User:Edwin of Northumbria/sandbox
Abraham James Speyer | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 27, 1913 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Died | November 9, 1986 (aged 72) |
| Education | |
| Occupation(s) | Architect, museum curator |
| Notable work | Ben Rose House |
Abraham James Speyer (December 27, 1913– November 9, 1986) was an American architect and art curator,[1] who also taught at the Illinois Institute of Technology and the University of Athens. As an architect, he is remembered for his house designs, the best known of which is probably the Ben Rose House in Highland Park, Illinois.
Biography
[edit]Speyer was born in Pittsburgh on December 27, 1913, the son of Tillie (née Sunstein) and Alexander Crail Speyer.[2] He graduated with a bachelor's degree in architecture from the Carnegie Institute of Technology in 1934, but became progressively disillusioned with the institution's Beaux-Arts approach to the subject, even with an Art Deco. Attracted to the International Style, during the next three years he studied at the Chelsea Polytechnic in London and the Sorbonne University in Paris. In 1939 he obtained a master's degree from the Armour (later, Illinois) Institute of Technology as the first graduate student of Mies van der Rohe, whom Speyer was so keen to study under that in the fall of the previous year he tracked down the newly-arrived émigré from Nazi Germany at the Stevens Hotel in Chicago.[3][4]
During World War II, Speyer was drafted into the United States Army in 1941. In the South Pacific, he lead a chemical warfare intelligence unit, which later became part of the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program[5] (the so-called "Monuments Men").[6] He was promoted to the rank of Major in April 1945,[7] and after being demobilised in 1946 he returned to Chicago, where set up his own architectural practice. He was offered teaching work at the Illinois Institute of Technology later that year, and for the next decade combined this with his architectal work, which was focussed mainly on residential projects. He was made an associate professor in 1952.[8] In 1957, through the Fulbright Program, he moved to the University of Athens in Greece.[9] Before returning to the United States in 1959 following the death of his father, Speyer bought a house on the Aegean island of Hydra, where he spent each summer.[10][11]
Speyer had been a regular correspondent for Artnews since 1955,[3] and in 1961 he accepted an appointment as Curator of Contemporary (later, Twentieth-century) Art at the Art Institute of Chicago, a position he held until his death.[12][13][14]
In 1984, he was elected a trustee of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C., following the retirement of Dorothy C. Miller.[15]
Architectural legacy
[edit]
References
[edit]- ^ Artner, Alan G. (November 11, 1986). "Art Curator A. James Speyer". Section 2. Chicago Tribune. Vol. 140, no. 315 (Sports Final ed.). p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/35283008:p60484
- ^ a b Saliga, Pauline & Sharp, Robert (1995). "From the Hand of Mies: Architectural Sketches from the Collection of A. James Speyer". Art Institute of Chicago Museum Studies. 21 (1): 56–69, 77–78 – via JSTOR.
- ^ Schulze (1998), pp. 7–11.
- ^ Saliga (2001), pp. 72–75.
- ^ Edsel, Robert M. & Witter, Bret (2009). The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History. New York: Center Street. p. xiv. ISBN 978-1599951492.
- ^ "You're in the Army Now". The Pittsburgh Press. Vol. 62, no. 294 (Final ed.). April 16, 1945. p. 25 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "A. James Speyer Promoted at Illinois Tech". Neighborhood (Section 5). Chicago Daily Tribune. Vol. 111, no. 231. September 25, 1952. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Schulze (1998), p. 15.
- ^ Vinci (1998), p. 3.
- ^ Schulze (1998), pp. 45–46.
- ^ "Staff Appointments". The Art Institute of Chicago Quarterly. 55 (3): 58. 1961 – via JSTOR.
- ^ "Name Prof. Speyer to Curator's Post at Art Institute". Part 1. Chicago Daily Tribune. Vol. 120, no. 83. April 7, 1961. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Sittenfeld, Michael (1995). "Forward". Art Institute of Chicago Museum Studies. 21 (1): 4–5 – via JSTOR.
- ^ Artner, Alan G. (July 19, 1984). "Calumet sculpture set for unveiling". Tempo (Section 5). Chicago Tribune. Vol. 138, no. 201 (Final ed.). p. 11E – via Newspapers.com.
Sources
[edit]- Saliga, Pauline (2001). "Oral History of A. James Speyer" (Audio transcript) (Revised ed.). Art Institute of Chicago.
- Schulze, Franz (1998). "Speyer's Life and Career". A. James Speyer: Architect, Curator, Exhibition Designer. Chicago: Richard Nickel Committee. pp. 7–58. ISBN 0966027302.
- Vinci, John (1998). "Remembering Jim Speyer". A. James Speyer: Architect, Curator, Exhibition Designer. Chicago: Richard Nickel Committee. pp. 1–5. ISBN 0966027302.