GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The Swiss-born painter John Sennhauser belonged to the group of American artists who experimented with geometric abstraction in the 1930s and 40s. He immigrated to the United States in 1928 following two years of study at the Royal Academy in Venice. After settling in New York City he pursued further studies at the Cooper Union Art School (1930-1933) where he began experimenting with non-objective form as a means of expression. In the following years he taught at the Leonardo da Vinci Art School (1936-1939) and the Contemporary School of Art (1939-1942). In 1943 Sennhauser joined the staff of the Museum of Non-Objective Painting (subsequently the Guggenheim) as a lecturer and preparator. He found great support and encouragement for his interest in abstract art from his colleagues at the Museum, especially from the director, Hilla Rebay, and the artist Jean Xceron, the Museum's curator. Sennhauser remained with the Museum until 1945. That same year he joined the American Abstract Artists, an organization founded in 1936 by a group of young artists of the American avant-garde. He participated in their group shows and was also an active member of the Federation of Modern Painters and Sculptors.
Sennhauser continued his experiments with abstract forms through the late 1950s, exhibiting his work in galleries in New York and in shows at the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Museum of Non-Objective Painting, The Art Institute of Chicago, the Corcoran Gallery of Art, and the Worcester Art Museum. The rise and dominance of Abstract Expressionism in the United States overshadowed the contributions of artists like Sennhauser to the development of post-war abstract art. It is only in recent years that he and members of the American Abstract Artists group have received scholarly recognition for mid-20th-century, avant-garde artworks.
Adapted from
DMA acquisition label (1989.25), n.d.
NOTES
Artist biographical info to add to TMS:
b. December 10, 1907- Rorschach, Switzerland
d. January 7, 1978- Escondido, CA
raised- Italy
trained- Venice (1926-1927) Royal Academy
worked- NYC (1928-1930, 1933-52)- moved to NYC (lived in greenwich Village and had a studio on 14th Street) in 1928 and worked as an architectural draftsman; graduated from Cooper Union in 1933; taught at the Leonardo da Vinci School (1936-1939) and the Contemporary School of Art (1939-1942). Hired by the Museum of Non-Objective Painting in 1943-1945, joined the Abstract American Artists in 1945 and was sectretary/treasurer 1949-1952, worked as an art restorer in the 1950s and 1960s.
worked- Jackson Heights, NY (1950-1973)
worked- Escondido, CA (1973-1978)
trained- NYC- 1930-1933- enroll at the Cooper Union Art School
Full citation for the fun fact- Quote included in Virginia M. Mecklenburg The Patricia and Phillip Frost Collection: American Abstraction 1930–1945 (Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press for the National Museum of American Art, 1989) online at the SMithsonian American Art Museum, http://americanart.si.edu/collections/search/artist/?id=4369, originally in "Notes Requested by the Whitney Museum of American Art After Their Purchase of Emotive 15 in 1951," Sennhauser Papers, Archives of American Art, roll N70–33: 58.
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FUN FACTS
- Sennhauser offered the following comments about his working methods when the Whitney Museum of American Art purchased his Emotive 15 in 1951: "No particular color, idea or subject is in my mind at the time of execution. My brush moves intuitively … slowly attuning itself to the rhythm of the feeling that permeates my whole being. Of course, this feeling does come from somewhere. It may be some music that I have heard or I am listening to … a charming remark from my little girl … a description of the constellations as related by my young son after a visit to the Planetarium. … It might even be the emaciated faces of Korean refugees … the dreadful thought of the atomic bomb. It may be anything. … What is important is … its crystallization in color-form vibrations." [John Sennhauser papers (1931-1990), Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution (Washington D.C.), microfilm roll N70-33, 58.]
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General Description
The Swiss-born painter John Sennhauser belonged to the group of American artists who experimented with geometric abstraction in the 1930s and 40s. He immigrated to the United States in 1928 following two years of study at the Royal Academy in Venice. After settling in New York City he pursued further studies at the Cooper Union Art School (1930-1933) where he began experimenting with non-objective form as a means of expression. In the following years he taught at the Leonardo da Vinci Art School (1936-1939) and the Contemporary School of Art (1939-1942). In 1943 Sennhauser joined the staff of the Museum of Non-Objective Painting (subsequently the Guggenheim) as a lecturer and preparator. He found great support and encouragement for his interest in abstract art from his colleagues at the Museum, especially from the director, Hilla Rebay, and the artist Jean Xceron, the Museum's curator. Sennhauser remained with the Museum until 1945. That same year he joined the American Abstract Artists, an organization founded in 1936 by a group of young artists of the American avant-garde. He participated in their group shows and was also an active member of the Federation of Modern Painters and Sculptors.
Sennhauser continued his experiments with abstract forms through the late 1950s, exhibiting his work in galleries in New York and in shows at the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Museum of Non-Objective Painting, The Art Institute of Chicago, the Corcoran Gallery of Art, and the Worcester Art Museum. The rise and dominance of Abstract Expressionism in the United States overshadowed the contributions of artists like Sennhauser to the development of post-war abstract art. It is only in recent years that he and members of the American Abstract Artists group have received scholarly recognition for mid-20th-century, avant-garde artworks.
Adapted from
DMA acquisition label (1989.25), n.d.
Fun Facts
- Sennhauser offered the following comments about his working methods when the Whitney Museum of American Art purchased his Emotive 15 in 1951: "No particular color, idea or subject is in my mind at the time of execution. My brush moves intuitively … slowly attuning itself to the rhythm of the feeling that permeates my whole being. Of course, this feeling does come from somewhere. It may be some music that I have heard or I am listening to … a charming remark from my little girl … a description of the constellations as related by my young son after a visit to the Planetarium. … It might even be the emaciated faces of Korean refugees … the dreadful thought of the atomic bomb. It may be anything. … What is important is … its crystallization in color-form vibrations." [John Sennhauser papers (1931-1990), Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution (Washington D.C.), microfilm roll N70-33, 58.]
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Notes
Artist biographical info to add to TMS:
b. December 10, 1907- Rorschach, Switzerland
d. January 7, 1978- Escondido, CA
raised- Italy
trained- Venice (1926-1927) Royal Academy
worked- NYC (1928-1930, 1933-52)- moved to NYC (lived in greenwich Village and had a studio on 14th Street) in 1928 and worked as an architectural draftsman; graduated from Cooper Union in 1933; taught at the Leonardo da Vinci School (1936-1939) and the Contemporary School of Art (1939-1942). Hired by the Museum of Non-Objective Painting in 1943-1945, joined the Abstract American Artists in 1945 and was sectretary/treasurer 1949-1952, worked as an art restorer in the 1950s and 1960s.
worked- Jackson Heights, NY (1950-1973)
worked- Escondido, CA (1973-1978)
trained- NYC- 1930-1933- enroll at the Cooper Union Art School
Full citation for the fun fact- Quote included in Virginia M. Mecklenburg The Patricia and Phillip Frost Collection: American Abstraction 1930–1945 (Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press for the National Museum of American Art, 1989) online at the SMithsonian American Art Museum, http://americanart.si.edu/collections/search/artist/?id=4369, originally in "Notes Requested by the Whitney Museum of American Art After Their Purchase of Emotive 15 in 1951," Sennhauser Papers, Archives of American Art, roll N70–33: 58.
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