Herbert & Joella Bayer
painter.designer.architect & manager.networker.sponsor

Herbert Bayer (1900 – 1985) was one of the most versatile twentieth-century artists to emerge from Upper Austria. Having initially gained kudos from the national socialist regime for his graphic work, the Bauhaus artist was declared ​“degenerate” in 1937. He emigrated to the United States in 1938, but the beginnings of his international career predate his emigration. Bayer became a prototype of the new, universal artist.

The daughter of famous writer, artist, and feminist Mina Loy, Joella Bayer (1907 – 2004) was not only in charge of her husband’s artistic legacy. She managed Herbert’s existence as an artist, served as a muse for the likes of Salvador Dalí and Man Ray, and put outstanding personalities from business and the art scene in touch with one another.

This exhibition allows a first-time insight into the lives of Joella and Herbert Bayer, their networks, friendships, and their generous donations to the Lentos. Works owned by the Lentos are complemented with loans from private collectors based in the US and photographs by Isa Gropius and Irene Bayer-Hecht from the Bauhaus Archive.