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Ascot Theater, Melbourne, Australia, Perspective

A work made of ink on linen.

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  • A work made of ink on linen.

Date:

1923

Artist:

Walter Burley Griffin (American, 1876-1937)
Marion Mahony Griffin (American, 1871-1961)

About this artwork

As American expatriates in Australia, Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin transformed their Prairie School training in the studio of Frank Lloyd Wright into a highly imaginative, new local idiom. While building on their Chicago roots, the Griffins’ work in Australia took on elaborate geometries, reflecting a large range of influences from Gothic architecture to ancient Mayan temples. Nevertheless, it is also possible to understand their work as a contribution to the international Art Deco movement during this period. Like their realized Capital Theatre in Melbourne, Australia, the Griffins’ Ascot Theater project includes dramatic lines and crystalline molding surmounting the entrances. This drawing is one of many of the highly skilled architectural renderings by Marion Mahony Griffin given to the Art Institute after she returned to the United States following her husband’s death in 1937, enriching the museum’s strong holdings related to the Prairie School.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Architecture and Design

Artist

Walter Burley Griffin (Architect)

Title

Ascot Theater, Melbourne, Australia, Perspective

Place

Melbourne (Object made for)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1923

Medium

Ink on linen

Dimensions

58.6 × 79.2 cm (23 1/16 × 31 3/16 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Marion Mahony Griffin through Eric Nicholls

Reference Number

1990.346

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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