HISTORY
Ground was broken on the construction of the Gropius House in
March of 1938 in Lincoln, Massachusetts.
The modern home was built and designed by Walter Gropius, a prominent
German architect and founder of the Bauhaus.
With increasing tension in Germany, Gropius fled his home country with his
wife, Ise, and their daughter, Ati, and re-located to London in 1934. In 1937, the family moved to the United
States, as Gropius had accepted a position as a professor of architecture at
the Graduate School of Design at Harvard.
Helen Sturrow, a Massachusetts philanthropist, provided the land and
funding for Gropius to construct his family home in Lincoln.
Gropius was heavily involved in all aspects of the house’s
construction, right down to the choice of materials. Additionally, Mrs. Sturrow also provided
funding and adjacent land to Marcel Breuer, a notable Bauhaus colleague and
friend of Gropius. Their homes worked as solid examples of local modern
architecture. However, their designs did not pertain to the Colonial style
homes in the area, and there were complaints from neighbors, despite the
structure being comprised of many traditional materials shared by the older homes
in Lincoln, such as pine clapboards, redwood sheathing, brick, etc. With the addition of more industrial and
functional materials such as welded steel, acoustical plaster, steel lighting
sconces, chrome banisters, and glass blocks, Gropius felt his home a great
example of modern landscape architecture in the US, something not yet too
common in 1930s America. Since construction occurred while he taught at
Harvard, his students were provided an in-depth look at the building process
during their studies, especially as Gropius did not lecture at Harvard but
instead used his home office as his classroom.
Every portion of the Gropius House, from its structure to its landscapes,
were designed for maximum efficiency and simplicity, adhering to Bauhaus philosophy.
The surrounding grounds were designed with as much care as
the house, as Gropius insisted that the relationship of a house to its
landscape was of utmost importance. He
left the apple orchard intact, and made sure the nearby swamp was preserved in
its natural state. Views to the east,
south, and west were maintained, and as such gave a feeling of the house being
high on a hill. Today, however, a number
of the views formally enjoyed by the Gropius family are obstructed by tree
growth over the decades.
Walter Gropius lived in his Lincoln home until his death in
1969. Ise stayed in Lincoln after her
husband’s death. In 1974, she donated the home and its furnishings to the
Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities (now Historic NewEngland) despite remaining a resident in the home until her death in 1983. In 1984, the Gropius House became a museum,
and patrons, with the price of admission, can tour the home and its grounds.
GROPIUS
HOUSE TODAY
Historic New England has been careful to present the Gropius
House as if the family remained in tenancy.
Visitors are welcome to visit the museum Wednesday through Sunday (June
1st – October 15th) between the hours of 11:00 am and
4:00 pm, and Saturday through Sunday (October 16th – May 31st)
also between the hours of 11:00 am and 4:00 pm.
Admission is $15 for adults, $12 for seniors, and $8 for students. It is free for Historic New England members
and Lincoln residents. Included in the
price of admission is an hour-long tour.
Tours start on the hour, with the last being at 4:00 pm. All visitors must receive the guided tour to
enter the Gropius House. Parking is
available at the entrance of the driveway, adjacent to the ticket office, which
is also used as the gift shop. The ticket
office also displays several pieces of information on Gropius and the Bauhaus,
as well as photographs and books.
I visited the property on a rainy Saturday, so I did not get
to enjoy the home’s landscapes, and being that it was early February, the
grounds left much to be desired. However, from viewing photographs on the
Gropius House Facebook and Twitter feeds, it seems that volunteers and
employees of Historic New England have been working hard to beautify the
property. Although it was raining, I was
able to get a good look at the house’s exterior, and while I am certainly not a
conservation/preservation expert, it looked to be in good shape. Paint did not appear to be chipped, and the
paths were well swept with nary a spot of dirt to be found. One visitor in particular insisted on
bringing up how impressed he was with the state of the paths throughout the
entire tour.
