In 1924 Baer went to Paris and met many important artists including Picasso, Soutine and Kremin. Between 1924 and 1940, Baer was based in Paris while taking extended trips to Algeria, Spain, England, Belgium and Holland. In December of 1940, Baer left for New York, and settled in Carmel, California in 1941.
In Carmel, he became one of the Directors of the Carmel Art Association, showing regularly with one-man exhibits at museums in Santa Barbara, Los Angeles and San Diego. Baer also developed a strong friendship with Edward Weston. In December 1947, Baer moved to San Francisco, opening three studios between 1947 and 1961. During this time, he developed friendships with Harry Jacobus, Hayward King, John Langley Howard and Howard Hack. Baer died February 14, 1961 in San Francisco.
His exhibition record includes Galleries Durand-Ruel (Paris 1926), Art Institute of Chicago (1926), Gallerie Jeune Peinture (Paris 1928), Galerie de la Renaissance (Paris 1932), Gallery M. Benezit (Paris 1936), Newhouse Galleries (New York 1928, 1936, 1941) His last one-man show was held at the California Palace of the Legion of Honor (San Francisco 1943). A retrospective entitled “A Memorial Exhibition of Paintings by Martin Baer” was held at the California Palace of the Legion of Honor (San Francisco 1963).
Source:
The information is provided from Fred Vassar, Lecturer in Art History, Southern Oregon University
Note from Fred Vassar:
While the vast majority of the information in the Martin Baer biography was taken from the Memorial Exhibition held at the California Palace of the Legion of Honor, several references in the biography were in fact taken from the exhibit “Martin Baer (1894-1961) Early Drawings and Works on Paper”, put on by the Schneider Museum of Art, Ashland, Oregon 1997. These are the references to Anarchist Studios, study with M. Heymann, Picasso, being one of the Directors of the Carmel Art Association, friendship with Edward Weston and friendships it the California art community.
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Martin Baer attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, 1910-1914; Munich
Staatsakademie, Munich, 1921-1924.
Solo Exhibitions: Gallerie M. Benezit, Paris, 1936; Newhouse Galleries, New York, 1936, 1941; The Gordon Beer Art Galleries, Detroit, 1937; Dayton Art Institute, Ohio, 1937; Norfolk Museum of Arts and Sciences, Virginia, 1937; Santa Barbara Museum of Art, 1942; Francis Taylor Galleries, Los Angeles, 1942; The Fine Arts Gallery of San Diego, 1942-1943; California Palace of the Legion of Honor, 1943, 1963; Carmel Art Association, California, 1943; North Point Gallery, Oakland, 1979; The Oakland Museum, 1979.
Public Collections: The Oakland Museum.
Literature: Thomas Albright, “Art in the San Francisco Bay Area, 1945-1980″; “The Art of California, Selected Works from the Collection of The Oakland Museum”; Susan Landauer, The San Francisco School of Abstract Expressionism.
Source:
David J Carlson, Carlson Gallery, California. Carlson’s specialty is Post-World War II California artists, and he is preparing a catalogue for a 2004 traveling exhibition of these artists to several California museums.
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Note: According to “Who Was Who in American Art” by Peter Falk, the birth date of Martin Baer is reported by reputable sources as both 1895 and 1894. Edan Hughes in both editions of his book, “Artists in California, 1786-1940″ gives the date as 1894 as do the sources in the above biography and Thomas Albright in “Art in the San Francisco Bay Area”. However, Falk lists the date as 1895 because those are the dates provided when the artist was living to the publication “Who’s Who in American Art”, 1947 and 1959. (And the website of the National Gallery of Art gives the birth date as 1893).
We list 1894 as the birth date because of the number of scholars who have that date (see above), because we find only one reference to 1893, and because the birth date of Martin’s brother, George Baer, is listed as 1895 in both Hughes (first edition) and “Who Was Who” in 1940. There are no references to these brothers being twins.
This biography from the Archives of AskART
California Art 