By Mark Robbins, President.
We learned with great sadness that a longtime Academy friend Michael Graves (1962 Fellow and 1979 Resident), passed away.
Graves’s relationship with the Academy began as a Fellow in 1960 and continued as a Resident in 1979. He was voted onto the Board of Trustees in 1981 and was an influential member of the Committee of the School of Fine Arts and the Plant, Planning, and Preservation Committee. He served on the architecture and design juries many times since the late 1970s, and most recently in 2008. Michael was named the Academy’s first Life Trustee in 2009.
In addition to being an active steward of the Academy, Michael used his prodigious talents in service to the Academy, which will have a lasting presence. He is the designer of the Barbara Goldsmith Rare Book Room, which was dedicated in 1996, and the Academy’s Trustees Medal, given in recognition of distinguished and committed service.
Michael’s deep commitment to the Academy was a constant throughout his life. His engagement was clear at each Academy event. In his most recent visit to the Academy in Rome to lecture, he is remembered for the time he spent speaking with Fellows and Residents.
Michael Graves was a singular figure in American architecture and design. He will be greatly missed by the Academy community.