The Magic of America

Marion Mahony GriffinWW-1937-017909

1937·Typescript papers, printed papers, photomechanical prints and black and white photographic prints·7 boxes and 3 portfolios: W.: 45.8 cm (18 in.)

Walter Burley Griffin and his wife Marion Mahony Griffin were both influential designers in Frank Lloyd Wright’s Oak Park studio. They won the competition to design the new Australian capital city of Canberra and moved to Australia in 1913. Written after Walter’s death in 1937, the unpublished “Magic” typescript is the biography of Walter and the autobiography of Marion, who also wished to clarify the roles played by Wright, Sullivan, and other architects in the development of Prairie School architecture. The approximately 1100 pages of annotated typescript are accompanied by an image collection of approximately 200 photographs, articles, and drawings selected by Marion. <a href="http://digital-libraries.artic.edu/cdm/search/collection/findingaids/searchterm/Magic%20of%20America/field/title/mode/all/conn/and/cosuppress/1">View finding aid.</a> <a href="https://www.artic.edu/magicofamerica/index.html">View the text - Magic of America: Electronic Edition.</a> <a href="http://digital-libraries.artic.edu/cdm/search/collection/mqc/searchterm/Magic%20of%20America/field/subcol/mode/all/conn/and/cosuppress/1">View the image database - Magic of America: Electronic Edition.</a> Collection access: Collections may be accessed in the Franke Reading Room of the Research Center at The Art Institute of Chicago, by appointment only. For further information, consult <a href="https://www.artic.edu/archival-collections/contact-usage-and-faq">the FAQ</a>. <a href="https://www.artic.edu/archival-collections/finding-aids">Finding aids by subject</a> <a href="http://digital-libraries.saic.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/findingaids">Browse all finding aids</a> <a href="http://digital-libraries.saic.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/mqc">Browse images and media</a> <a href="https://www.artic.edu/archival-collections/oral-histories">Oral histories</a> Contact the Ryerson and Burnham Art and Architecture Archives: archives@artic.edu

Catalogue

Year: 1937
Medium: Typescript papers, printed papers, photomechanical prints and black and white photographic prints
Dimensions: 7 boxes and 3 portfolios: W.: 45.8 cm (18 in.)
Collection: Art Institute of Chicago
Artist: Marion Mahony Griffin

Artist

Marion Mahony Griffin

Photography

Marion Mahony Griffin was an American architect and architectural delineator who pioneered the integration of landscape design with residential planning in early twentieth-century practice. Working alongside her husband Walter Burley Griffin, she developed a distinctive approach to organic architecture that emphasized the relationship between building and site through careful topographical study and hand-rendered presentation drawings. Her watercolor renderings and landscape plans for the Griffins' projects, including their design for Canberra, Australia, established a visual language that prioritized spatial continuity and ecological sensitivity.

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