$300
GEORGE ELMSLIE Architectural terra cotta block from the Thomas A. Edison School of Hammond, Indiana. (George Elmslie joined the architectural firm of William Hutton to design this and other schools in the 1930s, bringing to the projects a blend of his Louis Sullivan training in organic ornamentation, and up-to-date Art Deco geometry. The Elmslie-designed ornament was modeled by Fritz Albert at the Midland Terra Cotta company, and covered in colored slip, soft red for the Edison school, buff-yellow for Morton. Both were torn down in 1991. "The tangible remnants of Elmslie"s designs for the Edison and Morton schools consist of the surviving terra cotta. Each piece of terra cotta is a work of art in its own right, but, more importantly, each represents a part of a greater whole which is no more. The Edison and Morton Schools were architectonic examples of a higher and integrated assemblage of the arts." [Ronald E. Schmitt, George G. Elmslie Architectural Ornament From the Edison and Morton Schools, Hammon
Auctioneer:
Rago Auctions
Date:
2009-02-15
