| 1889 |
|
Born in Lindenwald, Germany (now Poland), the son of an engine fitter. |
| 1904-1910 |
|
Settles in Berlin and publishes elaborate cartoons and illustrations for newspapers and magazines.
Studies at the Academy of Fine Arts, Berlin. |
| 1912 |
|
Art dealer Herwarth Walden opens the avant-garde Galerie Der Sturm. Bauer meets Walden, who will support his work for the next fifteen years. |
| 1915 |
|
Exhibits in Galerie Der Sturm group show for the first time. |
| 1916 |
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Through the Der Sturm group, meets Hilla Rebay von Ehrenwiesen, a twenty-five-year-old baroness and art student. |
| 1917 |
|
First solo exhibition at Galerie Der Sturm; includes 120 abstract works. |
| 1918 |
|
Writes first important theoretical essay, "The Cosmic Movement."
Second solo exhibition at Galerie Der Sturm.
Exhibits in Der Sturm group show at Georg Kleis Kunsthandel, Copenhagen.
Co-founds the Novembergruppe with Rudolf Belling, Otto Freundlich, and Max Pechstein. |
| 1919 |
|
Shares studio with Rebay.
Founds short-lived art group with Rebay and Otto Nebel called Die Krater. |
| 1920 |
|
Third solo show at Galerie Der Sturm.
Exhibits work in Rome as part of a Novembergruppe exhibition organized by Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, the founder of Futurism and a friend of Bauer
Katherine Dreier founds the Société Anonyme; its fall exhibition, held November 1- December 15 in New York, includes works by Bauer, Man Ray, Kurt Schwitters, and others. |
| 1921 |
|
Included in five Société Anonyme exhibitions, among them a show at the Worcester Art Museum, Worcester, Mass.
Writes "Manifesto of Painting," which serves as the main text for the publication celebrating the 100th exhibition by the Der Sturm group. Graphic work reproduced in "Monatsschrift für Kultur und die Kunste," also published by Galerie Der Sturm.
Publishes a lithograph as part of a Bauhaus portfolio. |
| 1922 |
|
Included in Société Anonyme exhibitions at Smith College, Northampton Mass., and Detroit Institute of Fine Arts, among others. |
| 1923 |
|
Exhibits at Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, N.Y., as part of a Société Anonyme show.
Der Sturm publishes 175-page volume, Einblick in Kunst, Expressionismus, Futurismus, Kubismus, documenting the 150th exhibition since its founding. |
| 1926 |
|
Included in the exhibition Grosse berliner Kunstausstellung. |
| 1927 |
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Hilla Rebay sails to the United States; Solo exhibition Royal Palace, Berlin. |
| 1928 |
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Rebay meets the wealthy philanthropist Solomon R. Guggenheim and begins a portrait commission. As she paints him she encourages Guggenheim to start a collection of Non-Objective art. |
| 1930 |
|
Meets Kandinsky at Dessau, where he is teaching at the Bauhaus.
Rebay travels to Europe with the Guggenheims to introduce them to the Non-Objective artists in person. They meet Kandinsky in Dessau and Bauer in Berlin.
Bauer founds his own gallery in Berlin, in part with funds supplied by Guggenheim, through Rebay, in exchange for paintings. He calls it Das Geistreich, which translates as Realm of the Spirit, but also means ingenious. |
| 1931 |
|
Produces a deluxe portfolio titled Das Geistreich, which includes writings on Non-Objective art and reproductions of his work.
Lectures in German schools and universities. |
| 1932 |
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Mounts exhibition at Das Geistreich: Werke von Kandinsky und Bauer.
Walden closes Galerie Der Sturm and moves to Russia. |
| 1933 |
|
Included in the exhibition Modern European Art at the Museum of Modern Art, New York. His painting Symphony, in the Guggenheim collection, is featured on the cover of the museum's bulletin. |
| 1934 |
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Exhibits again at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, in Modern Works of Art. |
| 1935 |
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Publishes a manifesto, "Eppure Si Muove" ("And Still It Moves"). |
| 1936 |
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Guggenheim publicly exhibits his Collection of Non-Objective Paintings for the first time, at the Gibbes Memorial Art Gallery in Charleston, S.C. Bauer attends this exhibition, his first visit to the U.S. A solo exhibition follows at the Arts Club of Chicago, which he also visits.
Returns to Berlin. |
| 1937 |
|
Guggenheim collection presented at the Philadelphia Art Alliance.
Work is included in Degenerate Art show in Munich.
Included in Innovation, une nouvelle ére artistique at the Galerie Chanth, Paris; Bauer's Points (1936) is reproduced on exhibition catalogue cover.
Large group exhibition, Origines et développement de l'art international indépendant, takes place at the Musée du Jeu de Paume (an annex of the Louvre for modern work) in Paris and includes Bauer; museum acquires one painting by Bauer.
Visits both Paris exhibitions, returning to Berlin after each show.
The Nazis order Das Geistreich to be closed. |
| 1938 |
|
Is arrested by the Nazi government around March in Berlin and placed in a Gestapo prison.
