Nora's Notables
Sherrill Whiton Sketch, 1960s Student Work, 1963 Student Exhibition Invitation
In celebration of NYSID’s 100th anniversary, NYSID archivist Nora Reilly pulled some of her favorite items from the College’s archives to feature as this week’s “Nora’s Notables.” Read more about the items and the stories behind them!
Sherril Whiton’s Student Drawings from the Ecole des Beaux Arts:
In 1909, while studying architecture at Columbia University, NYSID founder Sherrill Whiton was admitted to the École des Beaux-Arts. NYSID is lucky enough to have a collection of 55 drawings from his time at the École. The one below is a design for an Amphitheatre, dated October 16, 1909. Most of the drawings are made in pencil on trace with brown ink wash., and many of them are accompanied by brief descriptions of the assignment, and are dated and graded by the École instructors.
Sherril Whiton’s Student Drawings from the Ecole des Beaux Arts:
In 1909, while studying architecture at Columbia University, NYSID founder Sherrill Whiton was admitted to the École des Beaux-Arts. NYSID is lucky enough to have a collection of 55 drawings from his time at the École. The one below is a design for an Amphitheatre, dated October 16, 1909. Most of the drawings are made in pencil on trace with brown ink wash., and many of them are accompanied by brief descriptions of the assignment, and are dated and graded by the École instructors.
Photographs of Students’ Scale Model from the 1960s:
This small collection of photographs are final projects from scale model classes taught by long-time faculty member Alexander Breckenridge. These models are remarkably well-executed and include all of the details and decorative accents that make up a well-designed home, including indoor plants, outdoor landscaping, floor and wallcoverings, household equipment, and interior lighting.
Student Exhibition iIvitations:
Annual end-of-year student exhibitions began in 1938. Gilbert Werlé (assistant to Sherrill Whiton and dean from 1931-1972, co-director from 1972-1973) was the coordinator for these events. Exhibitions were advertised in magazines like Interiors, as well as local newspapers, and the graphics and typography of the invitations are worthy of admiration in their own right.
Above is the invitation for the 25th anniversary exhibit. The press release states: “More than 140 exhibits of renderings and scale models are displayed, depicting such diverse settings as executive offices; airline and steamship ticket sales offices; apartment house lobbies; and specialized city and country interiors. The presentations represent the work of 103 students comprising the Design Department of the New York School of Interior Design, the oldest school in the country (founded in 1916) devoted exclusively to the study of interior design & decoration”.