ARCHIVES Benjamin Baldwin Papers, 1913-2000 (Bulk 1939-1993)
Collection was donated to the Archives by Benjamin Baldwin’s niece, Shirley Weese Young, on Nov. 11, 2005.
Access to the collection is unrestricted.
Copyright to this collection is held by the Cranbrook Educational Community.
Benjamin Baldwin Papers, Cranbrook Archives, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.
Included in Series IV. Photographs and Series V. Oversize.
Processed by Cheri Y. Gay, September 2012
Benjamin “Ben” Baldwin was a critically acclaimed interior designer and architect known for a sense of lyrical order and refined taste. His garden designs were as important as his interiors and reflected a philosophy, “The whole thing was to make the space beautiful.” His work was embodied by a simplicity of space, purity of form and quality of materials. Benjamin Baldwin was born in Montgomery, Ala. on March 29, 1913. For his early education he attended Starke’s University School in Montgomery and Lawrenceville Preparatory School in Lawrenceville, N.J. He graduated from Princeton University in 1935 with a bachelor’s degree in architecture, then studied painting for a year with Hans Hofmann in New York City. He returned to Princeton in 1935, studying architecture under Jean Labatut, and graduated with an M.F.A. with honors in 1938. At Princeton he was awarded a scholarship to the Cranbrook Academy of Art, which he attended from 1938-39. While there, he worked under Eliel Saarinen in architecture and town planning, and also studied photography, ceramics, textiles, metalwork and painting. Attending Cranbrook during its “golden period,” he was there with Marianne Strengell, Harry Bertoia, Maija Grotell, Zoltan Sepeshy, Carl Milles, Wally Mitchell, Charles and Ray Eames and Harry Weese. During this time he and Harry Weese built a folding loom which Baldwin later used to weave some rugs and material for two suits. Following Cranbrook, and a visit to his family home, Kintray, in Verbena, Alabama, Baldwin returned to Cranbrook in the fall of 1939 to work in the office of Eliel and Eero Saarinen, taking charge of the model for the Smithsonian Art Gallery project. Charles Eames, Harry Bertoia and Carl Milles worked along with him on the model of the gallery, which was never built. Baldwin then joined his good friend Harry Weese in Chicago to open a private practice, designing small houses. During this time, 1940-41, Baldwin and Weese won first place and two honorable mentions in the Museum of Modern Art’s contemporary furnishings competition, “Organic Design.” First place was won by the tea cart they designed. World War II intervened and Baldwin was commissioned as an ensign in the U.S. Navy in Photo Interpretation. His tour of duty gave him the opportunity to travel to Casablanca, Marrakesh and Algiers, and on the return to the U.S., to make an unscheduled stop in Belem, Brazil where he saw exotic tropical plants that later played a part in his landscape designs. In 1945 he took a position at Skidmore, Owings and Merrill in New York, working on interiors for the Terrace Plaza Hotel in Cincinnati. Baldwin worked with Miró to design a mural for the Gourmet Room restaurant at the top of the hotel. Also at this time he befriended Alexander Calder and began collecting the art of Paul Klee.
He left Skidmore in 1947 and the next year began working independently under the name Design Unit, in New York City. He began creating fabric designs with painter William Machado, and in 1951 they moved their design office to Montgomery, renovating an old house for business and residence. They opened a retail shop for home furnishings in Montgomery, but it was unsuccessful. In 1955 Baldwin, Machado and the design shop moved to Chicago, beginning the business in space at Baldwin Kingrey, a shop owned in part by Baldwin’s sister Kitty, who had married Harry Weese. Machado left the business in 1957. In 1963 Baldwin moved to New York City, where he continued to design interiors, display rooms and products including: offices for Cummins Engine Company in Columbus, Ind.; cups and offices for the Solo Cup Company; Leonard Bernstein’s dressing room, the Boardroom, and Green Room for the New York Philharmonic; the Ritz Hotel bar in Boston; and interiors of the townhouse and photo studio for Richard Avedon in New York. During this time he also designed interiors for himself: a house on North State Street in Chicago; an apartment on Central Park West in New York, which he sold for an studio-apartment on East 51st Street and a house-studio in East Hampton. Several of these homes received notable publicity from the New York Times and Architectural Digest, among others. Baldwin’s homes reflected his lifelong world travels, and were filled with outstanding art and artifacts, while maintaining a look described as minimalist. Sophistication was a word that applied to all of his designs. In 1973 he moved to Sarasota, Fla., remodeled a house-studio, and split his time between Sarasota and East Hampton. He began writing his book, Benjamin Baldwin: An Autobiography in Design around 1974 and was finalizing it for publication at the time of his death in 1993. Through the efforts of his niece, Shirley Weese Young, it was published in 1995. Benjamin Baldwin died on April 4, 1993 in Sarasota.
