Breuer, << BROY uhr, >> Marcel Lajos (1902-1981), was a Hungarian-born architect, furniture designer, and teacher. From 1924 to 1928, Breuer taught at the Bauhaus school of design in Germany. Although trained in architecture under Bauhaus director Walter Gropius, Breuer taught furniture design. In 1937, Breuer immigrated to the United States at the invitation of Gropius, who was teaching architecture at Harvard University. Breuer practiced architecture with Gropius from 1937 to 1941. He also taught at Harvard from 1937 until 1946, when he opened his own office in New York City. Although his practice was international in scope, Breuer designed important buildings in New York City, among them the home of the Whitney Museum of American Art from 1966 to 2014.
After moving to the United States, Breuer designed several important buildings in the European modern style pioneered by Gropius. Breuer also designed steel-framed furniture. A picture of his tubular steel-frame chair appears in this article. As a teacher, Breuer introduced a generation of American architects to the values and qualities of Bauhaus design. The most important of these architects included Philip Johnson and Paul Rudolph. Breuer was born on May 21, 1902, in Pecs, Hungary. He died on July 1, 1981.
See also Bauhaus; Furniture ( The 1900’s and 2000’s); Gropius, Walter.
