Art of Tomorrow: Hillay Rebay and Solomon R. Guggenheim

A talented artist who studied in Munich, Berlin, and Paris, Hilla Rebay embraced the idea of non-representational art as both a style and an aesthetic philosophy. At age 22 she began to exhibit and was introduced to the influential and avant-garde gallery Der Sturm in Berlin, where she was drawn to modern giants such as Marc Chagall, Vasily Kandinsky, and Paul Klee. When Rebay moved to America in 1927, she was commissioned by Solomon R. Guggenheim to paint his portrait, and from that point she began her mission to enlighten him with the art she so fervently supported. Rebay introduced Guggenheim to artists such as Kandinsky, and in 1937, he established the Solomon R. Guggenheim foundation for the magnificent collection he had purchased, based on Rebay's advice. In 1939, he and Rebay started the Museum of Non-objective painting, which, in 1959 opened as today's Guggenheim Museum in New York City. This catalogue, which accompanies the exhibition Art of Tomorrow: Hilla Rebay and Solomon R. Guggenheim, shows Rebay not only as a director and curator, but also as a prolific artist--her early abstract watercolors, drawings, abstract and figurative collages, and large-scale non-objective paintings are featured here. Also included are early masterpieces by Rebay's artist colleagues and friends Arp, Bauer, Kandinsky, Richter, and others. Not only a testament to Rebay's artistic and curatorial prowess, this book also gives touching insight into the extraordinary collaboration between her and Solomon R. Guggenheim, which resulted in one of the world's finest collections of early 20th century modernism.

by : Vivian Endicott Barnett and Robert Rosenblum