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38-715: The museum is in the Meisterhaus Feininger , built in 1925–26. It was one of the houses designed by Walter Gropius as accommodation for the masters of the Bauhaus ; the artist Lyonel Feininger lived here from 1926 to 1932. (Apart from its location in Dessau, it has no direct connection with the life of the composer.) The building is included in the Blaubuch (Blue Book) of the Federal Government, as an important cultural site. In

76-517: A dozen photographs of factories and grain elevators in North America. A very influential text, this article had a strong influence on other European modernists, including Le Corbusier and Erich Mendelsohn , both of whom reprinted Gropius's grain elevator pictures between 1920 and 1930. Gropius's career was interrupted by the outbreak of World War I in 1914. He was drafted in August 1914 and served as

114-458: A faculty that included Paul Klee , Johannes Itten , Josef Albers , Herbert Bayer , László Moholy-Nagy , Otto Bartning and Wassily Kandinsky . In principle, the Bauhaus represented an opportunity to extend beauty and quality to every home through well designed industrially produced objects. The Bauhaus program was experimental and the emphasis was theoretical. One example product of the Bauhaus

152-724: A manifestation of his lifelong belief in the significance of teamwork, which he had already successfully introduced at the Bauhaus. Based in Cambridge, the original TAC partners included Norman C. Fletcher , Jean B. Fletcher , John C. Harkness , Sarah P. Harkness , Robert S. MacMillan , Louis A. MacMillen, and Benjamin C. Thompson . Among TAC's earliest works were two residential housing developments in Lexington, Massachusetts : Six Moon Hill and Five Fields . Each incorporated contemporary design ideas, reasonable cost, and practical thinking about how to support community life. Another early TAC work

190-577: A sergeant major at the Western front during the war years (getting wounded and almost killed) and then as a lieutenant in the signal corps . Gropius was awarded the Iron Cross twice ("when it still meant something," he confided to his friend Chester Nagel) after fighting for four years. Gropius then, like his father and his great-uncle Martin Gropius before him, became an architect. Gropius's career advanced in

228-555: Is remembered not only by his various buildings but also by the district of Gropiusstadt in Berlin. In the early 1990s, a series of books entitled The Walter Gropius Archive was published covering his entire architectural career. The CD audiobook Bauhaus Reviewed 1919–33 includes a lengthy English Language interview with Gropius. Upon his death his widow, Ise Gropius, arranged to have his collection of papers divided into early and late papers. Both parts were photographed with funds provided by

266-630: Is the Graduate Center of Harvard University in Cambridge (1949/50). TAC would become one of the most well-known and respected architectural firms in the world before it closed its doors amidst financial problems in 1995. In 1967, Gropius was elected into the National Academy of Design as an Associate member and became a full Academician in 1968. Gropius died on 5 July 1969, in Boston , Massachusetts, aged 86. He had been diagnosed with inflammation of

304-640: The Courtauld Institute of Art in London, from which he holds an MA and PhD. In 2022, he received the Sir John Soane's Museum Foundation's Visionary Award in recognition of contributions to curatorial practice and the history of art and architecture. In October 2023, Burchard was appointed a Chevalier dans l’ordre des arts et des lettres . Burchard is a regular contributor to Apollo Magazine , The Art Newspaper and Furniture History . Wolf Burchard

342-534: The Faguswerk in Alfeld-an-der-Leine, Germany , a shoe last factory. Although Gropius and Meyer only designed the facade, the glass curtain walls of this building demonstrated both the modernist principle that form reflects function and Gropius's concern with providing healthful conditions for the working class. The factory is now regarded as one of the crucial founding monuments of European modernism. Gropius

380-582: The New Objectivity movement, including a contribution to the Siemensstadt project in Berlin. Gropius left the Bauhaus in 1928 and moved to Berlin. Hannes Meyer took over the role of Bauhaus director. His work was also part of the architecture event in the art competition at the 1932 Summer Olympics . The rise of Hitler in the 1930s would soon drive Gropius out of Germany. Before that, however, he did accept an invitation in early 1933 to compete for

418-560: The Royal Air Force in World War II . The research was to discover the most efficient way of setting fire to houses with incendiary bombs during bombing raids. The findings were used in planning raids such as the bombing of Hamburg in July 1943 . In 1945, Gropius was asked by the young founding members of The Architects Collaborative (TAC) to join as their senior partner. TAC represented

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456-763: The Thyssen Foundation . The late papers, relating to Gropius's career after 1937, and the photos of the early ones, then went to the Houghton Library at Harvard University; the early papers and photos of the late papers went to the Bauhaus Archiv, then in Darmstadt , since reestablished in Berlin. Mrs. Gropius also deeded the Gropius House in Lincoln to Historic New England in 1980, now a house museum. The Gropius House

