Herbert Bayer (1900-1985) - ‘The Route of Friendship’ Sculpture

For sale is an exceptionally rare original photo from the official documentation material of the Comité Organizador de los Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada for the presentation of the famous 'Ruta de la Amistad' in Mexico City.

The photo comes from the official press kit edition produced in 1968 in a small, exclusive print run for journalists, diplomats, and cultural institutions. A copy of the original accompanying booklet with the description is included. This piece is not only an aesthetic document but also a significant historical testimony of the 1968 Olympic Games.

Factory details
The original photo on the back shows the contribution of the renowned artist Herbert Bayer (USA) to the sculpture series Ruta de la Amistad ('Route of Friendship'), one of the outstanding cultural projects realized alongside the 1968 Summer Olympics. The clear, precise composition of the image is typical of Bayer's interdisciplinary approach and reflects the visual language that characterizes his American body of work.

Condition: very good for its age, minor signs of use possible.

Marked on the back: authenticity feature and documentary assignment.

Provenance: private collection, USA

A rare photographic document that captures the spirit of an international art and culture initiative.

Herbert Bayer (1900–1985) is considered one of the most important representatives of the Bauhaus and shaped the visual culture of the 20th century as a photographer, typographer, graphic designer, architect, and exhibition designer. Trained under masters such as Wassily Kandinsky and László Moholy-Nagy at the Bauhaus in Weimar and Dessau, Bayer emigrated to the USA in 1938, where he began an exceptionally versatile career. He worked as an art director, artistic advisor, and exhibition designer for major institutions and companies. Bayer's works are now part of internationally renowned collections, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Getty Research Institute in Los Angeles.

Documenta / Context of Modernity
Although Herbert Bayer is not officially listed among the Documenta artists, his work is rooted in the spirit of international modernism, which has significantly shaped Documenta since the 1950s. Bayer's interdisciplinary, functional, and at the same time experimental visual language is directly in the tradition of the avant-gardes that have been repeatedly honored in Kassel. The Ruta de la Amistad itself is regarded as an exemplary project for global artistic collaboration – a theme that is as central to the history of Documenta as it is to Bayer's own work.