Gropius House
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Ati’s Sketches

Ati's Sketches

This charming series of sketches was made by 13-year-old Ati Gropius in 1939, the year after the family moved into their Lincoln house. The series was called “The Majority” because Gropius claimed that Ise, the subject of the drawings, always had the last word.  During this period, Ati referred to her mother as “Leaden Duck” because she couldn’t swim. In these sketches, Ati gently pokes fun at her mother, whose behavior was often incomprehensible to her.

Ise in the Morning

7 A.M. Isi, in ice cold + dark bedroom, hairnetted + kept warm + alive by our cat.

Ise filling the Birdfeeder

Filling the birdfeeder on the oak in front of living room, booted and furred against snow + howling winds. Isi was the 7AM Florence Nightingale of the birdworld.

Ise at the Window

Isi, in the perenial [sic] housegown, behind the living room curtains hiding from yet one more roving band of house-viewers.

Ise watching the wildlife

But when the pheasant family arrived to the feeding station by the big pine, we became the viewers who had to hide, – i.e. crawl from the dining table to the kitchen in order not to fluster the wild life.

Ise in the car

Isi, the chauffeur, in the ubiquitous fur jacket, is riveted by soap operas on the car radio, while awaiting her pickups.

Ise and the cat

9 P.M. While Walter reads aloud (Othello, Macbeth, etc.) Isi and cat gently drift off, having darned the day’s quota of Walter’s socks with holes.

Ise's longjohns

Isi’s longjohns underneath the elegant housegowns (in which she lived) were referred to as “the family skeleton.” They were also a testimony to the chilliness of the living room!

Ati's Sketches
Ise in the Morning
Ise filling the birdfeeder
Ise at the window
Ise watching the wildlife
Ise in the car
Ise and the cat
Ise's longjohns
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