For Immediate Release: January 21, 2010
Media Contacts: Emma Filar, Marketing & Communications Associate
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Drawing Toward Home: Press Release
Traveling exhibition from Historic New England to open at National Building Museum
Download the Drawing Toward Home Press Kit
WASHINGTON, D.C.— Nearly 200 years of design inspiration for the home—from the Federal to the International Style—can be gleaned from this engaging survey of domestic architecture from the collections of Historic New England. On display at the National Building Museum from February 13 to August 15, 2010, Drawing Toward Home features 100 drawings from renowned architectural offices such as McKim, Mead & White; Peabody & Stearns; and Little & Browne, as well as lesser-known architects. Drawing Toward Home illustrates the rich variety of architecture found throughout the region, from urban “three deckers” to quaint, rural cottages, to extravagant seaside mansions.
The drawings range in date from the late eighteenth through the twentieth centuries and document the development of the architectural profession in America. The exhibition not only presents shifting residential design trends and changing styles, Drawing Toward Home showcases the imagination of the designer and the consummate skill of the draftsman. A wide scope of architectural drawing is included, from studies and preliminary sketches to highly finished presentation drawings for clients, as well as detailed plans, elevations, and sections. In addition there are drawings for landscaping, outbuildings, fences, and even a proposal for an elaborate birdhouse. Some of the renderings are true to what was constructed, but the selection also presents projects that were never built, or are now lost, and drawings which record stages in a design process that eventually resulted in something different.
From Great Diamond Island, Maine, to Boston’s Beacon Street and from cottages on Cape Cod to mansions in Newport, the houses featured in Drawing Toward Home remind us that the architecture of New England is a touchstone of American architecture.
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Drawing Toward Home: Designs for Domestic Architecture from Historic New England is organized by Historic New England in celebration of its centennial. |
The National Building Museum is America’s leading cultural institution dedicated to advancing the quality of the built environment by educating people about its impact on their lives. Through its exhibitions, educational programs, online content, and publications, the Museum has become a vital forum for the exchange of ideas and information about the world we build for ourselves. Public inquiries: 202.272.2448 or visit www.nbm.org. Connect with us on Twitter: @BuildingMuseum and Facebook.
For additional information contact the Marketing and Communications Department at pressoffice@nbm.org or 202.272.2448, ext. 3458.
