Bauhaus 100

Herbert Bayer, bauhaus zeitschrift (bauhaus magazine), 1928. Herbert Bayer Collection and Archive, Denver Art Museum; department acquisition funds.

Bauhaus, the modernist art school that started in Germany in 1919, eventually found a somewhat unlikely second home in Aspen. 100 years after its formation, Aspen and groups throughout the Roaring Fork Valley will come together to celebrate its legacy and discuss its future

Herbert Bayer, egress with appendix, 1973. Acrylic on canvas. Denver Art Museum, Herbert Bayer Collection and Archive; gift of BP Corporation.

One of the leading figures of Bauhaus, Herbert Bayer was a student and a teacher at the Bauhaus and was considered one of the last of the Bauhaus Masters.

Relocating to Aspen in 1946 at the invitation of Walter and Elizabeth Paepcke to design the Aspen Institute, Bayer would go on to play a key role in transforming Aspen, partly by encouraging modern architecture.

Herbert Bayer, seasonal reflections III, 1980. Acrylic on canvas. Denver Art Museum; Gift of the Estate of Joella Bayer.

Bayer, while the leading figure, was by no means alone in encouraging Aspen to adopt Bauhaus aesthetics. Photographer Ferenc Berko, who was also a student at the Bauhaus, was also part of the Bauhaus-inspired metamorphosis of Aspen.

In addition to the 40-acre Aspen Institute campus, Bayer’s work can be seen in two of Aspen’s most iconic structures, the Wheeler Opera House and Hotel Jerome.

In Denver, a Bayer piece that is relatively well known, even if it goes by a more colloquial name, is his 85-foot “Articulated Wall,” known to many Denverites as the French fry sculpture.

Herbert Bayer, Ski in Aspen poster, 1946. Denver Art Museum Collection, Gift of the Estate of Herbert Bayer.

BAUHAUS TIMELINE

1919

Bauhaus was founded by architect Walter Gropius in Weimar, Germany

1928

Herbert Bayer departs Bauhaus shortly after Gropius leaves, and becomes the art director of Vogue Magazine’s German office.

1933

Bauhaus closes under political pressure and threats from the Nazi party

1937

Gropius relocates to the United States

1938

Bayer relocates to the United States, with only $25 to his name. That same year, the Paepckes attend an exhibit at MoMA in New York, which was designed by Bayer

1946

Bayer and his wife move to Aspen at the bequest of the Paepckes. That same year, Bayer builds Aspen Mountain’s first sun deck, standing at 11,000 feet.

1949

The Paepckes organized a gathering for Goethe’s 200th birthday in Aspen

1950

The Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies was founded by Walter Paepcke

1975

Bayer leaves Aspen

1985

Bayer dies at his home in Montecito

2008

The Aspen Institute and the Conservancy for Tibetan Art and Culture hosted the Dalai Lama in Aspen for a celebration of Tibetan art and culture

Herbert Bayer, Ski in Aspen poster. Denver Art Museum Collection, Gift of the Estate of Herbert Bayer.

Bayer and Bauhaus had such an impact on Aspen that the city of Aspen and the Roaring Fork Valley have come together to celebrate the 100-year anniversary of the short-lived art school with a series of events to celebrate its impact on Aspen and reignite the creative power that began a century ago.

Numerous local organizations will also join in the celebration. The Bauhaus festivities kick off in January and continue through August and include lectures, seminars and tours of the Aspen Institute campus among numerous other events.

Herbert Bayer, lonely metropolitan, 1932. Gelatin silver print. Denver Art Museum, Herbert Bayer Collection and Archive; gift of the Estate of Herbert Bayer.

June 7, 2019: The Bauhaus Ball - A free community celebration at the Wheeler Opera House with a Bauhaus-inspired costume contest, Bauhaus films and more.

June 24 - 28, 2019: Anderson Ranch: Fourth of July Parade Float Workshop - (for children only) Art workshop with participation in the Fourth of July parade

Aspen Meadows Resort

July 2019: The Bauhaus movement will turn its eyes to Aspen as Heike Hanada, architect of the new Bauhaus museum in Dessau, will be in Aspen giving a series of lectures at the Aspen Art Museum in July

Aug. 4 - 7, 2019: Aspen Institute Bauhaus Program Seminar— A deep dive into Bauhaus with lectures as well as Society of Fellows: Bauhaus Program

Aspen Meadows Resort

Ongoing events

Regularly scheduled tours of the Aspen Institute campus which was conceived and designed by Herbert Bayer with Bayer architecture, sculpture, earthworks, ceramics, paintings, photography, tapestries, and more.

Aspen Meadows Resort

The Aspen Historical Society - Herbert Bayer exhibition and Bauhaus-focused city tours