Nagy

László Moholy-Nagy came to Chicago in 1937 to
direct the New Bauhaus, an experimental art and
design school. One of the most creative
personalities of his time, Moholy-Nagy was a
writer, painter, photographer, filmmaker,
teacher, set-designer, builder of light-space
machines, and philosopher of new aesthetics.
He believed that art offered a way to reorder society
after the traumatic years of World War I, and
technology would pave the way.

Hungarian-born, Moholy-Nagy served in World War I and received a law degree
before joining the faculty of the Bauhaus, a German school for the modern
application of art and technology. He joined some of the most innovative
thinkers of the day—Walter Gropius, Marcel Breuer, Wassily Kandinsky, Paul
Klee, and Joseph Albers—and became a crucial figure in modern photography,
pioneering the photomontage and developing the camera-less medium of the
“photogram.”

The New Bauhaus, located in the old Marshall Field residence at 1905 South
Prairie Avenue, closed for financial reasons after only one year. In 1939,
Moholy-Nagy opened his own “School of Design,” which changed its name to
“Institute of Design” in 1944. He directed the Institute of Design until his death.
His textbook, Vision in Motion, became a standard text for art and design
education worldwide. Moholy-Nagy lived at 2622 North Lakeview Avenue.