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Rock Crest/Rock Glen, Mason City, Iowa, Perspective

A stylized, yellow-toned lithograph of a housing development consisting of a series of houses situated amongst foliage and pastoral land.

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  • A stylized, yellow-toned lithograph of a housing development consisting of a series of houses situated amongst foliage and pastoral land.

Date:

c. 1912

Artist:

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

About this artwork

Walter Burley and Marion Mahony Griffin were exceptional figures in the Prairie School, for they not only designed individual buildings but also planned housing developments, universities, and entire cities. In their partnership (formed in 1911 at the time of their marriage), Walter Burley Griffin was chief designer, while Marion Mahony, one of the nation’s first women to distinguish herself in architecture, contributed to design and produced the spectacular renderings for which the firm was noted. In this exquisite work, she delineated the pair’s major domestic work and the most important planning scheme of the Prairie School: the Iowa housing development Rock Crest–Rock Glen (begun in 1912). The vaguely Japanesque intertwining of single-family dwellings within the eighteen-acre site is a perfect encapsulation of the Prairie School’s emphasis on the harmonious integration of suburban domesticity and a tamed, almost pastoral, nature. Of the sixteen proposed houses, eight were built, four by the Griffins. Just as construction began, the couple won the international competition to plan Canberra, the new capital of Australia; the commission allowed them to bring their aesthetic to an international audience.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Architecture and Design

Artist

Walter Burley Griffin (Architect)

Title

Rock Crest/Rock Glen, Mason City, Iowa, Perspective

Place

Mason City (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.

1907–1917

Medium

Lithograph and gouache on green satin

Dimensions

59 × 201 cm (23 1/4 × 79 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Marion Mahony Griffin through Eric Nicholls

Reference Number

1988.182

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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