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Hilla von Rebay

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Hilla Rebay
Hilla von Rebay in 1924, byLászló Moholy-Nagy
Born
Hildegard Anna Augusta Elisabeth Rebay von Ehrenwiesen

(1890-05-31)31 May 1890
Strasbourg,Alsace-Lorraine,German Empire
Died27 September 1967(1967-09-27)(aged 77)
Greens Farms, Connecticut,United States
Resting placeTeningen,Germany
NationalityGerman
Occupation(s)Artist, museum director
EmployerSolomon R. Guggenheim Museum
SuccessorJames Johnson Sweeney
Parent(s)BaronFranz Josef Rebay von Ehrenwiesen
Antonie von Eicken

Hildegard Anna Augusta Elisabeth Freiin[1]Rebay von Ehrenwiesen,known asBaroness Hilla von Rebayor simplyHilla Rebay(31 May 1890 – 27 September 1967), was anabstractartist in the early 20th century and co-founder and first director of theSolomon R. Guggenheim Museum.[1]She was a key figure in advisingSolomon R. Guggenheimto collectabstract art,a collection that would later form the basis of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum collection. She was also influential in selectingFrank Lloyd Wrightto design the current Guggenheim museum, which is now known as amodernisticon in New York City.

Early life and education[edit]

Hilla von Rebay was born into a Germanaristocraticfamily inStrasbourg,Alsace–Lorraine,then part of theGerman Empire.[2]She was the second child ofBaronFranz Josef Rebay von Ehrenwiesen, an officer in thePrussian Army,and his wife, Antonie von Eicken.[3][4]She showed an early aptitude for art and she studied at the CologneKunstgewerbeschuleduring the academic year 1908/09.[5]She then attended theAcadémie Julianin Paris from 1909 until 1910, where she received traditional training in landscape, portraiture, genre and history painting.[6]Her portraiture skills supported her before she turned to more abstract art.[7]Under the influence of the GermanJugendstilpainterFritz Erler,Rebay moved to Munich in 1910 where she lived until 1911. Here, she began to develop her interest in modern art.[5]

Invited by Dr. Arnold Fortlage, Rebay participated in her first exhibition at theCologneKunstvereinin 1912. Fortlage was the author of the foreword to the 1911Ferdinand Hodlerexhibition in Munich, which inspired Rebay greatly to pursue her interest in modern art.[5]

In March 1913, Rebay was exhibited alongsideArchipenko,Brâncuși,Chagall,Robert Delaunay,Gleizes,Diego RiveraandOtto van Rees[nl]at theSalon des Indépendantsin Paris. This experience, however, was disheartening for Rebay, who seemed to judge her own work as inadequate.[5]In 1915, Rebay metHans (Jean) Arpin Zurich. This meeting was extremely influential upon Rebay's artistic taste, since it was through Arp that she was introduced to thenon-objectivemodern art works ofKandinsky,Klee,Franz Marc,Chagall andRudolf Bauer.[5]At this time, Rebay was also introduced toHerwarth Waldenand the avant-gardeGalerie Der Sturmin Berlin.[6]In 1920, she, along with Bauer andOtto Nebelfounded the artist groupDer Krater.[8]

Career in the United States[edit]

In January 1927, Rebay immigrated to the United States and settled in New York City.[2]An avid art collector, she became a friend and confidante ofSolomon R. Guggenheim,and helped advise his art purchases.[1]In particular, she encouraged him to purchase non-objective art by Rudolf Bauer and Kandinsky.[1]

The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum

These purchases later founded the basis of theSolomon R. Guggenheim Foundation's Museum of Non-Objective Painting, which opened in 1939 in a showroom located at 24 East 54th Street.[2]The first exhibition, entitledArt of Tomorrow,opened on June 1, 1939.[2]Rebay served as the director of the museum until 1952.[6]The next director wasJames Johnson Sweeney,who had previously been a curator at theMuseum of Modern Art.[9]

In June 1943, Rebay wrote to the noted architectFrank Lloyd Wrightto commission a "museum-temple" to house the growing collection.[1]While the new museum was being designed, the Museum of Non-Objective Painting moved to a townhouse located at 1071Fifth Avenue,the intended location of the new building, where Rebay continued to organize exhibitions.[2]When ground was finally broken in 1956, the collection was temporarily moved to a townhouse at 7 East 72nd Street.[10]The new museum opened on October 21, 1959, as theSolomon R. Guggenheim Museum.[2]

Rebay was acknowledged to have excellent taste inmodern art.She continued to paint and achieved some recognition for her abstract works. Although she was long a confidante to Solomon Guggenheim, others in the family found her personally difficult, especially his niecePeggy.After Solomon Guggenheim died in 1949, the family expelled her from the board of directors.[11]

When the museum was completed, Rebay was not invited for the opening.[12]She never set foot in the museum she helped create.[13]Embittered, Rebay retreated from public life and spent her final years at her estate inWestport, Connecticut.[14]

After her death in 1967, she was buried according to her wishes in her family grave inTeningen,Germany.[15]

Legacy and honors[edit]

Gravestone inTeningen,Germany

Following Rebay's death in 1967, part of her extensive personal collection of art was given to the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum as theHilla Rebay Collection,which includes works by artists such as Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, Albert Gleizes andKurt Schwitters.[1]