494-642: The 1990s the Kurt Weill Foundation for Music, in New York, and the cultural office of Dessau, founded the Kurt Weill Festival  [ de ] , an annual festival in Dessau about the composer. The Kurt Weill Centre was opened as the European centre for the composer's work, and a base for organizing the festival. It was accommodated initially in the nearby Meisterhaus Schlemmer in 1993, and relocated in

532-587: The Bauhaus philosophy in mind, every aspect of the homes and their surrounding landscapes was planned for maximum efficiency and simplicity. Gropius's house received a huge response and was declared a National Landmark in 2000. Gropius and his Bauhaus protégé Marcel Breuer both moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts , to teach at the Harvard Graduate School of Design (1937–1952) and collaborate on projects including The Alan I W Frank House in Pittsburgh and

570-728: The Gropius-Bau is named for Gropius's great-uncle, Martin Gropius , and is not associated with the Bauhaus. Wolf Burchard Wolf Burchard , PhD FSA is a British-German art historian and museum curator. He joined the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City in 2019. Burchard held curatorial positions at the Royal Collection Trust (2009–2014) and the National Trust (2015–2018). In 2014, he co-organized

608-685: The Harvard campus that were built in the 1950s. In 1944, he became a naturalized citizen of the United States. Gropius was one of several refugee German architects who provided information to confirm the typical construction of German houses to the RE8 research department set up by the British Air Ministry . This was used to improve the effectiveness of air raids on German cities by the Bomber Command of

646-667: The Master Houses (Meisterhäuser) (1925–1926) in Dessau, along with the Törten Housing Estate (Siedlung Dessau-Törten) which was built from 1926 to 1928. In 1927 he designed the Dessau City Employment office (Arbeitsamt), but left the Bauhaus and Dessau before construction began. The City Employment office was completed in 1929. He also designed large-scale housing projects in Berlin , Karlsruhe that were major contributions to

684-709: The Prussian politician Georg Scharnweber  [ de ] (1816–1894). Walter's great-uncle Martin Gropius (1824–1880) was the architect of the Kunstgewerbemuseum in Berlin and a follower of Karl Friedrich Schinkel , with whom Walter's great-grandfather Carl Gropius, who fought under Field Marshal Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher at the Battle of Waterloo, had shared a flat as a bachelor. In 1915, Gropius married Alma Mahler (1879–1964), widow of Gustav Mahler . Walter and Alma's daughter, named Manon after Walter's mother,

722-509: The approach developed at the Bauhaus. The Gropiuses believed their house could embody architectural qualities similar to those practiced today, such as simplicity, economy, and aesthetic beauty. Helen Storrow, a banker's wife and philanthropist, became Gropius's benefactor when she invested a portion of her land and wealth for the architect's home. She was so satisfied with the result that she gave more land and financial support to four other professors, two of whom Gropius designed homes for. With

760-644: The company-town Aluminum City Terrace project in New Kensington , Pennsylvania, before their professional split. In 1938 he was appointed Chair of the Department of Architecture, a post he held until his retirement in 1952. Gropius also sat on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Visiting Committee at the end of his career. The well-known architect designed the Richards and Child residence halls on

798-571: The design of the new Reichsbank building and submitted a detailed plan. He also designed furniture, cars, high-rise housing developments Siedlung and an unrealized Palace of the Soviets in Moscow . Gropius was able to leave Nazi Germany in 1934 with the help of Maxwell Fry on the pretext of making a temporary visit to Italy for a film propaganda festival; he then fled to the United Kingdom to avoid

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836-697: The exhibition The First Georgians: Art and Monarchy, 1714–1760 , shown at the Queen's Gallery , Buckingham Palace to mark the tercentenary of the Hanoverian succession. At the National Trust, he oversaw the digital cataloguing of the trust's collection of 55,000 pieces of furniture. He is the curator of Inspiring Walt Disney: The Animation of French Decorative Arts (2021), the Metropolitan Museum of Art's first ever exhibit devoted to Walt Disney , which

874-617: The fascist powers of Europe. Although not Jewish, his association with "degenerate" modern art despised by the Nazis meant he was obliged to emigrate when commissions dried up. He lived and worked in the artists' community associated with Herbert Read in Hampstead , London, as part of the Isokon group. Gropius arrived in the United States in February 1937, while their twelve-year-old daughter, Ati, finished

912-412: The glands, and was admitted to hospital on 7 June. After an operation was performed successfully on 15 June, there was hope of a full recovery. Gropius described himself as a "tough old bird", and continued to make progress for about a week. However, his lungs became congested and could not supply proper amounts of oxygen to the blood and brain. He lost consciousness, and died in his sleep. Today, Gropius

950-477: The most influential designs to emerge from Bauhaus. Facing political and financial difficulties in Weimar, Gropius and the Bauhaus moved to Dessau in 1925 following an offer from the city. Gropius designed the new Bauhaus Dessau school building in 1925–26 on commission from the city of Dessau. He collaborated with Carl Fieger , Ernst Neufert and others within his private architectural practice. Gropius also designed

