Purcell and Elmslie: Prairie Progressives explores the work of two important members of the organic architecture movement, and celebrates their tremendously important contributions to American architecture and the Prairie School. Wishing to return to simplicity and honesty, Purcell and Elmslie created homes and buildings that were consistent with a democratic society-simple forms, the natural use of textural materials and decoration, and buildings that accommodated the nature of a site. As did Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright, Purcell and Elmslie held the conviction that a building does not end with its simple structure, but reaches its final and logical culmination in the clothing-color, situation and natural environment, together with its decoration of glass, terra-cotta, and other textural materials. The firm of Purcell and Elmslie was tremendously successful in the sense that their small open-planned free-flowing houses could be shared by a great number of Americans of moderate means. Projects discussed in this book can be found throughout the Midwest, including Minnesota, Michigan, Iowa, North Dakota, Illinois, Wisconsin, and more. The time has come to recognize the work of these progressive architects of the Midwest. Purcell and Elmslie: Prairie Progressives includes: Comprehensive biographies of George Grant Elmslie and William Gray Purcell The Work of the Firm The Domestic and Non-Domestic Work of Purcell, Feick and Elmslie Work after the Firm Broke Up The Late Work of Purcell and Elmslie A Catalog of Major Projects

Purcell and Elmslie: Prairie Progressives explores the work of two important members of the organic architecture movement, and celebrates their tremendously important contributions to American architecture and the Prairie School. Wishing to return to simplicity and honesty, Purcell and Elmslie created homes and buildings that were consistent with a democratic society-simple forms, the natural use of textural materials and decoration, and buildings that accommodated the nature of a site. As did Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright, Purcell and Elmslie held the conviction that a building does not end with its simple structure, but reaches its final and logical culmination in the clothing-color, situation and natural environment, together with its decoration of glass, terra-cotta, and other textural materials. The firm of Purcell and Elmslie was tremendously successful in the sense that their small open-planned free-flowing houses could be shared by a great number of Americans of moderate means. Projects discussed in this book can be found throughout the Midwest, including Minnesota, Michigan, Iowa, North Dakota, Illinois, Wisconsin, and more. The time has come to recognize the work of these progressive architects of the Midwest. Purcell and Elmslie: Prairie Progressives includes: Comprehensive biographies of George Grant Elmslie and William Gray Purcell The Work of the Firm The Domestic and Non-Domestic Work of Purcell, Feick and Elmslie Work after the Firm Broke Up The Late Work of Purcell and Elmslie A Catalog of Major Projects

The houses of William Gray Purcell and George Grant Elmsliebuilt mainly in the Midwest and Northeastare the embodiment of the early 20th century marriage of fine craftsmanship and modern technology. Masterpieces of the Prairie Style, each home was designed with the groundbreaking idea that comfort and utility could harmonize with grace and style. Characterized by open plans and site-specific designs, Purcell and Elmslie residences are tied to the land by local materials and low, spreading forms. Their signature use of nature-based ornament and brilliant color further distinguished them from their contemporaries, Frank Lloyd Wright's houses among them. In 24 residential profiles and gorgeous new photographs, Prairie Style expert Dixie Legler and photographer Christian Korab vividly bring to life the pair's enduring dedication to simple elegance and honest design. At Home on the Prairie is the deluxe treatment that this ingenious duo deserves.

Get ready to discover the great architectural mecca that is Minneapolis and St. Paul. The first comprehensive, illustrated handbook of its kind, AIA Guide to the Twin Cities is the ultimate source to the architectural riches of the metropolitan area. Organized by neighborhood and featuring a wealth of sites--from the highest point on the Minneapolis skyline to the modest St. Paul bungalow vibrant with historical and architectural significance--this invaluable reference has it all: -Illuminating entries for more than 3,000 buildings -Behind-the-scenes details of the structures and their architects -Lively information about local history and regional styles -Highlights of important buildings nearly lost in time -Sixty easy-to-read maps that pinpoint the location of every structure -Dozens of planned walking and driving tours -Over 1,000 photos that illustrate significant buildings and features Retired Pioneer Press architecture critic Larry Millett has spent more than two decades researching and exploring the architectural heritage of the Twin Cities. Millett's AIA Guide to the Twin Cities is your ticket to the best tour in town. Sponsored in part by the American Institute of Architects Minnesota. Larry Millett has written extensively about Twin Cities architecture. His books include Lost Twin Cities, Twin Cities Then and Now, and Strange Days, Dangerous Nights (all MHS Press), as well as a series of mystery novels featuring Sherlock Holmes.