Hilla von Rebay House in Teningen

In 2012 a Hilla von Rebay Association was founded in Teningen dedicated to the memory of Rebay and her work.[16]It operates a museum in her parents' house, which they purchased in 1919 and which she donated to Teningen after their deaths, with the request that it be used for a good purpose.[17]

  • 2004, the German documentary filmmaker Sigrid Faltin made the filmThe Guggenheim and the Baroness: The Story of Hilla Rebay.[18]
  • In 2005, a companion bookDie Baroness und das Guggenheim Hilla von Rebay – Eine Deutsche Künstlerin in New Yorkwas published.[19]
  • In 2005, nearly forty years after her death, the Guggenheim Museum honored Rebay with a special exhibition dedicated to her role in the foundation and her collection, entitledArt of Tomorrow: Hilla Rebay and Solomon R. Guggenheim(May 20 – August 10, 2005). It opened in New York and traveled to Europe.[20]
  • The Hilla von Rebay Foundationwas established in her name at the Guggenheim Museum to promote non-objective art.[21]
  • TheHilla Rebay International Fellowshipwas founded in 2001 to offer a current graduate student the opportunity to undertake a paid rotating position at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao and the Peggy Guggenheim Museum in Venice.[22]
  • In 2014, Rebay was depicted inBauer,a play about the life and art ofRudolf Bauerand his relationship with Rebay. The play had its world premiere atSan Francisco Playhouse.[23]
  • In 2017, a selection of Rebay's work was on view at theSolomon R. Guggenheim Museumin New York as part of the Visionaries: Creating a Modern Guggenheim exhibition.[24][25]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^Regarding personal names:Freiinis a title, translated asBaroness,not a first or middle name. The title is for the unmarried daughters of aFreiherr.

References

  1. ^abcde"The Hilla Rebay Collection"Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  2. ^abcdef"Art of Tomorrow: Hilla Rebay and Solomon R. Guggenheim"Archived2017-04-14 at theWayback Machine.Deutsche Guggenheim. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
  3. ^Barbara Sicherman; Carol Hurd Green (1980).Notable American Women: The Modern Period.Harvard University Press. p.571.ISBN978-0-674-62733-8.Retrieved18 December2017.
  4. ^Hall, Lee (October 1984)."The Passions of Hilla Rebay".The New Criterion.newcriterion. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
  5. ^abcdeLukach, Joan (1983).Hilla Rebay: In Search of the Spirit in Art.New York: G. Braziller.ISBN0807610674.OCLC9828422.
  6. ^abc"Hilla von Rebay Foundation Archive".Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
  7. ^"Hilla Rebay".Retrieved14 August2022.
  8. ^"Hilla Rebay".The Art Story.Retrieved30 July2022.
  9. ^Glueck, Grace(April 15, 1986)."James Johnson Sweeney Dies".The New York Times.Retrieved 25 June 2014.
  10. ^"Guggenheim Architecture Timeline".Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. guggenheim.org. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  11. ^"The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum".The Art Story Foundation. theartstory.org. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
  12. ^Hansen, Eric T. (May 2005)."The Forgotten Baroness".The Atlantic Times.Retrieved 29 January 2014.
  13. ^Knöfel, Ulrike (March 21, 2005)."The German Artist Who Inspired the Museum Gets Her Due in New Show".Der Spiegel.Retrieved1 September2017.
  14. ^"The Dream of Non-Objectivity"Archived2012-11-27 at theWayback Machine.DB Artmag.Retrieved 29 January 2014.
  15. ^Biography, p. 3Archived2014-01-29 atarchive.todayat "The Baroness". Retrieved 29 January 2014.
  16. ^"Gründung des Fördervereins"[Founding of the Association] (in German). Förderverein Hilla von Rebay.Retrieved1 September2017.
  17. ^"Geschichte des Hauses"[History of the House] (in German).Retrieved1 September2017.
  18. ^The Rebay ProjectArchived2009-06-17 at theWayback Machineat "The Baroness"
  19. ^Die Baroness und das Guggenheim Hilla von Rebay – Eine Deutsche Künstlerin in New YorkArchived2007-06-26 at theWayback Machineat "The Baroness"
  20. ^"Art of Tomorrow: Hilla Rebay and Solomon R. Guggenheim"Archived2014-02-02 at theWayback Machine,press release May 2005, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
  21. ^"The Hilla Rebay Foundation Grant"Archived2014-02-13 at theWayback Machine,Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, retrieved 29 January 2014.
  22. ^"Hilla Rebay International Fellowship"Archived2014-02-02 at theWayback MachineSolomon R. Guggenheim Museum, retrieved 29 January 2014.
  23. ^""Lauren Gunderson's new playBauertackles art and history "".Archived fromthe originalon 2014-03-22.Retrieved2014-03-24.
  24. ^Visionaries: Creating a Modern Guggenheim,Guggenheim Museum
  25. ^D'arcy, David (February 17, 2017)."Cosmic collectors: how the Guggenheim family came into its art".Archived fromthe originalon February 24, 2017.RetrievedFebruary 24,2017.

External links[edit]

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