HERBERT BAYER (1900-1985) Mountain Picture signed and dated 'herbert bayer 31' (lower center) oil on canvas 16 1/8 x 23 1/4 in (41 x 59 cm) Painted in 1931/5 Footnotes: Provenance Galerie Lopes AG, Zurich. Suppan Fine Arts, Vienna. Acquired from the above by the present owner in 1997. Exhibited Boulder, Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, Vanguard Art in Colorado 1940-1970, September-December 1999. Denver, Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design, A Visual Voice: The Language of Herbert Bayer, September 6-October 1, 2005. Linz, Lentos Kunstmuseum Linz, Bayer und Die Moderne, May 8-August 2, 2009. Aspen, Resnick Center for Herbert Bayer Studies, Herbert Bayer: An Introduction, June 2022-April 2023. Best known for his contributions to the Bauhaus where he studied, taught, and would notably create the movement's eponymous typeface, Herbert Bayer was an interdisciplinary artist whose creative explorations extended far beyond the realm of design. Working across diverse media, Bayer's creative output knew no bounds as he explored painting, drawing, photography, sculpture and interior design. While the artist's creative practice and curiosity were limitless, a sense of continuity remains in his observations on the intersections of art, nature, and design-wherein mountains served as enduring inspiration across his disciplines. Executed in 1931, just three years after leaving the Bauhaus, Mountain Picture encapsulates Bayers' discerning eye and skillful creative hand at a pivotal moment in his career. Mountain Picture was executed during Bayer's time living in Berlin, when the artist was reaffirming his interest in painting, a passion that would endure for the remainder of his life. While the mountainous landscape in the background of the present work would be a visual precursor to his eventual settling in Aspen, Colorado, they also recall Bayer's upbringing in the mountainous village where he had grown up in Austria. Raised by a father who supported his creative ambition, Bayer eventually applied to art school and was accepted into the Bauhaus in 1917, where he would encounter and become close with his lifelong mentor, Wassily Kandinsky, and work alongside his colleague László Moholy-Nagy. Kandinsky's influence and Bayer's interest in surrealism are on full display in Mountain Picture, where the natural world is abstracted to as a reflection of one's emotional response to nature. This is illustrated here by seemingly opposing forces that dance together in a harmonious composition, celebrating equally the organic and the geometric. Challenging stylistic norms to achieve a unique result, Mountain Picture encapsulates Bayer's singularity as a genre-defying artist who dedicated his life to pushing boundaries through his creative outputs. In 1938, Bayer was invited to New York to design the seminal exhibition Bauhaus 1919-1928 at the Museum of Modern Art. By this point, Bayer had moved permanently to the United States, eventually becoming an essential figure at the Aspen Institute, where he would design the campus architecture for over two decades. Today, the Aspen Institute is home to the Resnick Center for Herbert Bayer Studies, an exhibition and educational center in Colorado that celebrates his legacy and achievements as an artist and designer. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing