After Gropius resigned from the Bauhaus, the influential German design school he had founded and directed for almost a decade, he visited the United States. He was surprised to find that much American architecture was less modern than that of the stripped-down "machine-aesthetic" Bauhaus style. This startling photograph nevertheless reveals that Gropius found the Flatiron's prowlike profile irresistibly exciting, despite the building's old-fashioned decoration.
Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.
Open Access
As part of the Met's Open Access policy, you can freely copy, modify and distribute this image, even for commercial purposes.
API
Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API.
Inscription: Signed on print, verso UL: "Prof. Gropius";
[Egidio Marzona, Düsseldorf, Germany]; [Prakapas Gallery, Bronxville, New York]; John C. Waddell, New York (March 9, 1983)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The New Vision: Photography between the World Wars. The Ford Motor Company Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art," September 23–December 31, 1989.
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. "The New Vision: Photography between the World Wars. The Ford Motor Company Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art," February 28–April 22, 1990.
Los Angeles County Museum of Art. "The New Vision: Photography between the World Wars. The Ford Motor Company Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art," May 10–July 15, 1990.
High Museum of Art. "The New Vision: Photography between the World Wars. The Ford Motor Company Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art," February 5–April 28, 1991.
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. "The New Vision: Photography between the World Wars. The Ford Motor Company Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art," June 8–August 4, 1991.
IVAM, Centre Julio Gonzalez, Valencia. "The New Vision, IVAM, Centre Julio Gonzalez, Valencia," January 20, 1995–March 26, 1995.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "New York New York," May 7–September 15, 2002.
Victoria and Albert Museum. "Modernism," April 6, 2006–July 23, 2006.
MARTa Herford. "Modernism," September 16, 2006–January 7, 2007.
Corcoran Gallery of Art. "Modernism," March 17, 2007–July 18, 2007.
The Met's Libraries and Research Centers provide unparalleled resources for research and welcome an international community of students and scholars.
The Met Collection API is where all makers, creators, researchers, and dreamers can connect to the most up-to-date data and public domain images for The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.
The Met's Department of Photographs houses a collection of more than 75,000 works spanning the history of photography from its invention in the 1830s to the present.