Scope and Content of Collection This collection has two main components: Ben Baldwin’s correspondence, written almost exclusively to the object of his affection and admiration, Harry Weese, and the work for his book, An Autobiography in Design. All the stages of authorship, from proposal to finished product are represented, including efforts made by his niece Shirley Young Weese to see the book to publication. The collection is arranged in five series: Personal, Professional,An Autobiography in Design, Photographs and Oversize. Series I, Personal contains letters by Ben Baldwin to Harry Weese, chiefly from 1939- 1940, just after they left Cranbrook. They reflect some of Baldwin’s insecurity about his architectural ability and his deep feelings and to some extent, dependency on, Weese. There are also numerous letters by others to Harry (who became his brother-in-law), including Marianne Strengell, Ralph Rapson, Lily Swann and Wallace Mitchell, that reflect the camaraderie, exchange of ideas, and yearning between a cadre of friends formed at Cranbrook. The letters are in a chronological arrangement. Series II, Professional is chiefly a small amount of correspondence, and magazine articles on his interior design work and the renovation of his many homes. It also includes some drawings for fabric and china designs. Series III, An Autobiography in Design contains the manuscript for his book, in all its various stages, along with related correspondence to publishers and photographers. The manuscript versions are, for the most part, undated. Box 8 contains envelopes of images used in the book, arranged by page number. They include transparencies, prints and slides and have been left in their original order, not integrated into Series IV, Photographs. There are also 3.5 floppy disks with book-related information. Series IV, Photographs has a family photo album that begins with photos of Baldwin as a small child, and continues up until 1957. There is a box of largely black and white images of his work, friends and homes, plus a few slides and negatives. There are also photographs in Series V, Oversize. Series V, Oversize contains photographs, drawings and a poster. Related Collections • Wallace Mitchell Papers, 1990-21
• Cranbrook Foundation Records, 1981-05
Box Number--Description SERIES I: PERSONAL Box 1
2. Correspondence, 1938-Aug 1939 3. Correspondence, Sep-Dec 1939 4. Correspondence, 1940 5. Correspondence, 1941-1951 6. Correspondence, 1952-2000 7. Ephemera 8. Records 9. Telephone/address books
1. Telephone/address books 2. Travel maps & brochures 3. Yale 50th reunion yearbook
Series II: PROFESSIONAL
4. Correspondence-General 5. Drawings—Designs, c1970s 6. Drawings—Misc., n.d.-c1970s 7. Ephemera
1. Exhibition catalogs 2. Magazine articles, 1941-1973 3. Magazine articles, n.d., 1978-1992
Series III: AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY IN DESIGN Box 4
1. Proposal & publishers, c1974-1975 2. Correspondence, 1967-1992 3. Manuscript/Draft 1 of 2 4. Manuscript/Draft 2 of 2 5. Revisions, p.1-55 6. Revisions, p.1-78 7. Revisions, p.1-84 8. Revisions 1 of 2
1. Revisions 2 of 2 2. Final manuscript 1 of 2 3. Final manuscript 2 of 2 4. Working copy
5. Uncorrected proofs 1 of 2 6. Uncorrected proofs 2 of 2 7. Before final corrections
1. Author’s revisions 2. Final revised text (p.72-85) 3. Edited copy 4. Page layout 5. Illustration captions, 1991 6. Photography
1. Specs and text, 1993- 2. Publication, 1993-July 1994 3. Publication, Aug.-Oct. 1994 4. Publication, Nov.-Dec. 1994 5. Publicity, 1995
Series IV: PHOTOGRAPHS
Box 9
1. Art Collection, n.d. 2. Baldwin,Ben, c.1941-1991 3. Baldwin, Ben & Harry Weese, c.1941 4. Saarinen, Eames and Susan, c.1952 5. Weese, Harry, c1938-n.d. 6. Friends & colleagues, 1930-c1990 7. Friends & colleagues, Cranbrook, c1939 8. Organic design competition, 1941 9. Projects and designs—Chicago houses, c1940 10. Projects and designs—Folding loom, 1939 11. Projects and designs—Furniture, c.1941 12. Projects and designs—Harry Weese, c1939-1940 13. Projects and designs, 1938 14. Residences, n.d.-1973 15. Residences—Chicago, State St., c.1957 16. Negatives and transparencies, c.1957-c.1973 17. Slides, c.1941-c1973
