Rudolf Bauer
Non-Objective Drawing (Double sided composition)
1938

Name: Non-Objective Drawing (Double sided composition)
Brand: Rudolf Bauer
Price: 5500 USD
Availability: InStock

About the Item

Non-Objective Drawing (Double sided composition) Graphite on paper, 1938 Initialed "B" by the artist lower right corner Created while the artist was imprisoned in a Gestapo Prison for his "Degenerate Art" Image size: 7 x 6 3/4 inches Housed in raw silk matting in a reproduction Gugenheim style frame with OP3 Acrylic Frame dimensions: 16 x 17 x 1 1/2 inches Condition: Folded in quarters by the artist to hide the drawing from the Gestapo Irregular margins Provenance: Estate of the artist Phillips Auction, New York Borghi Inc. "Back in Berlin, Das Geistreich had become a lonely island of individualism in a menacing sea of Nazism. The Bauhaus had been closed down by the government in 1933, and artists such as Bauer were increasingly ostracized. Many had already fled the country. Rebay wrote Bauer in August 1937 to report that she had visited the Degenerate Art exhibition in Munich, which featured many artists from their Der Sturm days, including works by Kandinsky, Klee, Moholy-Nagy, and, of course, Bauer. Why Bauer lingered so long in this hostile environment remains a mystery. He was not Jewish, yet his patron was one of the richest Jews in the world. This association would not go unnoticed in Nazi Germany. In July 1937 Bauer traveled to Paris because his work was included in an exhibition called Origines et développement de l'art international indépendant, organized by the Musée du Jeu de Paume. In this large survey of the period, his painting was shown alongside the work of Picasso, Georges Braque, Léger, Chagall, and Joan Miró. It is believed that while he was in Paris he received word from friends that it was too dangerous to return to Berlin; yet he ignored the warning. According to the Rebay documentarian Sigrid Faltin, it is likely that his sister, a Nazi zealot who had disowned him, turned him in to the authorities for his art. Bauer was suddenly a prisoner in Berlin. Defiant, he scavenged scraps of paper and pencils while in prison, so that he could continue to draw." Courtesy Weinstein Gallery "In 1938, upon his return from an exhibition of his work in Paris, Bauer was arrested by the Nazis for his "degenerate" art and for speculating on the black market — meaning selling his work to Guggenheim. The previous year Bauer's work had been included in the infamous Degenerate Art show in Munich, organized by the Nazis to show all the deviant, abstract art. In spite of this Bauer had refused to move from his home country. Upon his arrest Bauer was held in a Gestapo prison for several months, as Rebay and Guggenheim worked to free him. After several false starts, he was finally released unconditionally in August 1938. During his time in prison, he created dozens of non-objective drawings on scavenged scraps of paper. He spent the next months getting his paperwork in order and made the difficult decision to leave his homeland, emigrating to the United States in July 1939, just months before the beginning of World War II." Courtesy Wikipedia

Creator:

Rudolf Bauer (1889-1953, German)

Creation Year:

1938

Dimensions:

Height: 7 in (17.78 cm)Width: 6.75 in (17.15 cm)

Medium:

Graphite

Movement & Style:

Abstract

Period:

1930-1939