Herbert Bayer, Graphic Designer: From the Bauhaus to Berlin, 1921–1938

Description

One of the most extraordinary artists associated with the Bauhaus school, Herbert Bayer united graphic design, art and architecture in an uncompromising artistic vision that came to represent the bold aesthetic approach of the movement. A teacher with the school until 1928, Bayer went on to become a highly successful graphic designer in Germany, and later one of the most prominent figures in the 20th-century art scene of the United States. This broad biographical account, which presents previously unseen archival photographs and episodes from the life of Bayer and other influential Bauhaus artists such as Walter Gropius, Marcel Breuer, and László Moholy-Nagy, follows Bayer through the Weimar Republic, Nazi Germany, and finally to his exile in the United States. Specifically, Patrick Rössler reveals for the first time the ordeal experienced by Bayer between 1928 and 1938, when his private, commercial, and artistic life was shattered by the terror and censorship in Nazi Germany. Shining a light on Bayer’s time in Berlin during the Weimar Republic, and his route out of the Nazi state, Rössler provides rich new insights into how Bauhaus artists navigated a protracted period of social upheaval and dictatorship. Revealing the tensions of an avant-garde artist struggling to practice during a period of repression, Herbert Bayer, Graphic Designer speaks to the memory of those who fled Nazi Germany, but also the perseverance of persecuted artists and intellectuals throughout history who have worked under authoritarian regimes. Drawing on never before interpreted documents, letters, and archival material, Rössler tells Bayer’s compelling story – documenting the life of a unique artist and offering a valuable contribution to research in exile experiences. Cover Contents List of Illustrations A Short Bayer Timeline Introduction: Herbert Bayer’s Lost Decade Part One Formative Experiences—How an Apprentice from Linz
Became a Junior Master at the Bauhaus 1 Youth: Family, Friends, and Companions 2 Irene Hecht and Herbert Bayer: A Fateful Relationship 3 Intimate Friendships: Bayer’s Work and Life at the Bauhaus 4 Sturm und Drang: Life in Berlin 5 Ise Gropius and the Summer of 1932 Part Two A Commercial Artist in Nazi Germany 6 Working for Dorland Advertising Agency in Berlin 7 Designs for Propaganda 8 Good Life in Berlin 9 Loyal Bauhaus Circles Part Three The Path to Emigration 10 The Last Person Left Behind in Berlin 11 Trial Run: The London Gallery Exhibition 12 Dress Rehearsal: Summer Excursion to the United States 13 A Well-Considered Departure Part Four A New Life: Bayer in the Land of Opportunity 14 Bayer’s New Start in the United States: The Bauhaus at MoMA 15 Difficult Beginnings: Bayer’s First Eight Years in the United States Epilogue: Bayer in Berlin, or: A Life in an Echo Chamber Notes Bibliography Index