The beginning of Baumeister's great interest in nonwestern art cannot be precisely dated. Even so, it is conceivable that he came into contact with African art beginning in 1924, when he met the French artist-colleagues Le Corbusier, Amedée Ozenfant, and Fernand Léger in Paris. Especially in the French art magazines Cahier d'Art and Documents illustrations of African art appeared.

Baumeister was especially attached to the ancient Orient. The pieces of his collection meant a great deal to him and his interest in this cultural region was immense, especially in the thirties when he enthusiastically read the field reports of archeologist C. Leonard Woolley, such as Ur und die Sintflut (Ur and the Flood, 1930) and Vor 5000 Jahren (5000 Years Ago, ca. 1930). The harp motif in some of his works from around 1945 is derived from the lyres of Ur.

The wisdom of the East, Far Eastern philosophy, and art of the East Asia particularly spoke to the artist. His collection contained 46 objects of Asian origin, including a small group of Chinese and Japanese woodcuts. The most important object for him was the 19th-century scroll painting in India ink on paper with the written character shou (for long life), which he received in 1941 as a gift from Dr. Kurt Herberts.