Series V: OVERSIZE
1. Drawings—Designs, c.1970s 2. Drawings—Floor plans, c.1965-c.1973 3. Photographs—Eames, Ray, n.d. 4. Photographs—Ben Baldwin & Kitty Baldwin Weese, c.1945 5. Photographs—Unidentified, n.d. 6. Poster—Herman Miller, a Pictorial History, 1925-1965
Aalto, Alvaro 10:5 Abercrombie, Stan 2:4 Autobiography in Design
Art for sale 1:1 Art sold 10:1 Central Park West house 10:14 Chinaware 1:7, 11:1 Death certificate 1:8 Desert plate 2:5, 11:1 Design of flexible system for roadside restaurants 10:10 Donation to CAA 2:4 Naval discharge papers 1:8 Pan for potted plants 2:6 Provincetown portrait by M. Carles 10:17 Sarasota house 10:17 Tea cart 10:17
Baldwin, Benjamin James 1:7 Baldwin Kingrey 1:5 Baldwin-Machado house 3:1 Baldwin-Weese house 10:9 Barragan, Luis
Beck, Leonard W. 1:6 Beckenstein, Arthur 7:2 Blaine, Nell 3:1 Bolton, Earle W. III 2:4 Braque, George 1:1 Chermayeff, Serge & Barbara 10:6 Claiborne, Craig 4:2 Cranbrook Academy of Art 1:2 Design in America 3:1 Dring, Bill 1:6 Dunlap, Loren 1:6 Eames, Charles 1:5 Eames, Ray 1:6
Eames, Ray and Charles 1:5, 10:6 Eero chair 1:4
Ferrera, Raul 4:2 Flint Public Library 2:7 Folding loom 1:2, 1:3 Gehr, Mary 7:5 Gorky, Arshile 1:1 Greene, Ray 1:3 Growald, Martin 2:4 Hebbeln, Henry 1:4 Hershberger, Howard 1:6 Hoffman, Hans
Irvin, Benjamin William 1:2, 1:5 Jannes, Georgia 1:1 Katcher, Gerald 4:2 Kintray, Ala. 1:2 Klee, Paul 1:1
Labatut, Jean 10:6 Larsen Jack Lenor 7:5
Lauther house (Columbus, Ind.) 1:6 Lawrenceville (NJ prep school)
Machado, Bill 10:6 Mehlhorn, Will 4:2 Miró, Joan
Mitchell, Wallace 1:3, 1:4, 10:3, 10:7 Prestini, James 1:6, 10:6 Rapson, Ralph 1:2, 1:3, 1:4, 2:7 Read, Jean 1:7 Roadside restaurant 10:10 Rubin, Michael 7:5 Saarinen, Aline 1:6 Saarinen, Eero 1:4, 1:5, 1:6 Saarinen, Eliel
Saarinen, Lily Swann 1:2, 1:4, 1:5, 10:1, 10:7
Smithsonian competition 1:3 Sterne, Hedda 3:1 Strengell, Marianne 1:2, 1:3, 1:4, 1:5, 1:6, 7:5, 10:7 Swann, Lily SEE Saarinen, Lily Swann Tandy Center 2:4 Tangeman house (Muscoka, Ont.) 1:6 Walter, Eugene 1:6 Weese, Ben 1:4, 1:6 Weese, Harry 1:2, 1:3, 1:4, 1:5, 1:6, 2:7, 10:3, 10:7
Weese, Kitty Baldwin 1:6, 7:2, 7:4, 7:5, 10:6 Wermuth (Charles A.) house 1:4 White, Barbara 1:3 W.W. Norton Co. 7:3, 7:4, 7:5 Yale Center for British Art 2:4 Young, Shirley Weese 7:2, 7:3, 7:4, 7:5
PREFEITURA MUNICIPAL DE ITAPIPOCA CONCURSO PÚBLICO 2013 SECRETARIA DE EDUCAÇÃO E CULTURA EDITAL Nº 04/2013 CADERNO DE PROVA – TIPO 1 CARGO: ORIENTADOR DE INFORMÁTICA Nome do candidato: Número de Controle: Número do documento de identidade: Número de inscrição: LEIA ATENTAMENTE AS INSTRUÇÕES ABAIXO, ANTES DE INICIAR A PROVA
Maximising Serendipity for Personal Change By James Lawley | Published 4 Feb 2013 | This blog first appeared in the newsletter of the project whose aim is "to transform research processes by proactively creating surprising connection opportunities. We will deliver novel technologies, methods and evaluation techniques for supporting serendipitous interactions in the research aren
Benjamin “Ben” Baldwin was a critically acclaimed interior designer and architect known for a sense of lyrical order and refined taste. His garden designs were as important as his interiors and reflected a philosophy, “The whole thing was to make the space beautiful.” His work was embodied by a simplicity of space, purity of form and quality of materials. Benjamin Baldwin was born in Montgomery, Ala. on March 29, 1913. For his early education he attended Starke’s University School in Montgomery and Lawrenceville Preparatory School in Lawrenceville, N.J. He graduated from Princeton University in 1935 with a bachelor’s degree in architecture, then studied painting for a year with Hans Hofmann in New York City. He returned to Princeton in 1935, studying architecture under Jean Labatut, and graduated with an M.F.A. with