Cranbrook Academy of Art
Organization
Found in 10 Collections and/or Records:
Benjamin Baldwin Papers
Collection
Identifier: 2006-02
Abstract
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.” Born in Montgomery, Ala. on March 29, 1913, Baldwin 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...
Dates:
1939 - 1993
Cranbrook Academy of Art Administration Records
Collection
Identifier: 1981-09
Abstract
In 1927 George G. Booth established the Cranbrook Academy of Art as an educational environment where students could come and learn from master artists in residence. The Academy functioned as a department under the Cranbrook Foundation and included painting, architecture, sculpture, ceramics and decorative design. The first Academy students were taken in early 1930. Eliel Saarinen was the first President (1932-1946). In 1942, with the opening of the Museum and Library, the Academy became an...
Dates:
Majority of material found within 1942 - 1973
Design Logic Records
Collection
Identifier: 1989-12
Abstract
Design Logic was founded in March 1985 in Chicago by David Gresham and Martin Thaler. Gresham was a student of Katherine and Michael McCoy at the Cranbrook Academy of Art (CAA) at the time he began the company. He received his master’s degree in design in 1986. Thaler is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design and the Royal College of Art. The two met while working at the ITT Corporate Design Center. A third designer, James Ludwig, joined the company in 1987. He holds a bachelor’s...
Dates:
1982 - 1989
Inspecting a Chair at CAA design workshop
Digital Image
Identifier: 202101_67_15_02
Dates:
Digitized: 2022-10-06
Kenneth Dale Isaacs Papers
Collection
Identifier: 2021-01
Abstract
A graduate and former head of the Design Department at Cranbrook Academy of Art in the 1950s, Ken Isaacs was an American designer, author and educator best known for his portable, customizable Living Structures and Microhouses. He claimed his design philosophy was influenced more by anthropologists than by architects. Moving from place to place and working with commonly available building materials were experiences in Isaacs’ own childhood and capabilities that he prioritized in his designs....
Dates:
1900 - 2018; Majority of material found within 1945 - 2016
Katherine and Michael McCoy Papers
Collection
Identifier: 1995-01
Abstract
Katherine and Michael McCoy were instructors and co-chairs of the Cranbrook Academy of Art Design Department from 1971 to 1994. Michael McCoy, born on September 16, 1944, is an award winning American industrial designer and educator. Katherine McCoy (nee Braden), born October 12, 1945, is an award winning American graphic designer, educator, and design consultant. In 1972 Katherine and Michael founded the design studio McCoy & McCoy Associates where their clients included Knoll...
Dates:
circa 1971-1995; Majority of material found within 1972 - 1995
Ralph Rapson Papers
Collection
Identifier: 2012-01
Abstract
Ralph Rapson, born on September 13, 1914, in Alma, Michigan, won a scholarship to the University of Michigan's College of Architecture in 1935. Admitted to the Phi Kappa Phi Society in 1938, he was encouraged to apply for the George G. Booth Travelling Fellowship in Architecture. He did not receive the fellowship but his submission impressed Eliel Saarinen, who offered Rapson a scholarship to attend the Academy of Art, where he helped Saarinen on a planning project for the State Capitol...
Dates:
1935 - 1954
J. Robert F. and Pipsan Saarinen Swanson Papers
Collection
Identifier: 1990-01
Abstract
Jons Robert (Bob) Ferdinand Swanson (1900-1981) graduated from the University of Michigan School of Architecture in 1924, where he had and become friends with Henry Scripps Booth. In 1924, they established the architectural firm, Swanson and Booth. In 1927, the partnership dissolved and Bob established his own practice. Eva Lisa (Pipsan) Saarinen (1905-1979), daughter of Eliel and Loja Saarinen, studied weaving, ceramics, and fabric design at University of Helskini. She married Bob in 1926...
Dates:
1900 - 1983
Richard Thomas Papers
Collection
Identifier: 1989-14
Abstract
Richard Thomas graduated from the Cranbrook Academy of Art in May 1948 with an MFA in painting, subsequently re-establishing the Metalsmithing Department at the Academy and becoming Head for thirty-six years. He also served in other administrative capacities for the Academy, including Dean of Students (1951-50), Registrar (1962-65), Administrative Assistant to the President (1965-66), and Dean of Students (1968). His chief interest was liturgical art, fabricating around 300 objects for...
Dates:
1930 - 1984; Majority of material found within 1950 - 1978
Suzanne E. Vanderbilt Papers
Collection
Identifier: 1998-02
Abstract
Suzanne E. Vanderbilt was an industrial designer at General Motors, hired as a “Damsels of Design”, a pioneering group of women automobile designers hired by Harley Earl (VP of Design) in the mid-1950s. While there, she became the first female assistant designer and developed two patents relating to automotive safety and ergonomics, among other accomplishments. From 1963-1965, General Motors granted Ms. Vanderbilt a leave to study at the Cranbrook Academy of Art (CAA), where she earned a...
Dates:
1924-1994; undated