While the exterior is innovative in how it combines
traditional elements of New England architecture with modernist design and
materials, what is most impressive about the Gropius House is the
interior. Not only does the house hold a
sizeable collection of furniture and art, but it also has been curated so that
the family’s possessions remain intact, a prime example of the concept of
history in continuum of which we discussed in class. This evokes a sense of residency and
immediacy. Scattered on the kitchen countertops are plates and pots holding
artificial food, for example. Ise
Gropius’s stylish fur and wool coats hang in the foyer, and her Merrimeko dress
is laid on her and Walter’s bed, as if her ghost plans on entertaining guests
at the downstairs dining table, which is set with various Bauhaus dinnerware.
Both Walter and Ise shared the office space, and atop the desk are papers, a
typewriter with an unfinished letter, photos of Ati, and open books.
While at the Gropius House, there were only two employees on
the premises, and they took turns giving the hourly tours. My tour guide hinted he worked as a volunteer
without explicitly saying as much. He made a joke about not being paid after I
said something about how working at the Gropius House would be a dream. I thought it rude to pry further, but I am
fairly certain that my assumption about the guides being volunteers is
correct. Anyway, my guide was
fantastic. He was knowledgeable,
approachable, enthusiastic, and funny. He
even allowed me to sit and relax in one of the Breuer chairs of which he
assured me was a recent replica of the one that was owned by the Gropius
family.
COLLECTIONS
The collections within the Gropius House reflect the
simplicity and modernism of the structure itself. There are a number of furnishings designed by
friend, neighbor, and colleague Marcel Breuer that make up the majority of the
Gropius House home goods. These pieces
are accompanied by Sori Yanagi stools, the Eero Saarinen Womb Chair (one of the
few pieces in the house not designed in the Bauhaus workshops), and Walter Gropius’s
desk he designed and handcrafted in the woodwork shop at the Bauhaus school in 1923,
which currently resides in Ati’s room.
It is not just the furniture that makes the collections at the Gropius
house remarkable. There are many
original pieces of art hanging throughout the house created by famous friends
and colleagues such as Josef Albers, Joan Miró, Paul Klee, Henry Moore, and
Herbert Bayer.
Occasionally, items are on loan to other institutions. The iconic Bauhaus lamp, designed by Carl J.
Jucker and Wilhelm Wagenfeld, as well as a functional wooden magazine rack were
on loan at the Concord Museum for their Middlesex County Modern exhibit that
ran until March 20th.
GOVERNANCE
As mentioned previously, Ise Gropius donated the Gropius
House to Historic New England in 1974.
Historic New England continues to maintain the property. The Gropius website is within the larger
Historic New England site. Although
there is no mission statement displayed on the Gropius House page, nor is there
much information about governance for that particular property, it can be
assumed that its governance and mission statement is shared with that of
Historic New England:
We serve the public by
preserving and presenting New England heritage.
Historic New England is
the oldest and largest regional heritage organization in the nation. We share the region’s history through vast
collections, publications, exhibitions, museum properties, and archives that document
more than 400 years of life in New England.
Historic New England maintains a relatively large board of
trustees. It is also advised by a
non-governing board of overseers and an advisory council. Additionally, the leadership team carries out
their mission by overseeing daily operations and their employees. They also make their annual reports available
through their webpage and document their yearly financial statements. After evaluating the Historic New England
website, it seems the Gropius house has been left in good hands. Below its mission statement on its web page
are detailed bullet points about five key program areas pertaining to their
historic properties, their collections, preservation services, education, and
archives and publications. They maintain
36 historic sites across five states and four centuries of New England
life. They offer a variety of public
programs throughout the year at their sites, such as workshops, concerts, and
walking tours. Historic New England
currently holds more than 110,000 objects in its collections, many of which are
included in their archives. As far as
education is concerned, they hold school and youth programs to serve more than
45,000 students each year and have received national attention for the ways in
which they utilize their historic resources in successful learning.
EVENTS
AND SERVICE
Events pertaining to the Gropius House include “Evening at
Gropius,” which occurs on a monthly basis from 7:00 pm until 9:00 pm. Included with the price of admission ($40 per
ticket, $30 for members), visitors will be given a house tour, view a slide
show, and “see how Walter Gropius’s innovative lighting scheme comes to life at
night”. On Wednesday, May 4th
there will be a lecture at the Gropius House titled “Growing House: Scarcity
Nature, and Architecture”. Also, on an
evening in June, there will be an event called “Small but Perfect Things: The
Style and Jewelry Collection of Ise Gropius” where visitors can view the jewelry
collection of the late Mrs. Gropius, as well as take a gander at various
wardrobe pieces, etc. Also, their
twitter and facebook reveal that lately they have had volunteers assist with
apple pruning in the Gropius orchard.
