"Bathers", Art Deco Folding Screen in Blue & Green, Sennhauser, Gracie & Sons

John Sennhauser was born in Switzerland but raised in Italy, where he studied at the Royal Academy in Venice for two years and then in 1928, immigrated to the United States, first earning a living as an architectural draftsman. He studied at the Cooper Union from 1930–33 and then taught at the Leonardo da Vinci Art School from 1936–42 followed by teaching at the Contemporary School of Art in New York. In the late 30s, he began expressing his strong leanings towards Abstraction. In 1943, he took a job at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, working for Hilla Rebay, who became director of the Guggenheim Museum. Sennhauser was known to belong to groups supporting non-objective painting. He was a member of the American Abstract Artists and Federation of Modern Painters and Sculptors.