Elevator Grill from the Chicago Stock Exchange Building
Louis H. Sullivan (American, 1856-1924), designer
Winslow Brothers Company, Chicago, IL, 1856-1924, manufacturer

Details
Title
Elevator Grill from the Chicago Stock Exchange Building
Artist/Maker
Louis H. Sullivan (American, 1856-1924), designer
Winslow Brothers Company, Chicago, IL, 1856-1924, manufacturer
Date
1893–1894
Medium
Cast and wrought iron, paint, and bronze
Dimensions
73 x 31 inches
Credit
Virginia Carroll Crawford Collection
Accession #
1982.291 a
This panel originally formed part of the grille surrounding the elevator in the Chicago Stock Exchange Building designed by architect Louis Sullivan. Often dubbed the father of early skyscraper design, Sullivan rejected neoclassical ornament as inappropriate for American building, preferring instead to stylize natural forms into abstractions—as in the seedpod pattern of this grille’s ironwork. Sullivan’s dictum “form follows function” influenced generations of architects, among them his one-time employee Frank Lloyd Wright.
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