JACK BILBO

The Modern Art Gallery opened in Baker Street in October 1941, founded and run by Jack Bilbo and his wife. “Jack Bilbo” was the pseudonym for Hugo Bausch, a German born, outsider artist, then living in England. Bilbo fled Germany in 1933 for France, then Spain, then settled in London in 1936, where he painted and sculpted. After being released from internment on the Isle of Man in 1940 and taking various jobs, he decided to open a place ‘to give the modern artist a free and unbiased platform’ and ‘create for the people an oasis of sanity and construction in a world of false values, believing in the necessity for an intellectual fight against Hitlerism and all it stands for.’ This, the Modern Art Gallery, occupied part of a very small house, whose first floor was the bedroom, and in whose basement, the ‘Cave’ he would entertain friends among whom were Kurt Schwitters, Hein Heckroth (designer for the film The Red Shoes), Jankel Adler and other refugees; it was the setting for talks, poetry readings and exhibitions. The World of Imagination, devoted to objects made only out of rubbish and Emmy Bridgwater’s first one-woman exhibition, were among these. Several years later the gallery moved to Charles III Street where it continued until just after the War when Bilbo moved Weybridge and opened a gallery there. While it cannot be determined which artist actually painted the sign, the hand of Bilbo is an obvious part of the decoration, it appears that it may well have been a collaborative effort with other artists perhaps even those frequenting his parties at the Cave as parts are stylistically quite different from Bilbo. Nevertheless, this sign is not just an art object it is a very important part of London’s contemporary art history created as it was at a time when The Modern Art Gallery was one of the few centres of focus for London artists.

Bilbo also published books concerned with art, and collections of his own stories, among which was his own autobiography published in 1948. This book is a 554 catalogue with an index listing every one of the artist’s exhibitions from 1934-48. It was sold at Bausch’s, The Modern Art Gallery, Ltd., 24 Charles III. The catalogue was self-published and presents an odd and interesting self-promotional book. Bausch’s two most famous claims consist of his being the great-great-great grandson of Spinoza, and having worked as Al Capone’s bodyguard in Chicago in 1934. Bausch documents his fictitious career using collaged, newspaper articles and provides the reader with some amusing and camp reading.

This book will be included in the purchase price of £4,000 for the Modern Art Gallery sign.