Bayer: Centennial: Kamakura Gallery, Japan

2000 Herbert Bayer: Centennial: Aspen Center for Humanities, CO

2000 Herbert Bayer 1900-1985: Die Neue Galerie der Stadt Linz, Austria