Where Elegance and Beauty Meet Functional Design

Where Elegance and Beauty Meet Functional Design
Twelve-hour assignment for a garden ballroom: elevation, plan, and cross-section, 1846, by Henry Guillot de Juilly. Pencil, ink, and watercolor; 17 inches by 151/4 inches. Peter May Collection. Courtesy of Peter May
Lorraine Ferrier
Updated:
Seldom do we see architectural designs that never made it off the drawing board. Often such drawings were stored away in dark archives or lost forever. Architectural drawings completed at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris seemed destined for similar fates. But one American collector’s ardor for Beaux-Arts drawings has meant that we can catch a rare glimpse of architectural treasures that beautifully document professional architect training in France. 
Until June 13, visitors to the New-York Historical Society can see French architectural drawings from the private collection of investor and philanthropist Peter May, in the exhibition “The Art of Architecture: Beaux-Arts Drawings From the Peter May Collection.”
Lorraine Ferrier
Lorraine Ferrier
Author
Lorraine Ferrier writes about fine arts and craftsmanship for The Epoch Times. She focuses on artists and artisans, primarily in North America and Europe, who imbue their works with beauty and traditional values. She's especially interested in giving a voice to the rare and lesser-known arts and crafts, in the hope that we can preserve our traditional art heritage. She lives and writes in a London suburb, in England.
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