bauhaustreppe

The artist behind the avant-garde and pioneering Triadic Ballet Oskar Schlemmer (previously here and here) painted in protest and as a farewell the work pictured of the stairwell (Treppenhaus) of the Bauhaus compound in Dessau in response to the decision of the Nazi-dominated city-council to close the institution on 30 September 1932.  The tableau of the students ascending the staircase and the viewer slipping away symbolises the movement and kindred affiliates being cast into the realm of the ideal rather than being allowed to remain in the practical and engaged—as was part of their stated objectives.
The painting was bought by collectors in New York in 1933 and began part of the original collection of the Museum of Modern Art, spirited away before it was deemed unpatriotic and officially sanctioned as degenerate (Entartete Kunst).