Elevator Grill from the Chicago Stock Exchange Building
Decorative Arts and Design

Elevator Grill from the Chicago Stock Exchange Building
Artwork Details
Artist/Maker
Louis H. Sullivan (American, 1856-1924), designer
Winslow Brothers Company, Chicago, IL, 1856-1924, manufacturer
Winslow Brothers Company, Chicago, IL, 1856-1924, manufacturer
Date
1893–1894
Medium
Cast and wrought iron, paint, and bronze
Accession #
1982.291 a
Dimensions
73 x 31 inches
Location
On View - Stent Family Wing, Level 3, Gallery 303
Description
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.