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...

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...