A previous post highlighting one of the rare finds of the Archives featured the work, The Decoration of Palace Buildings of Peking, a portfolio of 80 illustrated plates printed in 1906 in Japan. Its companion publication is the equally rare two-volume...
We are delighted to share with you The World of Interiors feature on the Alden B. Dow Home and Studio from their December issue. It was a pleasure to work with the entire team that included writer Meghan McEwen, photographer Anne Schlechter, and Managing Editor...
One of the most prolific sculptors of the 20th century, Marshall M. Fredericks is known in America and abroad for his monumental figurative sculpture, public memorials and fountains, portraits, and animal figures. He was born of Scandinavian descent in Illinois and...
Yvonne Bannelier Lagier met Alden and Vada Dow when they were among the charter members of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin Fellowship in the spring of 1933. Ms. Lagier was an academically-trained artist in her native France and a multi-faceted painter, sculptor,...
Alden B. Dow made his debut as a young architect on the international stage when he was awarded the Grand Prize in residential architecture at the 1937 Paris Exposition for his designs of the John Whitman residence and his own studio. Architecture was just one of...
It’s difficult to know for certain when Alden B. Dow and Buckminster Fuller first connected, but it must have been well before the letter Fuller sent to Mr. Dow in December 1951. In it he thanked Mr. Dow for his generous pledge of $1000 toward the production of his...
Alden B. Dow and his friend Peters “Pat” Oppermann possessed many of the same personal qualities: an inquisitive mind, a love of travel, an appreciation of music, an innate creativity, and a joyful, playful sense of humor. Oppermann was born and raised in Saginaw,...
December 1st-31st Alden and Vada Dow made Christmas a joyous and playful, family celebration. This December experience the beauty and fun of their zooming scale trains, playful mechanical toys, shimmering Christmas tree decorations, joyous holiday music and the...
Born to a baker and orphaned at age 12, Florence Schust grew up in Saginaw, Michigan. She demonstrated an early interest in architecture and was enrolled at the Kingswood School for Girls, adjacent to the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan....
It has always been inspiring to learn about the passions and interests Alden B. Dow and Vada B. Dow explored throughout their lives. As inquisitive humans, their passion to learn, grow and understand the world around them only increased with time. This need to...
We are pleased to introduce you to the Alden B. Dow Home and Studio Online Gift Shop! The Gift Shop is filled with products inspired by Mr. Dow's philosophies and designs: handcrafted wooden puzzles, original mobiles, books, journals, notecards, and more. Spur your...
In 1960, the citizens of Ann Arbor approved a $2.3 million bond for the construction of a new city hall. Alden B. Dow was selected as the architect and began the design of this important civic project that year. When it opened in the summer of 1963, it had a...