The history of the Bauhaus, the 20th century’s most influential school of art and design, is linked intimately to the history of Harvard University. Harvard students, museum curators, and faculty were essential for the reception, documentation, and dissemination of Bauhaus ideas, in and outside America, both during and after the school’s short life in Germany. On the eve of the centennial of the founding of the Bauhaus, and in light of new research, this free talk at New Canaan Library will explore some of the lesser-known aspects of this unique relationship, in particular by focusing on a few evocative Bauhaus objects in Harvard’s museum collections.

Please note: this event takes place at New Canaan Library. Please register here. The lecture will begin at 6:30pm, preceded by a reception beginning at 6:00pm.

Robert Wiesenberger is a curator and historian of art, design, and architecture. He is a critic at the Yale School of Art, where he teaches in the MFA program in graphic design. From 2014–16, he was the Stefan Engelhorn Curatorial Fellow at the Harvard Art Museums, where he was responsible for the museums’ Bauhaus collections. He is coauthor, with David Reinfurt, of Muriel Cooper (MIT Press, 2017).

Glass House Presents at New Canaan Library is an occasional series of talks and events about architecture, design, and Modernism in New Canaan and beyond. The series is collaboratively organized by the Glass House and the Library.

This program is generously supported by the New Canaan Community Foundation.