Those interested may call ahead and take part in the process.
PRESERVATION
AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROLS
While the Gropius House webpage does not detail the site’s
preservation, Historic New England makes it part of their mission in regards to
all of their properties, and they include a statement of preservation philosophy on their general website which reads:
One of Historic New England's primary goals is the preservation of cultural resources.
Recognizing that the resources administered by Historic New England, including landscapes, buildings, structures, archeological resources, objects, and archival material, may have different preservation needs and ideologies, Historic New England's preservation philosophy is to:
- Research and document the history, evolution, features, materials, integrity, and areas of significance of resources prior to undertaking any repair or conservation work. Research should be considered a continuum that serves to direct the overall management approach for resources, and records Historic New England's contribution to their care and maintenance;
- Monitor usage to prevent irreparable loss of historic fabric;
- Choose maintenance and conservation treatments that reflect a commitment to retaining and preserving historic material;
- Recognize and preserve the design and craftsmanship that has uniquely shaped a resource over time;
- Disseminate the experiences and information associated with resources to internal and external audiences; and
- Follow or exceed nationally-accepted professional standards and guidelines, as appropriate for each discipline, in order to ensure the longevity of resources and maintain a reputation for innovation and the highest quality of work.
In 1997, Apt Bulletin
published an article by Susan Buck, an expert in conservation research,
evaluating the Gropius House. In the
piece, the author detailed changes in the house’s structure, identified its
original materials, and made suggestions for further research as well as
possible preservation ideas. Much
emphasis was placed on the paint history and various chemical tests done to
reveal types of paint used. It was noted
in the article there was significant paint chipping on both the exterior and
interior walls, which the author attributed to white lead found in the original
paint, as well as a fungicide used to prevent mold. When I visited the Gropius House, I did not
notice any chipping or paint cleavage in particular, which allows me to assume
Historic New England did indeed attend to the issues. The article also
mentioned that repair invoices had shown ongoing roof drainage problems and
repairs done as a result of water damage.
On the tour, my guide had mentioned a few times that the house has
repeatedly been subject to roof leakage.
Again, neither this, nor much other damage, was noticeable during my
visit.
In order to maintain the collections at the site, visitors
are to wear protective booties before entering the Gropius House. Before the
guide allowed us to enter, he explicitly informed us we were not to touch
anything without permission, and that we were not to wander off on our
own. Surely, this was for security
reasons. Being that there were only two
staff members onsite, it would be fairly easy for a patron to do as he pleases
if he were to drift apart from the tour group.
My guide also informed us that at one point, UV-blocking film was
installed on the windows. Because of the
number of windows on all sides of the house, this is especially important, so
as to protect the objects within. Shades
were both opened and closed during the tour, so sunlight does not easily enter
the Gropius House. At the time of the
Buck article, tour groups were limited to 12 visitors in order to limit wear
and tear, and during winters they made certain to keep the thermostat at a low temperature
in order to control humidity. The number
of guests allowed at a time on the tour may have changed since the article’s
publication, but I am not certain.
The only noticeable damage I saw when I visited was a crack
in one of the frosted glass cubes located in the office. When asked, the guide explained that Historic
New England was in the process of replacing the glass, but that because the
exact type is no longer made, they had to wait for a replacement from a
soon-to-be demolished building somewhere.
ACCESSIBILITY
The House is not ADA compliant at this time, and Historic New
England mentions on the FAQ page that their properties require a significant
amount of standing and some walking.
There are no ramps, elevators, or lifts, but the website says they can
provide folding chairs to use during the tour.
Some differently-abled guests would not be able to physically view the
second floor, as the only staircases on the premises are spiral. The Gropius
House webpage states such guests can be provided a visual tour of the upstairs
in the museum office. Service animals
are welcome, but the Gropius House recommends that differently-abled visitors
call ahead so they may work with them in making the experience accessible.
