The Definitive Dwiggins no. 32—The Architect and the Industrial Arts, continued

There are eighteen stencil ornaments in total by W.A. Dwiggins in the exhibition catalogue for The Architect and the Industrial Arts. [1] However, only eight are original designs. The other ten are either repeats or flopped copies. Six designs are botanical in nature and two are geometrical. All are printed in black, though several have hatched elements to create tone. Printed by letterpress on soft paper, Dwiggins’ original crisp edges have unfortunately been dulled. Here they are, in the order they first appear in the book.

Title page. This ornament is a solid black version of the three-color design that Dwiggins created for the exhibition labels.

Ornament from title page of The Architect and the Industrial Arts: An Exhibition of Contemporary American Design (New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1929). Design by W.A. Dwiggins (1928).

Stencil ornament in color for labels for The Architect and the Industrial Arts: An Exhibition of Contemporary American Design. Design by W.A. Dwiggins (1928). Image copyright: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Image source: Art Resource, NY.

Acknowledgements (p. 11) by Edward Robinson, Director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This ornament is an excerpt from the front cover design that Dwiggins made for the exhibition catalogue. It has been rotated counterclockwise, three of the elements are now hatched instead of solid black, and the one at the top has been slightly cropped. It is used flopped for Man’s Study for a Country House by Ralph T. Walker (p. 35).

Ornament from Acknowledgements (p. 11) of The Architect and the Industrial Arts: An Exhibition of Contemporary American Design (New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1929). Design by W.A. Dwiggins.

Detail of front cover of The Architect and the Industrial Arts (New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1929). Design by W.A. Dwiggins (1928).

Acknowlegments (p. 13) by Edward Robinson, Director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This ornament is a single color version of the three-color one used on the poster which Dwiggins designed for the exhibition. The left semi-parabola is now hatched and the right one is now crosshatched. It is reused in solid black for the Notes (p. 83).

Ornament from foreword by Edward Robinson (p. 13) to The Architect and the Industrial Arts: An Exhibition of Contemporary American Design (New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1929). Design by W.A. Dwiggins.

Detail from poster for The Architect and the Industrial Arts: 11th Exhibition of Contemporary American Design (1929). Ornament design by W.A. Dwiggins 1928). Image copyright: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Image source: Art Resource, NY.

American Industrial Art (p. 19); introduction by Richard F. Bach, Director of Industrial Relations, Metropolitan Museum of Art. This is the first ornament to include geometrical elements. It is flopped for Child’s Nursery and Bedroom (p. 52) by Eugene Schoen.

Ornament from the introduction by Richard F. Bach (p. 19) to The Architect and the Industrial Arts: An Exhibition of Contemporary American Design (New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1929). Design by W.A. Dwiggins.

Backyard Garden (p. 31) by Ely Jacques Kahn. This “plant-like” design is reused in flopped fashion for Show Window and Sales Alcove (p. 42) by Eugene Schoen; Apartment House Loggia (p. 67) by Raymond M. Hood; and Central Garden Feature (p. 79) by Armistead Fitzhugh.

Ornament from “Backyard Garden” by Ely Jacques Kahn (p. 31) in The Architect and the Industrial Arts: An Exhibition of Contemporary American Design (New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1929). Design by W.A. Dwiggins.

Conservatory (p. 39) by Joseph Urban. This design is the first in the book to be fully geometric. It is repeated for Dining Room (p. 58) by Eliel Saarinen; and flopped for Woman’s Bedroom (p. 45)  by John Wellborn Root, Jr. and Sales Room (p. 77) by Ralph T. Walker.

Ornament from “Conservatory” by Joseph Urban (p. 39) in The Architect and the Industrial Arts: An Exhibition of Contemporary American Design (New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1929). Design by W.A. Dwiggins.

Man’s Den (p. 49) by Joseph Urban. This design is the most moderne or obviously Art Deco one in the book. It is repeated for Bath and Dressing Room (p. 62) by Ely Jacques Kahn; and in flopped fashion for Business Executive Office (p. 71) by Raymond M. Hood.

Ornament from “Business Executive Office” by Raymond M. Hood (p. 71) in The Architect and the Industrial Arts: An Exhibition of Contemporary American Design (New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1929). Design by W.A. Dwiggins.

Colophon. For the book’s colophon Dwiggins designed this stencil “vignette” which looks like it could be one of the installations in the exhibition.

Stencil design from colophon of The Architect and the Industrial Arts: An Exhibition of Contemporary American Design (New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1929). Design by W.A. Dwiggins.

Notes
1. For more on Dwiggins’ work for The Architect and the Industrial Arts exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art see The Definitive Dwiggins no. 130—The Architect and the Industrial Arts.