Architectural Blue

Herbert Bayer, artist

1900–1985

Architectural Blue, 1958

Where object was made: United States

Material/technique: oil; canvas

Dimensions:
Canvas/Support (Height x Width x Depth): 127 x 152.4 cm
Canvas/Support (Height x Width x Depth): 50 x 60 in

Credit line: Gift of Curtis Besinger in memory of Frederic A. "Fritz" and Fabienne "Fabi" Benedict

Accession number: 1998.0723

Not on display

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Born in Austria, Bayer initially studied architecture in Darmstadt, Germany, and became a key figure in the Bauhaus movement, which profoundly influenced 20th-century design. In Architectural Blue, ideas stemming from the Bauhaus such as the integration of design concepts with painted forms plus architectural elements are unified by the blue and orange color scheme. Bayer served as student, teacher, advocate, and director of the Bauhaus in the 1920s, and he is credited with creating the universal alphabet, a typeface in lowercase that became the signature font of the Bauhaus.

Archive Label 2003:
Bayer was an extremely important figure to the Bauhaus movement, which was founded in Germany and profoundly influenced twentieth-century design. Bauhaus principles called for a total integration of the arts and for an awareness of the technology and materials of industrial production. In 1921 Bayer, who had no previous artistic training, joined the Bauhaus. Just four years later, Bayer was appointed as one of its directors and served in this capacity until 1928.

Bayer immigrated to the United States in 1938. Here he continued to spread the Bauhaus tenets of unification of the arts. In 1946 he was named the design consultant for the development of Aspen, Colorado, as a ski resort and the architect of the Aspen Institute of Humanistic Studies.