Walter Gropius/G. Preston Frazer Papers,

Walter Gropius (1883-1969) was a renowned German-American architect; director of the Bauhaus from 1919 to 1928 and Chair of the Harvard University Graduate School of Design from 1938 to 1952.

G. (George) Preston Frazer was born in Davidson, Tennessee, February 4, 1908, to George Augustine and Sadie (Warner) Frazer. He received a BA in Liberal Arts from the Virginia Military Institute in 1929. In 1935, he completed a BS in Engineering at the University of Hawaii, and in 1937, a Masters of Architecture at Harvard University. During World War II, he served with the Second Armored Division in Europe and North Africa. He remained in the Army Reserves until 1968. From 1939 to 1940 and from 1946 to 1974, he taught in the Art Department of Virginia Tech. Following his retirement, Frazer continued to support Virginia Tech, which continues to be among the many institutions to display donations of his work. Frazer died at his home in Catawba, North Carolina, on September 10, 2003.