Samuel Abraham Marx
Encyclopedia
Samuel Abraham Marx was an American
architect
, designer
and interior decorator. He is generally considered a modernist, influenced by the International style
.
, in 1885. He graduated from MIT's Department of Architecture in 1907, with his thesis Design for a Synagogue. He then went studying to Europe for eight months.
Before opening his own practice, he worked for Killham & Hopkins in Boston
, and for Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge in Chicago
. While he originally designed interior of hotels and department stores, Marx became a mostly residential architect, designing stripped-down buildings reminiscent of Mies van der Rohe's works, while he became respected for his aesthetic and functional integrated furnitures and decorative elements.
Along with his third wife, Florene May, he was an avid art collector. While many of his buildings were razed, his enormous collection was dispersed over the years.
magazine (1948) said about his works “it’s frequently hard to say where the architecture ends and the furniture begins.”
Relatively overshadowed as an architect, Marx is, and has been a major influence in furniture design (notably industrial). Liz O'Brien's recent monography, Ultramodern, Samuel Marx: Architect, Designer, Art Collector asserts his role in the modernist movement.
As an interior decorator :
Works of his as a designer are exhibited in the Metropolitan Museum of Art
, the Museum of Modern Art
(MoMA) and the Chicago Art Institute, and some are regularly auctioned by private decorative arts dealers.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
, designer
Designer
A designer is a person who designs. More formally, a designer is an agent that "specifies the structural properties of a design object". In practice, anyone who creates tangible or intangible objects, such as consumer products, processes, laws, games and graphics, is referred to as a...
and interior decorator. He is generally considered a modernist, influenced by the International style
International style (architecture)
The International style is a major architectural style that emerged in the 1920s and 1930s, the formative decades of Modern architecture. The term originated from the name of a book by Henry-Russell Hitchcock and Philip Johnson, The International Style...
.
Biography
Samuel A. Marx was born Natchez, MississippiNatchez, Mississippi
Natchez is the county seat of Adams County, Mississippi, United States. With a total population of 18,464 , it is the largest community and the only incorporated municipality within Adams County...
, in 1885. He graduated from MIT's Department of Architecture in 1907, with his thesis Design for a Synagogue. He then went studying to Europe for eight months.
Before opening his own practice, he worked for Killham & Hopkins in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, and for Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. While he originally designed interior of hotels and department stores, Marx became a mostly residential architect, designing stripped-down buildings reminiscent of Mies van der Rohe's works, while he became respected for his aesthetic and functional integrated furnitures and decorative elements.
Along with his third wife, Florene May, he was an avid art collector. While many of his buildings were razed, his enormous collection was dispersed over the years.
Posterity
House BeautifulHouse Beautiful
House Beautiful is an interior decorating magazine that focuses on decorating and the domestic arts. First published in 1896, it is currently published by the Hearst Corporation, who purchased it in 1934...
magazine (1948) said about his works “it’s frequently hard to say where the architecture ends and the furniture begins.”
Relatively overshadowed as an architect, Marx is, and has been a major influence in furniture design (notably industrial). Liz O'Brien's recent monography, Ultramodern, Samuel Marx: Architect, Designer, Art Collector asserts his role in the modernist movement.
Notable works
As an architect :- Alexander HamiltonAlexander HamiltonAlexander Hamilton was a Founding Father, soldier, economist, political philosopher, one of America's first constitutional lawyers and the first United States Secretary of the Treasury...
Memorial in Chicago's Lincoln Park - New Orleans Museum of ArtNew Orleans Museum of ArtThe New Orleans Museum of Art is the oldest fine arts museum in the city of New Orleans. It is situated within City Park, a short distance from the intersection of Carrollton Avenue and Esplanade Avenue, and near the terminus of the "Canal Street - City Park" streetcar line...
- Edward G. RobinsonEdward G. RobinsonEdward G. Robinson was a Romanian-born American actor. A popular star during Hollywood's Golden Age, he is best remembered for his roles as gangsters, such as Rico in his star-making film Little Caesar and as Rocco in Key Largo...
’s home, Los AngelesLos ÁngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants... - May Company department storeMay Company CaliforniaMay Company California was a chain of department stores operating in the Southern California and Nevada, previously with headquarters in North Hollywood, California. It was a subsidiary of May Department Stores and merged with May's other Southern California subsidiary, J. W...
in Los Angeles - Tom May's house, Los Angeles
- Morton D. MayMorton D. MayMorton D. May was an American philanthropist and art collector. He was also at various times director, chairman of the board, and chief executive officer of the May Department Stores Company. -Biography:Morton D...
's house, St Louis (razed)
As an interior decorator :
- Pierre Hotel, New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
Works of his as a designer are exhibited in the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
, the Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
(MoMA) and the Chicago Art Institute, and some are regularly auctioned by private decorative arts dealers.