Second exhibition of Guggenheim collection at Gibbes Memorial Art Gallery, takes place.
Is released in July with the help of Rebay and Guggenheim and following two meetings between Franz-Hugo von Rebay, Hilla's brother, and the Gestapo prison officials. |
| 1939 |
|
Exhibition of Guggenheim collection at the Baltimore Museum of Art; handbook of collection is published, which includes 415 Non-Objective works and 309 works "with an object." Collection has 215 Bauer works and 103 works by Kandinsky.
The Museum of Non-Objective Painting, housing the Guggenheim collection and curated by Hilla Rebay, opens on June 1 at 24 East 54th Street in Manhattan, one block away from the Museum of Modern Art. The exhibition is called the Art of Tomorrow. The gallery concept and design are strongly influenced by Bauer's Das Geistreich.
Selections from the Guggenheim collection are included in Le Salon des Réalités Nouvelles, an exhibition organized in part by artist Robert Delaunay for the Galerie Charpentier in Paris.
Arrives in the United States in August. Lives several months with Rebay at her home in Greens Farms, Connecticut, eventually moving to a house in Deal, New Jersey.
Signs infamous contract with Guggenheim, in which he unwittingly agrees to "sell" 110 works to the Guggenheim Foundation in exchange for a monthly stipend based on interest income instead of a lump-sum payment. Will dispute the contract terms and the Foundation's control of his art for the rest of his life. |
| 1941-1945 |
|
Included in Guggenheim Foundation loan shows at the San Diego Art Gallery; galleries in Massilon, Ohio, and Springfield, Mass.; Dallas Art Museum; Pennsylvania State Center; The Arts Club, Washington, D.C.; a museum in La Plata, Argentina; and Everhart Museum, Scranton, Pa. |
| 1942-1943 |
|
Rebay, still a German citizen, is briefly arrested by the U.S. government for possible Nazi connections (unfounded). Ironically, Bauer is allowed total freedom because he was rescued from the Nazis. In Rebay's absence, takes over briefly as the Foundation's director, a role he has long desired. Guggenheim, however, reconfirms Rebay as director, when she is cleared of the charges. |
| 1943 |
|
Through Rebay, Frank Lloyd Wright is commissioned to design a museum as a permanent home for the Guggenheim collection. This decision infuriates Bauer who had been led to believe the architect would be a German, perhaps a former Bauhaus instructor, several of whom are living in the United States. |
| 1944 |
|
Bauer marries Louise Huber, a German-speaking Austrian woman hired originally as his maid. This fact greatly upsets Rebay, who insults Louise in writing. Bauer sues Rebay for slander. This represents the final personal, though not artistic, rift between the two, and begins to alienate Guggenheim from Bauer. |
| 1945 |
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Rebay wins the slander suit against her. |
| 1946 |
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Included in Cubist and Non-Objective Paintings, John Herron Art Museum, Indianapolis. |
| 1947 |
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Included in the second Salon des Réalités Nouvelles, Paris; exhibition travels to Mannheim and Zurich. |
| 1948 |
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The Museum of Non-Objective Painting moves to 1071 Fifth Avenue (where the current Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum now stands). Museum presents a group exhibition of its permanent collection, which includes Bauer's work. |
| 1949 |
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Solomon R. Guggenheim dies at age 88.
Tenth Anniversary exhibition takes place at the Guggenheim Museum, New York. |
| 1950 |
|
Included in exhibition at Galerie Ferdinand Möller, Berlin. |
| 1952 |
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Included in Evolution to Non-Objectivity, Guggenheim Museum, New York.
Hilla Rebay is forced to resign from the directorship of the Guggenheim Foundation by Harry Guggenheim and is replaced by James Johnson Sweeney. Subsequently most of the Bauer collection is relegated to the Museum's storage. |
| 1953 |
|
Dies of lung cancer at his home in Deal, on November 28, at the age of 64. |
| 1955 |
|
Art of Tomorrow: Bauer—Kandinsky—Rebay, Exhibition of Non-Objective Painting takes place at Florida Southern College, Lakeland. |
| 1959 |
|
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, opens with a group exhibition, in which Bauer is not included. Wright has died six months prior to the building's completion; Rebay is not invited to the opening. |
| 1967 |
|
Rebay dies at her home at age 77.
Included in Seven Decades, A Selection, at the Guggenheim Museum. |
| 1968 |
|
Acquisitions of the 1930s and 1940s, a tribute exhibition to Rebay takes place at the Guggenheim Museum and includes works by Bauer. |
| 1969 |
|
Solo exhibition at Galerie Gmurzynska, Cologne. |
| 1970 |
|
Solo exhibition at Hutton-Hutschnecker Gallery, New York.
Solo exhibition at Städtisches Museum, Wiesbaden.
Solo exhibition at Galerie Withofs, Brussels.
Included in the exhibition The Non-Objective World: 1914-1924, Annely Juda Fine Art, London. |
| 1972 |
|
Included in The Museum of Non-Objective Painting at Washburn Gallery, New York. |
| 1973 |
|
Included in the exhibition The Non-Objective World: 1914-1955, Annely Juda Fine Art, London, an expanded version of its 1970 exhibition; it travels to the University Art Museum, The University of Texas, Austin.
