Swiss artist Sophie Taeuber-Arp (1889–1943) ranks among the pioneers of the early twentieth century’s classical avant-garde. In addition to studying dance at Rudolf von Laban’s dance school, she was educated as an artist at the School of Applied Arts in St. Gallen, Switzerland; at Wilhelm von Debschitz’s teaching and experimental workshop in Munich; and the School of Applied arts in Hamburg. After becoming involved with the Dadaists, she taught textile design at the Zurich School of Applied Arts, then moved to France to live and work in her self-designed studio home until she had to flee from the German occupation in 1940. Remarkably versatile and immensely gifted, Taeuber-Arp’s work covers the universal range of the modernist movement—applied and fine art, dance, architecture, interior design, and teaching.
           
Accompanying a retrospective exhibition at Aargauer Kunsthaus in Switzerland and Kunsthalle Bielefeld in Germany, this book shows the entire range of Taeuber-Arp’s creativity and her mastery of material, shape, and color, as well as her inventiveness and interdisciplinary thinking and approach. It features an abundance of works drawn from private collections that have either not yet been shown to the public or not displayed for many years, and the accompanying essays from leading scholars treat Taeuber-Arp’s work in both the fine and applied art in equal measure.
           
Richly illustrated with three hundred images—the majority in color—Sophie Taeuber-Arp is the most comprehensive book on this extraordinary artist ever published in English.