Interior photography used to be forbidden but is now allowed,
so long as the visitor does not use flash and is considerate of the other
guests on the tour. Also forbidden are
selfie sticks, video, and tripods.
ARCHIVES
AND WEB PRESENCE
The majority of the archives pertaining to the Gropius House
are located with the rest of the Historic New England materials at the Otis House in Beacon Hill. A finding aid for this collection is available online. Another large portion of the Gropius archives are owned
by Busch-Reisinger at Harvard, seeing as he was faculty there, and that the
museum’s focus is German and Central European art, Bauhaus included. A small number of archives are also located
in the Houghton Library. All archives
are accessible by appointment. Harvard’s
archives are a bit more difficult to access, as those unaffiliated with the
university have some red tape to cross after successfully setting up a
meeting. When I tried to visit the
Busch-Reisinger Museum archives, I was given the run-around, slow response
time, and not many options for an appointment time.
Although the Gropius House does not have its own separate
website, there does exist an impressive digital archive hosted by Historic New
England. This is accessible to anyone
with internet access. Other than that,
the web presence of the Gropius House leaves much to be desired. They do have their own Facebook page and
Twitter account, but these are not particularly active. At most, there are a couple of posts each
week, mostly to document upcoming or past events. Although it seems that the property receives
its fair share of volunteer help, they might benefit from volunteers as far as
social media is concerned in order to reach out to a younger audience.
CONCLUSION
Overall, I was more-than-impressed with my visit to the
Gropius House. It is concerning,
however, that being as obsessed with the Bauhaus as I am, that I did not know
of the Gropius House until relatively recently.
Of course, I was aware of Walter Gropius’s time at Harvard and thus knew
he had lived in the area, but in all of my readings on Weimar and Bauhaus, I
surprisingly either overlooked mention of the Gropius House, or it was not
cited at all, which leads me to believe that a little more outreach pertaining
to this property would do it some good.
Furthermore, it was interesting to me on the tour when I
overheard a fellow visitor inquire about Alma Mahler, Gropius’s wife before
Ise. My guide gasped and right away
said, “We are not allowed to talk about that,” suggesting possible
restrictions, and leading me to suppose that the tour is designed around what
we are only supposed to hear. Anyone
with search engine skills can easily learn about Walter Gropius’s history with
the Widow Mahler, but it certainly was noteworthy that it was not to be
discussed on the premise, suggesting that the transfer of information is
carefully orchestrated at the Gropius House.
References
Buck, S.
L.. (1997). A Material Evaluation of the Gropius House: Planning to Preserve a
Modern Masterpiece. APT Bulletin, 28(4), 29–35. http://doi.org.ezproxy.simmons.edu:2048/10.2307/1504591
Favermann, M. (2014, April 14). The
Gropius House, Historic Architecture:1938 Bauhaus Home in Lincoln, Mass.
Retrieved May 1, 2016, from
http://www.artesmagazine.com/2014/04/the-gropius-house-historic-architecture1938-bauhaus-home-in-lincoln-mass/
Glynn, S. (1999). Walter Gropius House.
Retrieved April 29, 2016, from
http://www.galinsky.com/buildings/gropiushouse/index.htm
Gropius House. (n.d.). Retrieved May 1, 2016, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gropius_House
Historic New England. (n.d.). Retrieved
April 29, 2016, from http://www.historicnewengland.org/historic-properties/homes/Gropius%20House
Historic New England Annual Report
FY15. (n.d.). Retrieved May 1, 2015, from
https://issuu.com/historicnewengland/docs/historic_new_england_annual_report__4a8c7586d88f54/1
Historic New England, Gropius Family
Papers Finding Aid. (n.d.). Retrieved May 1, 2016, from http://www.historicnewengland.org/collections-archives-exhibitions/collections-access/collection-object/capobject?gusn=GUSN-187803
Kramer,
E. F. (2004). The Walter Gropius House Landscape: A Collaboration of Modernism
and the Vernacular. Journal of Architectural Education (1984-), (3). 39.
Walter Gropius. (n.d.). Retrieved May 1, 2016, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Gropius
*Much of my information also came from my visit and tour of the Gropius House.
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