Comprehensive solo exhibition at Galerie Gmurzynska, Cologne.
Solo exhibition at Galerie Valentien, Stuttgart. |
| 1974 |
|
Included in De Stijl: Circle et Carré, Galerie Gmurzynska, Cologne.
Solo exhibition at Galleria del Levante, Milan. |
| 1976 |
|
Solo exhibition, Rudolf Bauer 1889-1953: The Constructivist Years, at Leonard Hutton Galleries, New York.
Included in The Guggenheim Museum Collection: Paintings 1880-945, Guggenheim Museum, New York. |
| 1981 |
|
Included in Herwarth Walden and Der Sturm: Artist and Publications, La Boetie Gallery, New York. |
| 1985 |
|
Retrospective exhibition, Rudolf Bauer 1889-1953 takes place at the 20er Haus (Museum of the Twentieth Century), Vienna: travels to Stäatliche Kunsthalle, Berlin.
Included in Vom Klang der Bilder: Die Musik in der Kunst des 20 Jahrhunderts, Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart.
Included in The Twenties in Germany, CDR Fine Arts Ltd., London. |
| 1987 |
|
Solo exhibition at Borghi & Co., New York. |
| 1988 |
|
Rudolf Bauer, Rolph Scarlett, Hilla Rebay takes place at Sid Deutsch Gallery, New York.
Rudolf Bauer: Bilder aus den 1930er Jahren und satirische Zeichnungen 1910-1930 at Galerie & Edition Schlegl, Zurich. |
| 1989 |
|
Rudolf Bauer: Centennial Exhibition, organized by Portico New York, takes place; travels to Fiorella Urbinati Gallery, Los Angeles; Cologne Art Fair; Struve Gallery, Chicago; and Philadelphia Art Alliance. |
| 1991 |
|
Included in "Degenerate Art": The Fate of the Avant-Garde in Nazi Germany, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, which travels to the Art Institute of Chicago. |
| 1992 |
|
Rudolf Bauer: Paintings, Watercolors and Graphics at Harcourts Modern, San Francisco. |
| 1995 |
|
Included in Die neue Wirklichkeit: Abstraktion als Weltentwurf at the Wilhelm-Hack-Museum, Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Germany.
Included in Champions of Modernism: Non-Objective Art of the 1930s and 40s and Its Legacy, which travels through 1998 to: Castle Gallery, College of New Rochelle, N.Y.; Mary Washington College Galleries, Fredericksburg, Va.; Gibbes Museum of Art, Charleston, S.C.; Sunrise Museum of Art, Charleston, W.V.; Brevard Museum of Art and Science, Melbourne, Fla.; and Polk Museum of Art, Lakeland, Fla.
Included in Okkultismus und Avantgarde, Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt. |
| 1996 |
|
Included in Abstraction in the 20th Century: Total Risk, Freedom, Discipline, at the Guggenheim Museum, New York.
Included in The Museum of Non-Objective Painting at Snyder Fine Art, New York. |
| 1999 |
|
Included in The American Century: Art and Culture, 1900-1950, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York. |
| 2000 |
|
Included in Four Non-Objective Painters at Katharina Rich Perlow Gallery, New York.
The Art of Rudolf Bauer: From Berlin to New York 1910-1940 at Connaught Brown Gallery, London. |
| 2003 |
|
Included in The Omnipotent Dream: Man Ray, Confluences and Influences, Turchin Center for the Visual Arts, Appalachian State University, Boone, N.C. |
| 2004 |
|
Included in European Art between the Wars, Nassau County Museum of Art, Roslyn Harbor, N.Y. |
| 2005 |
|
Rudolf Bauer: Berlin Drawings and Prints of the 1920s and 1930s at the Boca Raton Museum of Art, Boca Raton, Fla.
Art of Tomorrow: Hilla Rebay and Solomon R. Guggenheim at the Guggenheim Museum, New York, includes many works by Bauer; it travels in 2005-06 to Museum Villa Stuck, Munich, and Schlossmuseum Murnau; and Deutsche Guggenheim, Berlin.
Solo exhibition, Master Drawings from the Concentration Camps, at Tobey Fine Arts, New York. (Bauer was never actually in a concentration camp; his confinement was in a Gestapo prison.)
Included in Hilla Rebay: A Baroness in Westport, Westport Historical Society, Westport, Conn.
Included in Hilla Rebay and The Museum of Non-Objective Painting at DC Moore Gallery, New York. |
| 2006 |
|
Part of the Société Anonyme: Modernism for America exhibition at the Armand Hammer Museum at the University of California, Los Angeles; it will travel through 2010 to The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C.; Dallas Museum of Art; Frist Center for Visual Arts, Nashville; and Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Conn.
Included in an exhibition of work from the Guggenheim Museum collection at Kunst-und Ausstelungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Bonn, and the Kunstmuseum Bonn. |
| 2007 |
|
Comprehensive solo exhibition at Weinstein Gallery, San Francisco. |
