11th Biennial Symposium of the Historic Development of Metropolitan Washington DC

Organized by the Latrobe Chapter of The Society of Architectural Historians, in collaboration with the DC Preservation League and the Catholic University of America, School of Architecture and Planning

The symposium explores the relationship between architecture and art as it pertains to the built environment of greater Washington DC. On Saturday, March 21, twelve scholars will present their research proposing diverse approaches to understanding how architecture interacts with other artistic media, such as painting, sculpture, drawing, posters, film, and performance. On Sunday, March 22, participants will take a bus tour to visit murals and other local sites related to the symposium theme.

Program

Saturday, March 21

Location: Catholic University of America, School of Architecture and Planning, Crough Center for Architectural Studies

9.00 Continental Breakfast

9.30 Welcome and Introduction
Elizabeth Milnarik (President, Latrobe Chapter)
John Sandor (President, DC Preservation League)

10.00 Murals and Public Artworks
Chair: Lauren Oswalt McHale (The L’Enfant Trust)

Catherine Coleman Brawer (Independent Scholar and Curator)
»A Perfect Partnership: Architect Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue and His Mural Painter Hildreth Meière«

Sara A. Butler (Roger Williams University)
»The “cream of the whole building”: The Grand Stair of the Interior Building, 1937-1948«

Debra Hanson (Virginia Commonwealth University, Qatar)
»Image, Space, and the Shaping of Historical Memory in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda«

Sydney Skelton Simon (Stanford University)
»Humanizing the Jet Age: Harry Bertoia’s Bronze Mural for Dulles Airport«

12.00 Lunch

1.00 Architectural Representations
Chair: Susanneh Bieber (American University)

Katherine Manthorne (City University of New York)
»Reconstructing Washington’s Washington in Eliza Greatorex’s Souvenir of 1876«

Phil Jacks (George Washington University)
»The National Gallery that never was: Franklin Webster Smith and the Cultural Politics of the Mall in 1900«

Cory Pillen (Fort Lewis College)
»WPA Posters, New Deal Reform, and the Visual Rhetoric of Modern Planning«

Margaret M. Grubiak (Villanova University)
»Surrender Dorothy! The D.C. Mormon Temple and The Wizard of Oz«

2.45 Coffee Break

3.15 Architectural Objects and Structures
Chair: Christine Henry (University of Maryland)

Karin Alexis (Independent Scholar)
»Swedish Modernism comes to Northern Virginia: Shaping an American Cemetery«

Brian M. Sirman (Boston University College)
»Concrete in Camelot: Brutalist Government Architecture as Political Art«

Helen A. Harrison (Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center)
»Paintings as Walls: Peter Blake, Jackson Pollock, and the Myth of Unframed Space«

Karol R. Williams (Independent Scholar)
»Coexisting Harmoniously: The Architectural Themes of the Philip Johnson-designed Kreeger Residence/Museum and the Spirited Art Collection of David and Carmen Kreeger«

Sunday, March 22
1:00-4:00 pm Bus and Walking Tour

Tour departs from and returns to Catholic University, School of Architecture and Planning

For additional information and registration visit www.latrobechaptersah.org.

Organization:
Susanneh Bieber, American University; email: biebersusannehgmail.com
Susan West Montgomery, National Trust for Historic Preservation; email: smontgomerysavingplaces.org