988-455: The office of the renowned architect and industrial designer Peter Behrens , one of the first members of the utilitarian school. His fellow employees at this time included Ludwig Mies van der Rohe , Le Corbusier , and Dietrich Marcks. Gropius left the firm of Behrens in 1910 and established a practice in Berlin with fellow employee Adolf Meyer . Together they share credit for one of the pioneering modernist buildings created during this period:

1026-584: The orphaned daughter of Ise's sister Hertha. Ise Gropius died on 9 June 1983 in Lexington, Massachusetts. Walter's sister Manon Burchard (1880–1975) is the great-grandmother of the German film and theater actresses Marie Burchard and Bettina Burchard  [ de ] , and of the curator and art historian Wolf Burchard . In 1908, after studying architecture in Munich and Berlin for four semesters, Gropius joined

1064-534: The postwar period. Henry van de Velde , the master of the Grand-Ducal Saxon School of Arts and Crafts in Weimar was asked to step down in 1915 due to his Belgian nationality. His recommendation for Gropius to succeed him led eventually to Gropius's appointment as master of the school in 1919. It was this academy which Gropius transformed into the world-famous Bauhaus (a.k.a. Gropius School of Arts), attracting

1102-547: The present building in December 1994 when renovation was complete. There is a permanent exhibition about the composer; a special exhibition is shown at the time of the Kurt Weill Festival. The library, open to interested visitors on request, contains sheet music, mainly by Kurt Weill, literature relating to classic modernism, CDs and DVDs. Walter Gropius Walter Adolph Georg Gropius (18 May 1883 – 5 July 1969)

1140-521: The rest of his life teaching at the Harvard Graduate School of Design . In the United States he worked on several projects with Marcel Breuer and with the firm The Architects Collaborative , of which he was a founding partner. In 1959, he won the AIA Gold Medal , one of the most prestigious awards in architecture. Born in Berlin , Walter Gropius was the third child of Walter Adolph Gropius and Manon Auguste Pauline Scharnweber (1855–1933), daughter of

1178-674: The school year in England. The house the Gropiuses built for themselves in 1938 in Lincoln, Massachusetts (now known as Gropius House ) was influential in bringing International Modernism to the US, but Gropius disliked the term: "I made it a point to absorb into my own conception those features of the New England architectural tradition that I found still alive and adequate." In designing his house, Gropius used

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1216-535: Was a German-American architect and founder of the Bauhaus School , who is widely regarded as one of the pioneering masters of modernist architecture . He was a founder of Bauhaus in Weimar and taught there for several years, becoming known as a leading proponent of the International Style . Gropius emigrated from Germany to England in 1934 and from England to the United States in 1937, where he spent much of

1254-756: Was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988 and is now available to the public for tours. Bauhaus Center Tel Aviv in the White City recognizes the greatest concentration of Bauhaus buildings in the world. In 1959, he received the AIA Gold Medal . On 17 May 2008, Google Doodle commemorated Walter Gropius' 125th birthday. In 1996, the Bauhaus Building and the Master Houses were added to list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites . NB: The building in Niederkirchnerstraße , Berlin known as

1292-476: Was an influence on him at that time. In 1920, the Bauhaus was given its first major commission that would utilize almost all of the workshops in the school. This commission was for a house for Adolf Sommerfeld made from wood. The architectural designs for the house came from Gropius and Adolf Meyer. The Sommerfeld House was completed in 1921. In 1923, Gropius designed his famous door handles, now considered an icon of 20th-century design and often listed as one of

1330-520: Was born in 1916. When Manon died of polio at age 18, in 1935, composer Alban Berg wrote his Violin Concerto in memory of her (it is inscribed "to the memory of an angel"). Gropius and Mahler divorced in 1920 (She had by that time established a relationship with Franz Werfel , whom she later married). Gropius married Ilse Frank, known as Ise, on 16 October 1923; they remained together until his death in 1969. The couple adopted Beate Frank known as Ati ,

1368-761: Was commissioned in 1913 to design a car for the Prussian Railroad Locomotive Works in Königsberg . This locomotive was unique and the first of its kind in Germany and perhaps in Europe. Other works of this early period include the office and factory building for the Werkbund Exhibition (1914) in Cologne . Gropius published an article about "The Development of Industrial Buildings" in 1913, which included about

1406-670: Was subsequently shown at the Wallace Collection in London and the Huntington Museum in San Marino, California. Burchard led the 22 million dollar renovation of the Met's British Galleries, of which the re-opening marked the museum's 150th anniversary. Burchard was born and raised in Paris, France. He read history of art and architecture at the universities of Tübingen , Vienna and

1444-442: Was the armchair F 51, designed for the Bauhaus's directors room in 1920 – nowadays a re-edition in the market, manufactured by the German company TECTA/Lauenfoerde. In 1919, Gropius was involved in the Glass Chain utopian expressionist correspondence under the pseudonym "Mass." Usually more notable for his functionalist approach, the Monument to the March Dead , designed in 1919 and executed in 1920, indicates that expressionism

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