Illinois Institute of Technology. Institute of Design
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 53 Collections and/or Records:
Institute of Design library pamphlets, 1930-1960
Institute of Design move, 1991
Office files from two of IIT's presidents, Meyer Feldberg (1987-1989) and Lewis Collens (1990-2007). Contents fall into physical series such as correspondence (personal and corporate), fundraising, and events.
Institute of Design Photography Oral History Project, 2011
Twenty-three video interviews with Institute of Design alumni regarding their experiences in the photography program. The interviewees discuss fellow students and instructors such as Arthur Siegel, Aaron Siskind, Garry Winogrand, Harry Callahan, Nathan Lerner, Frederick Sommer, and others. The interviews were recorded on Sunday, May 1, 2011 at the Stephen Daiter Gallery, Chicago, IL. The collection includes 23 interviews, 3 essays, 3 photographs and a guestbook.
Institute of Design posters, 1969-1987
Two posters related to the Institute of Design: 50 Years Bauhaus, 1969 (2 copies); Institute of Design 50th Anniversary, 1937. The latter piece is mounted and signed by Ivan Chermayeff, who is possibly the designer.
Institute of Design printed material, 1955-2020
Institute of Design recordings, 1920-1944
Institute of Design records, 1937-1981
Materials created by the Illinois Institute of Technology Registrar's Office to help track and convert course credits taken by Institute of Design students prior to the school's 1949 merger with IIT. The collection includes a few items created by ID before the merger, saved as samples to aid in the conversion.
Institute of Design records, 1937-ca. 1962
Institute of Design records, 1942-2001
Institute of Design records, 1955-1998
Two folders of printed materials and correspondence related to development activities of Institute of Design, Illinois Institute of Technology. Includes letter signed by Ansel Adams and correspondence about donation of drinking straws for "straw construction project."
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