Rudolf Bauer was a brilliantly eccentric and flamboyant German abstract artist who, in 1937, at the height of his meteoric popularity, created the initial drawings for this magnificent car. It was subsequently constructed by Rollson (formerly Rollston) Coachbuilders on the final SJ chassis to be turned out by the Duesenberg factory. At an imposing 20’ 6”, it is also the longest Duesenberg ever built.

By the 1920s Bauer’s paintings were gaining popularity among American connoisseurs, even catching the attention of art patron and philanthropist Solomon Guggenheim. Thanks to Guggenheim’s patronage, Bauer was able to sale everything he could paint, and enjoyed an opulent lifestyle throughout the 1930s, indulging himself with his own private museum, a staff of servants, and a succession of Europe’s most magnificent marques, including Bugatti, Isotta Fraschini and Mercedes.

On a trip to Indiana in 1937, Bauer ordered from the Duesenberg factory a long-wheelbase, supercharged chassis to be shipped to Berlin — where Bauer intended to have custom coachwork built by Erdmann & Rossi. Soon after placing the order and returning to Germany, however, Bauer was seized and imprisoned by the Nazis. Adolf Hitler had passed new laws labeling abstract art as “criminal” and “degenerate”. The Duesenberg would have to wait!

Back in New York, Guggenheim used his resources to free Bauer from the Nazi prison. In the spring of 1939, Guggenheim sent his assistant to Germany with a suitcase stuffed with cash. The assistant purchased Bauer’s release and Bauer was deported to the U.S.

Although he lived a very opulent life in America, for a variety of reasons, Bauer became very bitter with the art world for the remainder of his life. In fact, to spite Guggenheim and others, Bauer promised to never create art again. His single exception was the design he created for his Duesenberg. Today the value of his Duesenberg, which was completed in 1940, far exceeds that of any of his paintings. Bauer cherished his car until his death in 1953. This car (SJ-397) was sold at auction one year ago for $2.55 million.