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Call Number:
S019
Creator:
Kahn, Louis I., 1901-1974
Title(s):
Louis I. Kahn Yale Center for British Art sketches
Date:
1971-1972
Extent:
1 linear feet
Classification:
Archives and Manuscripts
Abstract:
Collection features early sketches by Louis I. Kahn of the Yale Center for British Art building. This includes exterior elevations, interior and exterior renderings, and floor plans.
Provenance:
Transfer from Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University, July 2022.
Conditions Governing Access:
This collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use:
In Copyright

Copyright is retained by the University of Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission for works authored and provided by Louis I. Kahn during his lifetime. Please contact the Architectural Archives at the University of Pennsylvania for inquiries regarding copyright: archarchives@design.penn.edu.
Biographical/Historical:
Louis Isadore Kahn (March 5, 1901 – March 17, 1974) was born Itze-Leib Schmuilowsky to Jewish parents in Estonia, then a part of the Russian Empire. The family emigrated to the United States in 1906 so that Kahn's father would not be conscripted into the Russo-Japanese War, and settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where other family members were already living. As a child, Kahn sketched with burnt twigs and matches due to the scarcity of art supplies. He attended Philadelphia’s Central High School, where he took art classes, including a required course in architectural history his senior year. Kahn graduated from the University of Pennsylvania School of Fine Arts with a BA in architecture in 1924. Following his graduation, Kahn worked for several architects in the Philadelphia area, including Paul Philippe Cret. Kahn founded his own atelier in 1935, where he would work until his death in 1974. Kahn's work is noted for its sense of monumentality within the broader midcentury modern style. It emphasizes light and geometry, inspired by his time in Rome and observations of how ancient monuments interacted with sunlight. The lasting impact of his travels can be seen in his designs for the expansion of the Yale University Art Gallery (1951–53); the Salk Institute (1959–65) in La Jolla, CA; and the Kimbell Art Museum (1967–72) in Fort Worth, TX, among others. These works and their use of natural light were a key factor in the selection of Kahn as the architect for the Yale Center for British Art over other architects such as Philip Johnson, I. M. Pei, and Robert Venturi. In working with founding director Jules David Prown, Paul Mellon, and others at Yale to create the Center, Kahn remarked, “On a gray day it will look like a moth. On a sunny day, like a butterfly.” In creating the interior, Kahn relied on natural materials, including oak, linen, wool carpeting, and raw concrete, that underscore the presence of natural light and complement the art on the walls. He was also selected for his sensitivity to urban planning. His design for the YCBA incorporated shops on the ground level of the building, the first museum to do so. The YCBA was completed in 1977, three years after Kahn's death. In addition to operating his atelier, Kahn taught architecture at several universities on the East Coast of the United States, starting with the Yale School of Architecture, where he served as a professor and design critic from 1947 to 1957. He went on to teach at the University of Pennsylvania, where he ultimately became Paul Philippe Cret Professor of Architecture, a post he held until his death. He also taught at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Princeton University. During Kahn’s lifetime, his colleagues recognized his work through professional honors. He was elected a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) in 1953 and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1968. He was awarded the AIA Gold Medal, the highest award given by the American Institute of Architects, in 1971.
Scope and Content:
The collection features a number of early sketches by Louis Kahn, showing his designs for the YCBA building. It includes exterior elevations, interior and exterior renderings, and floor plans.
Genre:
Architectural drawings and Architectural drawings (visual works)
Subject Terms:
Architecture
Art museums
College art museums
Subject Period:
20th Century
Associated Places:
Connecticut
New Haven
United States
Associated People/Groups:
Yale Center for British Art
Finding Aid Title:
Louis I. Kahn Yale Center for British Art sketches
Archival Object:
https://archives.yale.edu/repositories/3/resources/13213
Metadata Cloud URL:
https://metadata-api.library.yale.edu/metadatacloud/api/aspace/repositories/3/resources/13213?mediaType=json&include-notes=1&include-all-subjects=1