“Claude Bragdon and the Beautiful Necessity is a superb catalogue and a highly engaging collection of essays that explores the multifaceted work of an almost forgotten American architect. Through a mix of philosophy, his-tory, theory, and anecdotes, the essays trace the contributions of Brag-don’s thinking from the everyday to the esoteric, from the practical to the aesthetic.”

Marco FrascariDirector, Azrieli School of Architecture and UrbanismCarleton University

“ ‘Modernism’ in American architecture at the turn of the twentieth cen-tury was peculiarly involved with geometric elaboration, whether as Sul-livan’s ornamental lacework, Dow and Ross’ ‘Pure Design,’ Wright’s grid-ding, or (most fascinatingly) Fuller’s ‘geodesy.’ It was consistent. It was very deeply felt. The architect-polymath Bragdon worked at the nerve center of this enterprise; first in the Eastern Great Lakes region, then in New York City, linking Chicago radical design with popular philosophy to create extraordinary crystalline ornament clothing an obstinately tradi-tional architectural body, later finding his métier as an innovative theatre designer. He stood in the middle of this development, helped by his ex-traordinary breadth of curiosity. This book of detailed essays explores his complex contribution from the many standpoints it demands.”

Davi D van ZantenMary Jane Crowe Professor in Art and Art HistoryNorthwestern University

eugenia victoria ellis is associate professor in the Department of Architecture & Interiors of the Westphal College at Drexel University. She is also a principal at Bau Architecture.

anDrea g. reithMayr is the Rare Book Conservator at the Univer sity of Rochester River Campus Libraries and a Curator of collections in-cluding the Bragdon Family Papers.

RIT CARY GRAPH IC ARTS PRE SS90 loMB MeMorial Driverochester, new york 14623

Claude Bragdon & the B E A U T I F U L N E C E S S I T Y

Edited by Eugenia Victoria Ellis & Andrea G. Reithmayr

Claude B

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eautiful Necessity

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