What Was the Bauhaus?

Bauhaus.

The Bauhaus began in Germany in 1919, but its influence traveled far beyond Europe—and eventually reached artists working throughout the U.S., including those whose work shaped the African-American creative experience. At its core, the Bauhaus believed that art, craft, and design were all part of the same conversation. A chair, a painting, a building, and a handmade object could all express the same clarity, discipline, and beauty.

The school encouraged collaboration across disciplines and taught students to look closely at color, line, space, and structure. These ideas later found a new home in the United States when Bauhaus teachers settled here before and during World War II. Their teaching reshaped American modern art, architecture, and design.

When we look at artists like Jacob Lawrence, who spent time at Black Mountain College alongside former Bauhaus masters, we see how these ideas filtered into African-American artistic expression. The Bauhaus left a legacy of precision, experimentation, and intentional seeing—values that continue to inform artists and museum educators today.