"I consider myself to be primarily a painter, and painting is the continuous link connecting the various facets of my work. If one is born a painter, one has to paint." - herbert bayer 1967
1900 born in Haag, Austria. 1912 Bayer family moved to Linz, Austria. 1919 became apprentice to architect George Schmidthammer - architecture and decorative arts. 1920 assistant to architect Emanuel Margold - graphic design and typography. 1921-1923 enrolled in Bauhaus, Weimar- studied mural painting under Kandinsky and created universal alphabet in which no capital were used. 1923-1924 traveled in Italy, earning a living as a house painter. 1924 continued to work as a house painter in Berchtesgaden, Germany. 1925-1928 taught typography and graphic design as a master at Bauhaus, Dessau. 1928-1938 worked in Berlin, Germany as a painter, photographer, graphic designer, and exhibition architect. Director of Dorland Studio and art director of Vogue. 1938-1946 moved to the New York, continued working as a painter, graphic artist, exhibition planner, and teacher. Director of art and design for Dorland International, and designed exhibition Bauhaus 1919-1928. 1946-1985 moved to Aspen, Colorado as a design consultant for the development of Aspen. Continued working as a painter, designer, architect, and design consultant. While in Aspen, Bayer broadened his practice as an artist to include sculpture, environmental art, tapestries, carpets, wall hangings, and writing.
"It should be remembered that the total personality is involved in the creative process. It is not performed by the skilled hand alone, not conducted by the intellect alone, but by a unified process in which 'head, heart, and hand' play a simultaneous role." - herbert bayer 1984
This information was compiled by Tim Piper (2-14-97).