Gropius House
Furniture and Art
When the Lincoln house was completed in 1938, most of the furnishings that filled the rooms had come from the Gropiuses apartment in Berlin and before that, the Director’s House at the Dessau Bauhaus. Yet, from the moment they moved in, the appearance of the interiors began to evolve. Friends came to visit and brought new pieces of art as gifts, new designs that hit the mass market had to be tried out, and as textiles and upholstery became faded or a chair broken, they were unceremoniously thrown out and replaced with something entirely new. Every object in their home had meaning and a reason for being there, otherwise it was relegated to the basement. At the time Ise Gropius left the Lincoln house to Historic New England, the assemblage of furniture, art, and household objects presented a fascinating chronicle of their lives. Explore some highlights below, organized by location.