Michael Graves was an American architect. Identified as one of The New York Five, as well as Memphis Group, Graves was known first for his contemporary building designs and some prominent public commissions that became iconic examples of Postmodern architecture, such as the Portland Building and the Denver Public Library. His recognition grew through designing domestic products sold by premium Italian housewares maker Alessi, and later low-cost new designs at stores such as Target and J. C. Penney in the United States. He was born on July 9, 1934 in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States.

Graves earned a bachelor’s degree in 1958 from the College of Design at the University of Cincinnati, Ohio, and a master’s degree in architecture (1959) at Harvard University. In 1960 he was the recipient of the Rome Prize from the American Academy in Rome, where, from 1960 to 1962, he immersed himself in the study of the great ancient local edifices. His exposure to those architectural structures not only would be the impetus for his departure from Modernism but would even be evident in his later postmodern buildings. Upon returning to the United States in 1962, he accepted a teaching position at Princeton University’s School of Architecture, where he would teach for nearly four decades. Graves was elected a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) in 1979. Graves was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 1999, the AIA Gold Medal in 2001, and the Driehaus Architecture Prize in 2012. He was also a Senior Fellow of the Design Futures Council. In 2010, Graves was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame.