Walter Burley Griffin, Marion Mahony Griffin

Walter Burley Griffin, Marion Mahony Griffin

Walter Burley Griffin Marion Mahony Griffin The Art Institute of Chicago u fe-n She.Jf- lD~.\ 131 \ Cover: No. 20, detail ©The Art Institute of Chicago 1981 A1 <t4 All rights reserved. 1'1<el ISBN: 0-86559-047-8 v.I Designed by Ann Wassmann. c.. d- Typeset by MobiGraphics, Chicago. Printed by Photopress, Inc., Broadview, Illinois. Distributed by Prairie Avenue Bookshop, 711 S. Dearborn, Chicago, Illinois 60605. Walter Burley Griffin Marion Mahony Griffin Architectural Drawings in the Burnham Library of Architecture The Art Institute of Chicago September 10, 1981, through January 31, 1982 o~ 1oi l\)\l .f\1~4 Introduction \~\ Walter Burley Griffin (1876-1937) and Marion Mahony Griffin \l. I (1871-1962) were a husband and wife architectural team. Born in c 1__ Maywood and raised in Oak Park, Walter studied architecture at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and graduated in 1899. In 1894 Marion, a native Chicagoan, became the first woman to graduate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Science in Architecture. They both worked for Frank Lloyd Wright in the early years of the 20th century, married in 1911, and moved to Australia after Walter won the competition to design the Federal Capital of Canberra in 1912. He was the architect, she the delineator of most of the striking, often orientalesque, renderings in this exhibit. Together, they worked on projects in Australia and India until Walter's death. She returned to Chicago and, in 1949, donated over 350 of their drawings to the Burnham Library through Eric Nicholls, Walter's asso­ ciate in Australia, as well as to other institutions throughout the coun­ try such as Northwestern University and the Avery Architectural Library at Columbia University. Walter Burley Griffin When I first worked with Marion she was making drawings on the silky Japanese vellum with a crow quill pen and brown ink. The hairy surface would catch the pen unless it barely skimmed the surface, in which case blot and finish for that sheet-start all over again. The Federal Capital drawings were made on linen tracing cloth, lithographed on window shade holland, and ren­ dered with water color and photographic dyes. The next step was to lithograph them on satin, dip the satin in thin glue size and stretch it smooth on a board. When dry the rendering was done with the dyes, and when stripped from the board and lightly dusted with a soft cloth, enough of the size was removed to show the prac­ tically unchanged satin surface. Renderings so made are practically indestructible with ordinary care and can be ironed if they become mussed. In the case of the Canberra renderings they were completed in less than a week, but only try this method if time is not of the essence.1 2 Marion used this technique, essentially, for many of the presentation renderings that she delineated for Walter's American, Australian, and Indian projects. However, in the present selection we have included items that were executed in other media, as well. The drawings displayed here suggest the variety of projects in which the Griffins became involved, as well as the social, aesthetic, and philosophical concerns and principles that determined their approach to their discipline. Defining himself as a "land planner" and "naturalist in architecture," Griffin designed buildings, suburbs, and a city in which he integrated "architecture, landscape, and town planning into a total humanised and romantic environment." 2 The Griffins carried with them to Australia and India ideas they had developed while par­ ticipating in the nascent Prairie School of Architecture: convictions about the importance of modern technology, the beauty of natural Marion Mahony Griffin materials, the intimate relationship between architecture and nature, and the critical role architecture plays in a democratic society. A number of drawings included in the present exhibition were given their first public viewing in 1979 in "The Three Worlds of Walter Burley Griffin, Architect: U.S.A., Australia, and India," a show which toured Australia under the auspices of the Australian Gallery Director's Coun­ cil. Therefore, we are particularly pleased to be able to present to Chicago audiences a selection of Griffin drawings that includes sheets on view here for the first time since they entered the Burnham Library over 30 years ago. John Zukowsky Architectural Archivist, The Art Institute of Chicago 1. Mark L. Peisch, The Chicago School of Architecture, New York, 1965, p. 111. 