# Michael Graves artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/michael-graves/
Profile generated: 2026-05-30T22:55:00.000Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1934-07-09
- Death date: 2015-03-12
- Nationality: American
- Movements: Postmodernism, The New York Five, Memphis Group
- Common media: Architecture, Industrial design, Furniture design, Painting, Architectural drawing

## About Michael Graves

Michael Graves (1934–2015) was an American architect, industrial designer, and educator whose work shaped postmodern architecture and product design. Born in Indianapolis, he studied at the University of Cincinnati and Harvard University before earning the Rome Prize at the American Academy in Rome. Graves was a member of the New York Five, a group that revisited modernist architectural language, and later became associated with the Memphis Group, the Italian collective celebrated for bold, color-driven postmodern furniture and objects. He taught architecture at Princeton University for nearly forty years. His practice ranged from landmark buildings — including the Portland Building and the Denver Public Library — to iconic consumer products such as the Alessi 9093 kettle with its bird-shaped whistle. After partial paralysis in 2003, Graves became a prominent advocate for accessible healthcare design through his firm, Michael Graves and Associates, and its design arm.

## Common works and media

Graves's auction and appraisal profile includes industrial design objects — teakettles, coffee and tea services, cookware, and tabletop accessories produced for Alessi — as well as postmodern furniture, lighting fixtures, architectural models and presentation drawings, glassware designed for Steuben, and objects from his Memphis Group period. Paintings and drawings by Graves also occasionally appear on the market. His collaborations with Alessi and the Memphis Group are the most frequently traded categories in design auctions.

## Market and appraisal context

Graves's work appears at auction primarily in twentieth-century and postmodern design sales. Collectors most often encounter his industrial designs for Alessi — especially the 9093 kettle (1985) and related tabletop series — alongside Memphis Group furniture, lighting, and decorative objects. Value depends on the manufacturer line, edition size, condition, and whether the piece is a documented prototype or standard production run. Early Alessi and Memphis collaborations attract the strongest interest. Architectural drawings and presentation renderings appear occasionally in specialized design auctions. Mass-market lines produced for retailers like Target were made in large volumes and are generally less sought after at auction than limited studio or manufacturer editions.

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine identity research from museum records, library authority files, and biographical sources with auction records, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots when those records are available. This page draws on Getty ULAN, VIAF, the RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History, Wikidata, and Wikipedia for artist identity and historical context.

## Sources

- RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/105868
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/30270790/
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q314636
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500030109
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Graves
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n80072557
- The Museum of Modern Art: https://www.moma.org/artists/2308
- Michael Graves: https://www.michaelgraves.com/