Germany - Walter Gropius (1883-1969)

Caricature of Walter Gropius (1883-1969) by the Austria graphic artist Benedikt F. Dolbin dated 1950.
© Quittenbaum München, 80 Jahre Bauhaus Design, 10th May 99'

After studying architecture in Munich, Walter Gropius worked with Behrens and then set up his own office. In 1919 he founded the Bauhaus in Weimar, of which he was director until 1928.

For Gropius, state of the art technology and the new aesthetic conceptions developing therefrom had to be at the forefront of architectural development, urban planning and industrial design. In 1934 Gropius had to emigrate to England, in 1937 he was offered a chair at Harvard University in Cambridge.

His buildings are scattered throughout the world (e.g. PAN-AM building, New York 1952; Rosenthal porcelain factory, Selb 1966/67