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Illinois Institute of Technology. Institute of Design

 Organization

Biography

The Institute of Design was established in 1939 by László Moholy-Nagy as the School of Design in Chicago. Moholy-Nagy was one of the early masters of the Bauhaus in Weimar and Dessau, Germany. In 1937, a group of Chicago business people representing the Association of Arts and Industries enticed Moholy to come to Chicago from London with their offer to establish a school to carry on the work of the original Bauhaus. The New Bauhaus: American School of Design opened its doors in October 1937, in the remodeled former Marshall Field mansion at 1905 South Prairie Avenue. From the venue of the New Bauhaus in Chicago, Moholy-Nagy championed Bauhaus methods even as he adapted them in his creative output of paintings, photographs, sculptures, photograms, and films as well as in professional design assignments undertaken for private industry and government, and in developing course curricula for the school's classes. The school closed a year later due to a lack of funding, but in February, 1939, László Moholy-Nagy opened his own school, the School of Design in Chicago. Its first campus was at 247 East Ontario Street. In 1944 the school was reorganized as the Institute of Design in Chicago (ID).

In November, 1946, Moholy-Nagy died of leukemia, and was succeeded as director by the architect, Serge Chermayeff. Vision in Motion, the definitive statement of Moholy's educational philosophy, was published posthumously in 1947. In 1949, the Institute of Design merged with Illinois Institute of Technology and the school initially remained at its downtown location. In 1955, it moved into S. R. Crown Hall, the building Mies van der Rohe had designed for IIT's architecture program, which he headed. Today, the Institute of Design is an integral part of IIT, offering a graduate level program and functioning as a college of the university.

Found in 5 Collections and/or Records:

Historical items, documents and communications, 1952-1994, bulk: 1970-1994

 Series
Identifier: 2
Description of the Collection From the Collection:

Materials concerning the Institute of Design collected by James S. Montague during his tenure as a faculty member and director of the school. The collection includes special publications, historical items, documents and communications, and mainly printed ephemera and publications by the Institute of Design.

Dates: Other: 1952-1994; Majority of material found within 1970-1994

Printed ephemera and publications about Institute of Design, 1956-1980, bulk: 1956-1969

 Series
Identifier: 3
Description of the Collection From the Collection:

Materials concerning the Institute of Design collected by James S. Montague during his tenure as a faculty member and director of the school. The collection includes special publications, historical items, documents and communications, and mainly printed ephemera and publications by the Institute of Design.

Dates: Other: 1956-1980; Majority of material found within 1956-1969

Printed flyers, 1955-1975, bulk: 1955-1969

 Series
Identifier: 5
Description of the Collection From the Collection:

Materials concerning the Institute of Design collected by James S. Montague during his tenure as a faculty member and director of the school. The collection includes special publications, historical items, documents and communications, and mainly printed ephemera and publications by the Institute of Design.

Dates: Other: 1955-1975; Majority of material found within 1955-1969

Printed publications by and about Institute of Design, 1948-1974, bulk: 1963-1969

 Series
Identifier: 4
Description of the Collection From the Collection:

Materials concerning the Institute of Design collected by James S. Montague during his tenure as a faculty member and director of the school. The collection includes special publications, historical items, documents and communications, and mainly printed ephemera and publications by the Institute of Design.

Dates: Other: 1948-1974; Majority of material found within 1963-1969

Special Publications, 1967-1969, bulk: 1967

 Series
Identifier: 1
Description of the Collection From the Collection:

Materials concerning the Institute of Design collected by James S. Montague during his tenure as a faculty member and director of the school. The collection includes special publications, historical items, documents and communications, and mainly printed ephemera and publications by the Institute of Design.

Dates: Other: 1967-1969; Majority of material found within 1967

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  • Record Type: Archival Component X

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Student publications 1
 

Paul V. Galvin Library

35 West 33rd Street | Chicago, IL | 60616
312.567.6847 library@iit.edu