ART OF TOMORROW: Catalogue of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Collection of Non-Objective Paintings Exhibited at 24 East 54th Street, New York City, Opening June 1st, 1939.

This original catalogue, which accompanied the 1939 exhibition Art of Tomorrow was published by the S. R. Guggenheim Foundation, Carnegie Hall, New York City, 1939. First edition, first printing. Includes an essay on Non-Objective art, "The Power of Spiritual Rhythm," by Hilla Rebay. Non-Objective art was Guggenheim's adjective for Abstract art. Features the work of Rudolf Bauer and Vasily Kandinsky. Softcover, illustrated card wraps with linen spine, 11" x 8.5", 182 pages, richly illustrated with 32 full page color reproductions of Bauer and Kandinsky's abstract geometric paintings beautifully printed on one side of each leaf, many have shimmering metallic ink margins, additionally illustrated with 415 paintings reproduced in black and white along with artist biographies. Artists include Fernand Leger, Kurt Schwitters, Ladislaus Moholy-Nagy, Otto Nebel, Hilla Rebay, Pablo Picasso, Ben Nicholson, John Ferren, Robert Delaunay, Penrod Centurion, Josette Coefin, Cesar Domela, Albert Gleizes, Juan Gris, W. Schwab, Viera de Silva, Rolph Scarlett, Styrsky, Toyen, George Valmier, Edward Wadsworth, Vordenberge-Gildewart, Henri Rousseau, Paul Klee, and Jean Xceron. The collection is clearly delineated between non-objective work and drawings and paintings with an objective departure leaning toward non-objectivity. The list of the complete collection in the catalogue reflects this distinction. GOOD Condition: complete as issued, covers are smudged, finger soiled and the linen spine covering is quite worn, internally just some light signs of age and use otherwise bright, tight, clean, and unmarked. A respectable copy of this uncommon 1939 exhibition catalogue.

Rudolf Bauer (American, born Germany 1889-1953), a painter whose lyrical abstractionist geometric forms evoke a hidden mysticism. He experimented with Cubism, Futurism, and Constructivism, was involved in the avant-garde group Der Sturm in Berlin, and whose work was central to the non-objective art collection of Solomon R. Guggenheim. In 1937 his work was included in the Nazi regime's Degenerate Art exhibition in Munich that showcased deviant modern abstract art, Bauer was arrested as a degenerate artist and incarcerated by the Gestapo until he was released, thanks to Solomon R. Guggenheim. He immigrated to the US in 1939. Following his death, Guggenheim's family removed Bauer's work from the collection out of jealously over a love triangle but that's another story. Since the majority of his work was held by the collection, Bauer's work remained hidden from the public until the 1990s.

Baroness Hilla von Rebay (American, born Germany 1890-1967), a charismatic and eccentric young artist who would go on to become the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum's founding director. She almost single handedly introduced Non-Objective painting to the American public, and through her influence, Mr. Guggenheim became one of Bauer's greatest supporters, collecting almost three hundred canvases by the artist. For his part, Bauer became a de facto co-curator for the Guggenheim's collection of modern art. After Solomon Guggenheim died in 1949, the family expelled her from the board of directors because of the aforementioned love triangle.