The Aspen Institute in Colorado is planning to open a research center dedicated to the work of Austrian designer, painter, photographer, typographer, and architect Herbert Bayer, an influential member of the Bauhaus movement. The new venue will be named the Resnick Center for Herbert Bayer Studies, after Lynda and Stewart Resnick, who donated $10 million in support of the project. The announcement coincides with the global celebration of the one-hundredth anniversary of the Bauhaus.

“The impact of art and design in society has been a source of inspiration for Stewart and me throughout our lives,” said Lynda Resnick. “As longtime Aspen residents, we have had the opportunity to experience and admire the vision of the great Bauhaus master Herbert Bayer through the work he created in this community. We are gratified to support the institute in providing a resource for future generations to appreciate the influence that Bauhaus had on Bayer and consequently on the town of Aspen and the campus of the Aspen Institute, Bayer’s greatest work of art.”

Bayer lived and worked in Aspen from 1946 to 1975. During that time, he helped the former silver-mining hub grow into a cultural and ski destination. He designed the Aspen Institute, which sits on forty acres and comprises conference buildings, lodging, public art, and Earthworks, and restored historic buildings such as the Wheeler Opera House, the Hotel Jerome, and the Isis Theater. He was also involved in creating promotional materials for the Goethe Bicentennial in 1949 and the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in 1950, which helped put Aspen on the map.

Slated to open in the summer of 2022, the center will honor Bayer’s legacy through the acquisition and exhibition of his works and the development of educational programming that will share with visitors his principles of design and creativity. Dan Porterfield, president and CEO of the Aspen Institute, said that it will become a “gathering place for local residents, thought leaders, and speakers from around the world.”