Weimar Saxon-Grand Ducal Art School
From 1910 to 1916, he studied art history, the history of literature, and philosophy at universities in Vienna, Erlangen and Munich, acquiring his doctorate in 1917 with a dissertation on the origin and beginning of woodcuts. From 1919 to 1924, Adler lectured on art history at the Bauhaus, and between 1920 and 1930, he taught art history at the Weimar Saxon-Grand Ducal Art School. His association with Johannes Itten, who also taught at the Bauhaus, led to him publishing and editing "Utopia: Dokumente der Wirklichkeit" ("Utopia: Documents of Reality"). This included translations by Adler from the Rigveda and work by Nicholas of Cusa. During this period, Adler also edited writings by Adalbert Stifter and Matthias Claudius.