Standard Club, Chicago, Illinois, Mantel Details
Medium
Black and red ink on linen
Dimensions
50 × 95.1 cm (19 11/16 × 37 7/16 in.)
Classification
architectural drawing
Department
Architecture and Design
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
136922
Art Historical Context
Step into the intricate world of late 19th-century Chicago architecture with this exquisite architectural drawing by the pioneering firm Adler & Sullivan. Created in 1888 for the Standard Club—a prestigious private gentlemen's club in downtown Chicago—this detailed rendering focuses on the mantel, or fireplace surround. Architects Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan were at the forefront of the Chicago School, rebuilding the city after the Great Fire of 1871 with innovative skyscrapers and bold designs that emphasized structural honesty and ornate decoration. Rendered in black and red ink on lin...
About the Artist
Adler & Sullivan, Architects · 1883–1896
Adler & Sullivan was the Chicago architectural partnership that laid the conceptual and structural foundations for the modern American skyscraper. Dankmar Adler (1844–1900), a German-born engineer celebrated for his mastery of building acoustics and structural systems, hired Louis Sullivan (1856–1924) in 1879; the two became full partners in 1883. Sullivan had trained at the Massachusetts Institut...