honors in 1938. At Princeton he was awarded a scholarship to the Cranbrook Academy of Art, which he attended from 1938-39. While there, he worked under Eliel Saarinen in architecture and town planning, and also studied photography, ceramics, textiles, metalwork and painting. Attending Cranbrook during its “golden period,” he was there with Marianne Strengell, Harry Bertoia, Maija Grotell, Zoltan Sepeshy, Carl Milles, Wally Mitchell, Charles and Ray Eames and Harry Weese. During this time he and Harry Weese built a folding loom which Baldwin later used to weave some rugs and material for two suits. Following Cranbrook, and a visit to his family home, Kintray, in Verbena, Alabama, Baldwin returned to Cranbrook in the fall of 1939 to work in the office of Eliel and Eero Saarinen, taking charge of the model for the Smithsonian Art Gallery project. Charles Eames, Harry Bertoia and Carl Milles worked along with him on the model of the gallery, which was never built. Baldwin then joined his good friend Harry Weese in Chicago to open a private practice, designing small houses. During this time, 1940-41, Baldwin and Weese won first place and two honorable mentions in the Museum of Modern Art’s contemporary furnishings competition, “Organic Design.” First place was won by the tea cart they designed. World War II intervened and Baldwin was commissioned as an ensign in the U.S. Navy in Photo Interpretation. His tour of duty gave him the opportunity to travel to Casablanca, Marrakesh and Algiers, and on the return to the U.S., to make an unscheduled stop in Belem, Brazil where he saw exotic tropical plants that later played a part in his landscape designs. In 1945 he took a position at Skidmore, Owings and Merrill in New York, working on interiors for the Terrace Plaza Hotel in Cincinnati. Baldwin worked with Miró to design a mural for the Gourmet Room restaurant at the top of the hotel. Also at this time he befriended Alexander Calder and began collecting the art of Paul Klee.
He left Skidmore in 1947 and the next year began working independently under the name Design Unit, in New York City. He began creating fabric designs with painter William Machado, and in 1951 they moved their design office to Montgomery, renovating an old house for business and residence. They opened a retail shop for home furnishings in Montgomery, but it was unsuccessful. In 1955 Baldwin, Machado and the design shop moved to Chicago, beginning the business in space at Baldwin Kingrey, a shop owned in part by Baldwin’s sister Kitty, who had married Harry Weese. Machado left the business in 1957. In 1963 Baldwin moved to New York City, where he continued to design interiors, display rooms and products including: offices for Cummins Engine Company in Columbus, Ind.; cups and offices for the Solo Cup Company; Leonard Bernstein’s dressing room, the Boardroom, and Green Room for the New York Philharmonic; the Ritz Hotel bar in Boston; and interiors of the townhouse and photo studio for Richard Avedon in New York. During this time he also designed interiors for himself: a house on North State Street in Chicago; an apartment on Central Park West in New York, which he sold for an studio-apartment on East 51st Street and a house-studio in East Hampton. Several of these homes received notable publicity from the New York Times and Architectural Digest, among others. Baldwin’s homes reflected his lifelong world travels, and were filled with outstanding art and artifacts, while maintaining a look described as minimalist. Sophistication was a word that applied to all of his designs. In 1973 he moved to Sarasota, Fla., remodeled a house-studio, and split his time between Sarasota and East Hampton. He began writing his book, Benjamin Baldwin: An Autobiography in Design around 1974 and was finalizing it for publication at the time of his death in 1993. Through the efforts of his niece, Shirley Weese Young, it was published in 1995. Benjamin Baldwin died on April 4, 1993 in Sarasota.
Scope and Content of Collection