Syracuse University Libraries

Marcel Breuer began donating his papers to Syracuse University in 1964. The Syracuse collection contains most of the extant drawings of Breuer's architecture and furniture, along with correspondence, papers from his tenure at Harvard's Graduate School of Design, and the majority of the office records related to his projects. The Special Collections Research Center has digitized approximately 25,000 objects from the first half of Breuer's career. To learn more about the Special Collections Research center, click here.

National Endowment for the Humanities

The National Endowment for the Humanities is an independent grant-making agency of the United States government dedicated to supporting research, education, preservation, and public programs in the humanities. In 2009, NEH awarded Syracuse University's Special Collections Research Center a grant to make the Breuer collection more accessible to scholars and the public. The grant funded the processing of Syracuse's Breuer collection, the digitization of materials from across the United States and Europe, and the creation of this website. For more information about the National Endowment for the Humanities and its sponsored programs, please click here.

Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution

The Archives of American Art is the world's largest and most widely used resource dedicated to collecting and preserving the papers and primary records of the visual arts in America. The papers of Marcel Breuer in the Archives of American Art were donated by Breuer's widow, Constance, between 1985 and 1999. The papers span the years 1920 to 1986 and consist of biographical material, correspondence, business and financial records, interviews, notes, writings, sketches, project files, exhibition files, photographs, and printed material that document Breuer's career as an architect and designer. The Archives have contributed nearly 1,000 objects authored by Marcel Breuer and his mentor, Walter Gropius. To visit the Archives of American Art website, click here.

Bauhaus Archive Berlin

The Bauhaus Archive in Berlin possesses the most complete collection of materials related to the history and legacy of the Bauhaus (1919-1933). The Bauhaus Archive has contributed drawings of Breuer's early projects, along with letters between Breuer and his Bauhaus colleagues, including Walter and Ise Gropius. Click here to visit the Bauhaus Archive website.

Stiftung Bauhaus Dessau

The Archives of the Stiftung Bauhaus Dessau were founded in 1976 to mark the 50th anniversary of the Bauhaus Building. Its collection of written and visual material helps to protect and conserve the cultural heritage of the Dessau phase of the Bauhaus (1925-1932), while promoting research and reflection on its history. The Stiftung Bauhaus Dessau has contributed personal letters between Breuer and his family and photographs of furniture he produced while a faculty member of the Bauhaus. For more information about the foundation archives, click here.

Harvard University

Frances Loeb Library
The Francis Loeb Library supports the educational programs and research activities of Harvard's Graduate School of Design. They have contributed materials related to Breuer's tenure as a professor in the school, including teaching materials, correspondence and lecture manuscripts, along with a few drawings from Breuer's partnership with Walter Gropius. For more information about special collections at Loeb Library click here.

Harvard Art Museums, Busch-Reisinger Museum
The Harvard Art Museums/Busch-Reisinger Museum is the only museum in North America devoted to promoting exploration and critical understanding of the arts of the German-speaking countries of Central and Northern Europe in all media and from all periods. The museum has contributed over 600 drawings and photographs documenting projects designed during Breuer's partnership with Walter Gropius (1937-1941). To visit the Harvard Art Museums' website, click here.

Houghton Library
The Walter Gropius Papers at Houghton Library contain correspondence and writings relating to Gropius's career after he arrived in America in 1937. Houghton Library has contributed letters between Breuer and Walter and Ise Gropius. For more information about Houghton Library, click here.

GTA Archive, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich

The Archive of the Institute for the History and Theory of Architecture (GTA) collects the papers of Swiss architects, architectural critics and photographers. The majority of their contribution relates to Breuer's projects in Zurich, the Doldertal Apartments and the Wohnbedarf Stores. These materials can be found in the papers of Alfred and Emil Roth, Sigfried Giedion and the Congrès internationaux d'architecture modern (CIAM). Click here to learn more about the GTA.

Vitra Design Museum

The Archive of the Vitra Design Museum collects materials related to the history of industrial furniture design. They have contributed Thonet furniture catalogues from the collection of Alexander von Vegesack and materials from the Anton Lorenz Papers. Lorenz was a Hungarian designer and businessman involved with Standard-Möbel, the firm begun by Breuer and Kalman Lengyel in the mid-1920s to produce Breuer's furniture. To visit the website of the Archive, click here.

University of East Anglia

The University of East Anglia Library holds the personal papers of Jack Pritchard, the founder of the Isokon Furniture Company. During his sojourn in London from 1935 to 1937, Breuer worked for Isokon, designing plywood furniture such as the long chair and nesting tables. The University of East Anglia has contributed materials related to Breuer's work for Isokon and personal correspondence between the two men. For more information about the Pritchard papers, click here.