# Hilla von Rebay artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/hilla-von-rebay/
Profile generated: 2026-05-30T12:15:30.000Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1890-05-31
- Death date: 1967-09-27
- Nationality: German, American
- Movements: Non-objective art, Abstract art
- Common media: oil on canvas, watercolor, gouache, collage, ink drawing

## About Hilla von Rebay

Hilla von Rebay (1890–1967), born Hildegard Anna Augusta Elisabeth Freiin Rebay von Ehrenwiesen in Strasbourg, was a German-American abstract painter and a pivotal figure in twentieth-century art patronage. After studying art in Paris, Berlin, and elsewhere in Europe, she embraced non-objective painting and became one of its most dedicated advocates. In the late 1920s she met the industrialist Solomon R. Guggenheim and persuaded him to begin collecting abstract and non-objective art at scale. That collection became the foundation of what is now the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York. Rebay served as the museum's first director and was instrumental in selecting Frank Lloyd Wright as its architect. Her own creative output — vivid, largely non-representational compositions in oil, watercolor, and collage — has received growing recognition in museum exhibitions and auction catalogues in recent decades. Collectors most often encounter her work through museum retrospectives, estate-associated pieces, and occasional auction appearances.

## Common works and media

Rebay worked chiefly in oil on canvas, watercolor, gouache, and collage. Her compositions are characteristically non-objective, featuring rhythmic abstract forms, bold color fields, and interlocking geometric or organic shapes. Works on paper — including ink drawings and mixed-media collages — appear regularly in auction records. She also produced lithographic prints and exhibition-related posters connected to the Guggenheim. Collectors may encounter both signed originals and later estate-authorized reproductions.

## Market and appraisal context

Hilla von Rebay's work appears at auction primarily as original paintings, works on paper, and collage. Provenance tracing to the artist's estate or to the Guggenheim Foundation holdings adds meaningful weight to any appraisal. Dating, medium — oil versus watercolor or gouache — size, and condition are standard valuation factors, as is documentation of exhibition history. Because her reputation as a curator and museum founder has historically overshadowed recognition of her own artistic output, auction results can be uneven and market depth is modest compared with better-known non-objective painters of the period. Authentication may draw on RKD records, museum catalogues, and exhibition checklists.

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine museum and authority-file research with auction records, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots when those records are available. For Hilla von Rebay, identity and biographical data draw on the Getty Union List of Artist Names, VIAF, Wikidata, the RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History, and published museum and encyclopedic sources.

## Sources

- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q243117
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hilla_von_Rebay
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500028618
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/66598165/
- RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/65836
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n79145669
- The Museum of Modern Art: https://www.moma.org/artists/41231