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  • Artist: Otto Nebel (Swiss, 1892-1973)

Otto Nebel: Visionary of Word, Color, and Form

Otto Nebel (1892–1973) was a German Swiss painter, poet, and architect whose art joins language, color, and structure in a luminous expression of spiritual abstraction. A close associate of Rudolf Bauer and Hilla von Rebay, and a lifelong friend of Paul Klee and Wassily Kandinsky, Nebel shared their belief that art could express the hidden harmonies of the inner world. Through von Rebay, the Guggenheim commissioned many of his works, support that sustained him through difficult years and affirmed his unique vision.

The Leir Collection, the largest private holding of Nebel’s art in the United States, includes many of his largest paintings, with a focus on oil on canvas. It reveals a large extent of his creative journey and celebrates his lifelong pursuit of harmony between spirit and structure alongside the visionaries who transformed modern art.
Auf! (Up!) by Otto Nebel, Image 4.
  • Otto Nebel
  • Auf! (Up!), 1961
Oil with dammar resin on linen with zinc white chalk ground
26 x 15.5 in
Bekroenendes Gelb (Crowning Yellow) by Otto Nebel, Image 5.
  • Otto Nebel
  • Bekroenendes Gelb (Crowning Yellow), 1952
Canvas, chalk base, oil and oil-mixed colors, simple brushwork.
40 x 18 in
Das Spiel kann beginnen (Let the play begin) by Otto Nebel, Image 5.
  • Otto Nebel
  • Das Spiel kann beginnen (Let the play begin), c. 1955
Semi oil priming, oil colors, fine brushwork and palette knife application with small points of color on several forms.
36 x 47 in
Dennoch heiter (Nevertheless cheerful) by Otto Nebel, Image 5.
  • Otto Nebel
  • Dennoch heiter (Nevertheless cheerful), 1951
Oil on fine linen on cardboard
15.7 x 19.7 in
Die Spannung waechst! (The tension is growing) by Otto Nebel, Image 4.
  • Otto Nebel
  • Die Spannung waechst! (The tension is growing), 1956
Oil on Canvas
36 x 47 in
Entsprossen (Sprouting) by Otto Nebel, Image 5.
  • Otto Nebel
  • Entsprossen (Sprouting), 1958
Oil on burlap with chalk ground on cardboard
26.3 x 16.1 in
Erhebung (Elevation) by Otto Nebel, Image 6.
  • Otto Nebel
  • Erhebung (Elevation), 1961-1962
Oil with dammar resin on linen with zinc-white chalk ground
53 x 24.5 in
Feiertaegliches (Holiday) by Otto Nebel, Image 4.
  • Otto Nebel
  • Feiertaegliches (Holiday), 1952
Oil and mixed colors on chipboard with glue-chalk ground
27.3 x 31.6 in
Froh (Happy) by Otto Nebel, Image 1.
  • Otto Nebel
  • Froh (Happy), 1950
Oil on Canvas
17.3 x 15 in
Im Rostrot (In Rusty Red) by Otto Nebel, Image 4.
  • Otto Nebel
  • Im Rostrot (In Rusty Red), 1953
Oil on fine linen on cardboard
14.7 x 18.5 in
Liebliches Erscheinen (Lovely Appearance) by Otto Nebel, Image 4.
  • Otto Nebel
  • Liebliches Erscheinen (Lovely Appearance), 1955
Oil on plywood panel
12 x 27 in
Lob des Lenzes (In praise of springtime) by Otto Nebel, Image 6.
  • Otto Nebel
  • Lob des Lenzes (In praise of springtime), 1957
Oil in egg mixture on canvas
32 x 50 in
Maerz-Ode (Ode to March) by Otto Nebel, Image 5.
  • Otto Nebel
  • Maerz-Ode (Ode to March), 1941
Opaque colors, resin oil and dammar resin on canvas
47 x 22 in
Mit sieben Fuellflaechen (With seven fill areas) by Otto Nebel, Image 4.
  • Otto Nebel
  • Mit sieben Fuellflaechen (With seven fill areas), 1967
Opaque colors on pressboard
11 x 29.5 in
Nach oben offen (Open to the Top) by Otto Nebel, Image 5.
  • Otto Nebel
  • Nach oben offen (Open to the Top), 1967
Oil on hardboard
42 x 30 in
Reges Werden (Lively growth) by Otto Nebel, Image 5.
  • Otto Nebel
  • Reges Werden (Lively growth), 1950
oil on canvas on wooden pane
17.5 x 17.5 in
Ruhend (At Rest) by Otto Nebel, Image 5.
  • Otto Nebel
  • Ruhend (At Rest), 1956
Oil on canvas with chalk ground, on cardboard
21 x 20 in
Runen und Kreise (Runes and Circles) by Otto Nebel, Image 6.
  • Otto Nebel
  • Runen und Kreise (Runes and Circles), 1955
Oil on chipboard with chalk ground on stretcher frame
25.5 x 21.2 in
Schau, Spiel und Spuk (Vision, Play & Spirit) by Otto Nebel, Image 5.
  • Otto Nebel
  • Schau, Spiel und Spuk (Vision, Play & Spirit), 1956
Oil on Canvas
56 x 56 in
Schicksalsrunen (Runes of Fate) by Otto Nebel, Image 3.
  • Otto Nebel
  • Schicksalsrunen (Runes of Fate), 1955
Oil on heavy plasterboard with chalk ground
12.2 x 16.9 in
Sommerlied (Song of Summer) by Otto Nebel, Image 5.
  • Otto Nebel
  • Sommerlied (Song of Summer), 1952
Oil and mixed colours on canvas
28 x 42 in
Spaet (Late) by Otto Nebel, Image 5.
  • Otto Nebel
  • Spaet (Late), 1963
Resin oil on canvas
24.4 x 35.4 in
Vielerlei (Many kinds) by Otto Nebel, Image 5.
  • Otto Nebel
  • Vielerlei (Many kinds), c. 1949
Opaque colors, resin oil and dammar resin on canvas
36 x 47 in
Warnend (Warning) by Otto Nebel, Image 5.
  • Otto Nebel
  • Warnend (Warning), 1966
Opaque and watercolor on grey cardboard
22 x 40 in