Beate "Ati" Gropius Johansen (1926 — September 7, 2014) was a German-born
graphic designer, artist, teacher, and
illustrator. Her adoptive parents were
Modernist architect
Walter Gropius and his second wife Ise Frank Gropius, who was Ati's biological aunt. Throughout her career she illustrated 47 books. Her work is now part of various art institutions' collections.
Life and work
Ati Gropius was born Beate Frank in
Wiesbaden, Germany. She was adopted by architect and
Bauhaus founder
Walter Gropius and his second wife Ilse (Ise) Frank when she was nine years old after the death of her biological mother, Ise's sister Hertha Frank.[1][2] She emigrated to the United States with her adoptive parents in 1937,[3] when Walter Gropius came to teach at
Harvard University's
Graduate School of Design. The family lived at the
Gropius House designed by Walter. Ati attended primary and secondary school at nearby
Concord Academy.
After completing her studies, she moved to Boston at the age of 21. She then lived in Rome,
Colorado, and
Chicago before settling in New York City. Her first marriage to designer Charles Forberg ended in divorce. She later married architect
John M. Johansen, who would become the last surviving member of the
Harvard Five, an architectural group heavily influenced by Walter Gropius.
Ati worked as a designer, teacher, and artist, and illustrated 47 books. She taught workshops based on Albers's Bauhaus design courses at various institutions including the
Museum of Modern Art in New York City[6] and the Walter Gropius School in
Erfurt. She was also a sponsor of the
Bauhaus Archive, which was founded in 1960 by Walter Gropius in Berlin.[3]