Created during Rudolf Bauer’s imprisonment by the Gestapo for producing so-called Entartete Kunst (“degenerate art”), this intimate drawing carries a quiet but powerful intensity. Composed of geometric shapes,  the work reveals Bauer’s unwavering commitment to abstraction even under duress.
Drawn on humble packing paper, the composition might suggest an imagined landscape — or perhaps the bow of a ship, pointing toward the unknown. One could read this as a vision of escape: the artist dreaming of freedom, exile, and a new life across the ocean in America, where he would later emigrate and help shape the early Solomon R. Guggenheim Collection.
Bauer (1889–1953) was a central figure in the development of Non-Objective art and a key influence on Hilla Rebay and Solomon R. Guggenheim. His work was celebrated internationally before being censored by the Nazi regime. The emotional resonance of this drawing lies not only in its historical context, but in its quiet defiance — abstraction as a form of survival and hope.

Provenance
Stanford Auctioneers, Phoenix, AZ, Auction 13.10.2023, Lot 745
Collection Henning Lohner, Berlin