Hilla von Rebay (1890-1967) was a notable abstract artist in the early 20th century and the co-founder and first director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. Born in Alsace, then part of imperial Germany, Rebay began her art studies in Cologne, the Academie Julian in Paris, and Munich. In her travels and time in Berlin, Rebay met many important figures of the European avant-garde. She immigrated to the United States in 1927 with the goal of establishing a public gallery for nonobjective art. Rebay met Solomon Guggenheim during a portrait commission, and soon developed a close friendship, advising him as he built his collection and collaborating with him in the creation of his museum. In her own painting and collage work, Rebay was committed to abstraction, which she believed to express a spirituality that would lead to the betterment of humankind. After her death in 1967, part of her personal collection was given to the Guggenheim as the Hilla Rebay Collection, which includes works by artists such as Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, Piet Mondrian, Albert Gleizes, and Kurt Schwitters.