Rudolf Bauer (artist) - Arrival in The United States

Arrival in The United States

Bauer arrived in New York City just after the official opening of the Museum of Non-Objective Painting, in midtown Manhattan. Located at 24 East 54th Street, the new museum was unlike anything the New York art world had seen. The floors as well as the walls were carpeted, and the large paintings hung in oversized frames very close to the ground. The museum played recordings by Bach, Beethoven, and Chopin constantly and exclusively. Bauer’s work Orange Accent was featured on the invitation to the opening exhibition titled The Art of Tomorrow.

Bauer lived with Rebay for a few months before moving to one of Guggenheim’s homes in Deal, New Jersey, an upscale and beautiful but isolated coastal town. At this point, Guggenheim proposed a contract with Bauer. Bauer, not properly understanding the English of the contract signed it, having been assured that his concerns were met. He thought he was to receive a lump-sum amount for 110 paintings he had already furnished Guggenheim. Instead Guggenheim put that amount ($300,000) in trust for Bauer to receive a monthly stipend. He was also now obligated to leave his future work to the Foundation. As part of this contract, Bauer also received the last payment for a Duesenberg car body custom designed by Bauer.

Bauer’s life’s work had become completely tied up in the Foundation, and he had been assured he would have a role in running it. This proved quickly not to be the case, and Bauer became very upset about the fate of his paintings. He stopped painting altogether, and made no further works the rest of his life, evidently not wanting to give the Foundation the satisfaction of having any more of his work. Eventually Bauer’s relationship with Rebay became very strained, culminating in a libel suit against Rebay because Rebay had insulted Bauer’s new wife, his maid Louise Huber, whom he had married in 1944.

In 1949 things changed drastically for Rebay when Solomon Guggenheim died. Within a couple of years of Solomon’s death the trustees abandoned Guggenheim’s original vision for the collection. Hilla Rebay was asked to step down as curator, and all of Guggenheim’s Non-Objective collection was sent to storage. In 1953 Rudolf Bauer died of lung cancer. The newly renamed Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum opened in 1959 without a single work of Bauer’s on its walls.