Frank Poole Bevan, American costume and set designer, was born on November 9, 1903 to Walter Scott and Daisy May Poole Bevan in Scranton, Pennsylvania. After graduating from Scranton's Central High School (1921), Bevan attended Lafayette College where he received a Bachelor of Arts in 1925.
Bevan enrolled in the Department of Drama in the Yale School of the Fine Arts (later the Yale School of Drama) in roughly 1927. While a student Bevan worked with producer and director George Pierce Baker on Overlords (November 1928) for which he created the costume and set designs. In September 1929 Bevan was appointed Instructor in Costume Design in the Department of Drama. Bevan remained at Yale University throughout his career and held a number of appointments: Assistant Professor, Costume Design (1932-1938), Associate Professor, Costume Design (1938-1950), Associate Professor, Theatrical Design (1950-1956), and Professor, Theatrical Design (1956-1972). In 1930 Bevan studied theatrical design in Germany. Between 1937 and 1940 Bevan worked as a professional designer in New York City where he created costumes for productions such as The Greatest Show on Earth (Playhouse Theatre) and Knickerbocker Holiday (Ethel Barrymore Theatre). Bevan obtained a Master of Fine Arts degree in 1942 from the Yale School of Drama. On December 22, 1944 Bevan married Margaret Strauss Gnau (1904-1978). Margaret ("Margo") Gnau was also a graduate of the Yale School of Drama where she was awarded a Master of Fine Arts in 1940. Bevan worked as a consultant in Hollywood in the summer of 1947 for Joan of Arc starring Ingrid Bergman. In 1956 Bevan was named Associate Dean of the Yale School of Drama, a position he held until 1959. In addition to his teaching responsibilities, Bevan also created costume and set designs for productions at the Yale School of Drama and in New York (including the Metropolitan Opera). Bevan retired in 1971. He died in November 1976.
From the guide to the Frank Poole Bevan papers, 1914-1971, (Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library)
