The Untold Story of the Frank House
Join us on September 24, 2026 at Carnegie Museum of Art as Darcy Frank Mackay— granddaughter of Cecelia and Robert Frank and president of the Frank House Foundation— explores the remarkable untold story of this Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer masterpiece. Co-presented by Carnegie Mellon University’s schools of Architecture and Design, this free event will offer an inside look at the house and the vision shaping its future. Learn more and register here. Thursday, September 24, 2026 | 6–8 p.m.
On Exhibit in Europe: Original Anni Albers Fabric from The Frank House
Anni Albers (1899–1994) was a trailblazing textile designer of the 20th century. A student and later a teacher at the Bauhaus in Germany, Albers emigrated to the United States and taught at the famous Black Mountain College. She was a close collaborator of Frank House architects Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer and designed a gorgeous, handwoven wall-covering textile for the Frank House’s master bedroom. A swatch of this original fabric was recently donated to the Josef & Anni Albers Foundation and is currently on display in the exhibition "Anni Albers: Constructing Textiles". Albers developed original textile patterns using progressive woven techniques and became the first textile designer to have a solo exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. "Anni Albers: Constructing Textiles", a major exhibition of her distinguished work, premiered at the Zentrum Paul Klee in Bern, Switzerland, in November 2025 and will travel to the Belvedere in Vienna, Austria, in April 2026. More information on the exhibition can be found at https://www.albersfoundation.org/exhibitions/anni-albers-constructing-textiles On Exhibit in Europe: Original Anni Albers Fabric from The Frank House Anni Albers (1899–1994) was a trailblazing textile designer of the 20th century. A student and later a teacher at the Bauhaus in Germany, Albers emigrated to the United States and taught at the famous Black Mountain College. She was a close collaborator of Frank House architects Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer and designed a gorgeous, handwoven wall-covering textile for the Frank House’s master bedroom. A swatch of this original fabric was recently donated to the Josef & Anni Albers Foundation and is currently on display in the exhibition "Anni Albers: Constructing Textiles".Albers developed original textile patterns using progressive woven techniques and became the first textile designer to have a solo exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. "Anni Albers: Constructing Textiles", a major exhibition of her distinguished work, premiered at the Zentrum Paul Klee in Bern, Switzerland, in November 2025 and will travel to the Belvedere in Vienna, Austria, in April 2026.
Conversation and Book Signing: The Alan I W Frank House, The Modernist Masterwork by Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer
Conversation and Book Signing: The Alan I W Frank House, The Modernist Masterwork by Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer Dec 7, 2019 1:30 pm–3:00 pm CMOA Theater: Pittsburgh, PA To celebrate the launch of the new publication, Alan I W Frank House: The Modernist Masterwork by Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer, attendees joined us for an informal conversation between Alan Frank, who has lived in the Shadyside house since childhood, and Raymund Ryan, curator of the Heinz Architectural Center. Published by Rizzoli, this remarkable book recounts the story of one of Pittsburgh’s most important works of midcentury architecture. Featuring several critical texts, and with new photography by Richard Pare and Richard Barnes, it is essential reading for all those interested in Pittsburgh design culture. A book signing followed the conversation, with copies available for purchase through the CMOA store. The event was free and is co-sponsored by the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation. For more information, visit: CMOA.org
Benefit for the Frank House
A benefit dinner for the Alan I W Frank House Foundation was held recently at Eleven, a restaurant in Pittsburgh. Henry P Hoffstot, and Susan and John Block share stories of the Frank House’s role in Pittsburgh history with Alan.