Rudolf Bauer

Das Geistreich, Rudolf Bauer Museum, Berlin
Solomon R. Guggenheim, New York (acquired directly from the artist)
Sid Deutsch Gallery, New York (and sold: Sotheby's, New York, October 8, 1986, lot 208)

New York, Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, Art of Tomorrow, 1939, no. 38, illustrated in the catalogue

This work is in overall good condition. The board is stable but is slightly undulating in places. There are a few artist's pinholes to the edges, some minor creasing to the upper left and two lower corners and some wear to the centre of the extreme left edge. There is some paint shrinkage to the white pigment in the central white element with a few tiny associated losses. There is an uneven varnish which prevents a clear reading under UV light. UV light does however reveal a very thin 8cm-long horizontal line of retouching to the centre of the lower left quadrant.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

German-born Rudolf Bauer was a principal innovator and exponent of Non-objective painting, the term favored by Solomon R. Guggenheim himself to describe autonomous abstractions, from lyrical expressionism to geometric constructivism. Bauer began his career in Berlin at the onset of World War I, becoming a prominent figure in the avant-garde circle at Herwarth Walden's famed Galerie Der Sturm alongside fellow luminaries Paul Klee, Franz Marc and Wassily Kandinsky. It was the latter artist who influenced Bauer most, and their shared passion for spiritualism and musically-derived improvisation in art led them to collaboratively refine their styles and theories and exhibit together often throughout the late 1910s and early 1920s.

Bauer's daring new brand of abstraction was first exposed to the American public in 1920, when the renowned collector and Société Anonyme co-founder Katherine Dreier purchased a major oil at Der Sturm and exhibited it in New York to rave reviews. Despite these early accolades, Bauer's true success came seven years later when copper magnate and then-fledgling art collector Solomon Guggenheim was shown works by Bauer and Kandinsky by German artist, art advisor and future Guggenheim Foundation director Hilla Rebay. Guggenheim was enthralled by the vanguard genius of Non-objective art, and he devoted himself to building what is now one of the world's greatest modern art collections around the primacy of Bauer and Kandinsky. Guggenheim acquired hundreds of Bauer's works over the years and in 1939 went so far as to preemptively purchase the artist's entire estate. He filled his massive suite at the Plaza Hotel exclusively with Bauer's work, gave Bauer funds to create a museum devoted to Non-objective art in Germany and even entrusted Bauer to purchase works from other emerging European artists on his behalf. As a result Bauer was personally responsible for selecting many of the greatest works by Kandinsky in the Guggenheim collection, though a letter from Hilla Rebay to Bauer reveals that in one case, "Mr. Guggenheim likes the Kandinsky very much but [he likes] yours better. He would like all your most recent works. He is very excited and wants nothing else in his bedroom" (quoted in Joan M. Lukach, Hilla Rebay: In Search of the Spirit in Art, New York, 1983, p. 58).