The Daily Heller: Berman’s Post-Bauhaus Moholy-Nagy

Posted inThe Daily Heller
By Steven HellerPosted  ∙  2 min. read

It’s back-to-school time, and also time to appreciate graphic design history.

The Daily Heller frequently features historic design from the incredible Merrill C. Berman collection. Berman has brought rare and important work of the 20th-century avant garde to the public through books, exhibitions and his own invaluable email newsletters. This month’s installment features László Moholy-Nagy’s post-Bauhaus work prior to and after emigrating to the United States. Berman has covered Moholy-Nagy’s five critical years at the Bauhaus (1923–1928) in his collection and the Bauhaus Portfolio for Fritz Hesse, Mayor of Dessau. Moholy-Nagy’s latter works in Berlin (1920–1923; 1928–1935), London (1935–1937) and Chicago (1937–1946) are showcased below.

(To subscribe to his newsletter, email mcbcollect@gmail.com.)

Compositions by Moholy-Nagy reproduced on covers of the periodical Der Sturm. Left to right: Vol. 12, No. 1 (January 1922); Vol. 14, No. 1 (January 1923); Vol. 14, No. 10 (October 1923); Vol. 15, No. 4 (December 1924).
Covers (designed by Cesar Domela) of the periodical i10: Internationale Revue (Amsterdam, 1927–1929), for which Moholy-Nagy served as “Redacteur voor Film en Foto.” These issues from 1927 contain articles by Moholy-Nagy. Left to right: No. 1/1 (Geest en Techniek); No. 1/3 (Foto); No. 11 (Kinoplakat); No. 12 (Fotoplastik).
At left: Moholy-Nagy’s photogram reproduced on the cover (designed by Richard Herre) of Guido Bagier, Der Kommende Film (Stuttgart: Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, 1928). Lithograph, 10 x 7 1/4” (25.7 x 18.4 cm). Right: Erwin Piscator, El Teatro Politico (Madrid: Editorial Cenit, s.a, 1930).
Book cover (front and back): Will Grohmann, Die Sammlung Ida Bienert (Potsdam: Müller & I. Kiepenheuer, 1933). Lithograph, 10 x 7 1/2” (26.6 x 19 cm).
Geld in Massen auch für Sie durch die Klassenlotterie! (Much Money for You via the Lottery), 1932. Lithograph, 35 1/4 x 26 3/16” (89.5 x 66.5 cm).
At left: Cover of the periodical Die neue Linie, Heft 5 (January 1933). Lithograph, 14 3/8 x 10 1/2” (36.5 x 26.6 cm). Right: Advertisement (with Hajo Rose) for Firesafe Durax Glass, manufactured by Jenaer Glass, 1934. Lithograph, 8 1/4 x 5 3/4” (20.9 x 14.6 cm).
Cover and spread from the exhibition catalog L. Moholy-Nagy, London Gallery (Dec. 31, 1936–Jan. 27, 1937) (London: The London Gallery, 1936). Letterpress, 8 1/16 x 5 1/2” (20.4 x 13.9 cm).
Quickly Away, Thanks To Pneumatic Doors, London Transport, 1937. Lithograph, 39 7/16 x 24 9/16” (100.1 x 62.3 cm).
Brochure (front and back): New Bauhaus American School of Design, Chicago (Director: L. Moholy-Nagy): Night Class and Spring Semester 1938, 1937. Letterpress, 8.5 x 16 1/2” (21.5 x 42 cm).
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Steven Heller has written for PRINT since the 1980s. He is co-chair of SVA MFA Designer as Entrepreneur. The author, co-author and editor of over 200 books on design and popular culture, Heller is also the recipient of the Smithsonian Institution National Design Award for "Design Mind," the AIGA Medal for Lifetime Achievement and other honors. He was a senior art director at The New York Times for 33 years and a writer of obituaries and book review columnist for the newspaper, as well. His memoir, Growing Up Underground (Princeton Architectural Press) was published in 2022. Some of his recent essays are collected in For the Love of Design (Allworth Press).

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