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Highrise Buildings Sketch, Chicago, Illinois, Perspective Sketches

A loose perspective sketch, as through viewed from street level, of an L-shaped high-rise building emphasizing vertical columns.
© 2018 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn

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  • A loose perspective sketch, as through viewed from street level, of an L-shaped high-rise building emphasizing vertical columns.

Date:

c. 1946–1948

Artist:

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
American, born Germany, 1886–1969

About this artwork

Mies van der Rohe realized many influential tall buildings and is widely credited with establishing a minimalist design template for rectangular towers in steel-and-glass office buildings in American cities throughout the 1960s and 1970s. Mies’ first realized towers, however, were a series of residential buildings in Chicago, the most famous of which is 860–880 Lake Shore Drive, completed in 1951. With an economy of line, this sketch for two high-rise buildings illustrates the dynamic, perpendicular relationship of the 860– 880 towers, as well as the uniform columns supporting the buildings’ volumes at ground level, creating a joined arcade and lobbies for the apartments.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Architecture and Design

Artist

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (Architect)

Title

Highrise Buildings Sketch, Chicago, Illinois, Perspective Sketches

Place

Chicago (Building address)

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.

1941–1953

Medium

Graphite on note paper, mounted on archival board

Dimensions

15.2 × 21.7 cm (6 × 8 9/16 in.); Including board: 25.3 × 36.1 cm (10 × 14 1/4 in.)

Credit Line

Purchased with funds provided by the Architecture Society and the Alexander C. and Tillie S. Speyer Foundation in Honor of John Zukowsky; through prior gift of the Three Oaks Wrecking Company and Carson, Pirie, Scott and company; Samuel P. Avery Endowment and Edward E. Ayer Endowment in memory of Charles L. Hutchinson

Reference Number

1992.9

Copyright

© 2018 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn

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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