2. James Birrell, Walter Burley Griffin, Brisbane, 1964, p. 185. Additional Selected Sources Brooks, H. Allen. The Prairie School. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1972. Johnson, Donald Leslie. The Architecture of Walter Burley Griffin. South Melbourne: Macmillan, 1977. Van Zanten, David T. "The Early Work of Marion Mahony Griffin," The Prairie School Review III (1966), pp. 5-23 . Walter Burley Griffin: Selected Designs, Palos Park, Illinois: The Prairie School Press, 1970. 3 No. 1, detail 4 / / ,,,- _,.-- ~4 .~. No. 4 • detail 5 No. 5 6 CATHOLIC · COLU"'.GE UN\VL_QS\TY°F w IS GQlr-nr·1 -A A r·121T5Cl1 ARCMITE.CT5 IN CON_IUNCTION 395 COLL1N5 ST MELBOUQNE JAN·9T~ 191T SECTION Ft2.0NT -E:LE:VATtON No. 11 7 8 No. 7 9 No. 10 io 11 No. 13 12 13 No. 18, detail 14 No. 19 15 Checklist Unless otherwise noted, all the drawings were delineated by Marion Mahony Griffin, or probably supervised by her. Walter Burley Griffin was the sole architect except for catalogue nos. 7-11 and no. 15, which were done in association with architects Augustus Fritsch and Peck and Kemter, respectively. Dimensions are provided in centimeters, with height preceding width; the drawings are listed chronologically, with the exception of no. 1. 1 9 14 Perspective Rendering of Rock Crest­ Perspective Study for the Interior of a Tree Study, c. 1920. Ink on linen, Rock Glen, Mason City, Iowa, c. 1912. Proposed Chapel, Newman College, 100 x 51. Lithograph and gouache on green satin, University of Melbourne, c. 1915-17. 59 x 201. Pencil on tracing paper, 64 x 72. 15 Preliminary Perspective Rendering of the 2 10 Central Theatre Co. Office Building, Plan of Canberra, c. 1911. Ink on linen, Cross Section of the Rotunda, Newman Melbourne, c. 1922. Lithflgraph on 107 x 76. College, University of Melbourne, paper, 70 x 46. February 15, 1916, by an unidentified 3 draftsman. Ink on linen, 91 x 106. 16 Section of Canberra at the Waterline, Perspective Rendering of the Interior of c. 1911'. Ink on linen, 47 x 162. 11 the Capitol Theatre, Melbourne, c. 1922. Plans, Elevations, Section, and Details of Lithograph and gouache on orange satin, 4 a Reclining Chair for Newman College, 44 x 95. .Bird's Eye Perspective View of Canberra University of Melbourne, January 9, from Mt. Ainslie, c. 1911. Ink on linen, 1917, by an unidentified draftsman. 17 61.5 x 233.5. Ink on linen, 76 x 51. Perspective Rendering of the Proposed Ascot Theatre, Melbourne, 1923. Ink on 5 12 linen, 57 x 80. Pier Design for Cafe Australia, Plan, Elevation, and Section of the Melbourne, c. 1913-14. Hectograph on Soldiers' Club, Toowoomba, Queensland, 18 paper, 25 x 48.2. 1919, delineated by Roy Lippincott and Preliminary Perspective Rendering of the Marion Mahony Griffin. Ink on linen, Student Union, Lucknow, c. 1936. 'Pencil 6 92.5 x 59. on paper, 75.5 x 62. Perspective Rendering of Collins House, Melbourne, c. 1913. Lithograph and 13 19 gouache on beige satin, 92 x 56.5. Perspective Rendering of the Soldiers' Ornamental Detail for Engineering, Club, Toowoomba, Queensland, 1919, Jewelry, Metalcrafts, and Textile 7 delineated by Roy Lippincott and Marion Arcades, United Provinces Exhibition Perspective Rendering of Newman Mahony Griffin. Ink on linen, 47 x 77. of Industry and Agriculture, Lucknow, College, University of Melbourne, 1936-37. Ink on paper, 20.6 x 23.5. c. 1915-17. Lithograph and gouache on beige satin, 48 x 118. 20 Elevation of the Lotus Flower Arcade in 8 the Seven Gates Court, United Provinces Preliminary Plan and Elevation of Exhibition of Industry and Agriculture, Newman College, University of Lucknow, 1936-37. Ink on linen, Melbourne, August 1915. Ink on linen, 17.3 x 42.5. 67 x 117. 16 .

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