"This book examines advances in architecture, design, and painting in a region widely recognized for its contribution to the Arts and Crafts and Prairie School movements. It features the work of many well-known American artists, including the architects Cass Gilbert, Harvey Ellis, Frank Lloyd Wright, Purcell and Elmslie, ceramicist and Arts and Crafts philosopher Ernest Batchelder, and the painters Homer Dodge Martin and Alexander Fournier. The six essays also focus on the ceramic and metalwork production of the Handicraft Guild of Minneapolis, the Craftshouse of John Bradstreet, and American Indian art and artifacts created both for native and white use at the time." "Alan Lathrop discusses Minnesota architecture by combining his knowledge of architectural practitioners of the time with an awareness of international stylistic trends, particularly the tradition of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, in this first overview of the state's architecture of the period ever published. Michael Conforti and Jennifer Komar link the development of retailing in the late nineteenth century to the interior design practice and Arts and Crafts production of John Bradstreet. Thomas O'Sullivan provides a study of Robert Koehler, one of the region's most respected painters, while he reviews the work of over two dozen of the state's other painters working at the time." "The special communal nature of Minnesota's artistic life is emphasized in Marcia Anderson's contribution. Her study of the Handicraft Guild of Minneapolis presents years of archival research on the Guild which she presents in the context of the international Arts and Crafts movement. Mark Hammons provides the first monograph ever published on the architectural partnership of Purcell and Elmslie, the most commissioned architects of the Prairie School after Frank Lloyd Wright. Hammons analyzes the team-centered working process of the firm and relates their creative process and formal vocabulary to the contemporary metaphysical discourse that was the foundation of their architectural philosophy. Louise Lincoln and Paulette Molin study the nature of relationships between whites and the Chippewa and Dakota Indians in their discussion of native material culture. Lincoln and Molin decode a complex, nuanced cultural interchange embodying both traditional and assimilationist trends. Their essay is the first in-depth examination of the range of American Indian art from this region; one that considers both objects crafted for native use and those produced for the tourist market."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Sullivanesque offers a visual and historical tour of a unique but often overlooked facet of modern American architecture derived from Louis Sullivan.Highly regarded in architecture for inspiring the Chicago School and the Prairie School, Sullivan was an unwilling instigator of the method of facade composition--later influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright, William Gray Purcell, and George G. Elmslie--that came to be known as Sullivanesque. Decorative enhancements with botanical and animal themes, Sullivan's distinctive ornamentation mitigated the hard geometries of the large buildings he designed, coinciding with his "form follows function" aesthetic.Sullivan's designs offered solutions to problems presented by new types and scales of buildings. Widely popular, they were also widely copied, and the style proliferated due to a number of Chicago-based interests, including the Radford Architectural Company and several decorative plaster and terra-cotta companies. Stock replicas of Sullivan's designs manufactured by the Midland Terra Cotta Company and others gave distinction and focus to utilitarian buildings in Chicago's commercial strips and other confined areas, such as the downtown districts of smaller towns. Mass-produced Sullivanesque terra cotta endured as a result of its combined economic and aesthetic appeal, blending the sophistication of high architectural art with the pragmatic functionality of building design.Masterfully framed by the author's photographs of Sullivanesque buildings in Chicago and throughout the Midwest, Ronald E. Schmitt's in-depth exploration of the Sullivanesque tells the story of its evolution from Sullivan's intellectual and aesthetic foundations to its place as a form of commercial vernacular. The book also includes an inventory of Sullivanesque buildings.Honorable Mention recipient of the 2002 PSP Awards for Excellence in Professional/Scholarly Publishing