William Rutherford Mead
Encyclopedia
William Rutherford Mead was an American
architect
, and was the "Center of the Office" of McKim, Mead, and White
, a noted Gilded Age
architectural firm. The firm's other two founding partners were Charles Follen McKim
(1847–1909), and Stanford White
(1853–1906).
. He was cousin to President Rutherford B. Hayes
, hence his middle name. His sister, Elinor, later married novelist William Dean Howells
, and his younger brother Larkin Goldsmith Mead
became a sculptor. William Mead was handsome, authoritative and quiet. His father was a prominent lawyer, and his mother was the sister of John Humphrey Noyes
, the Oneida Utopian. Mead attended Norwich University
for two years and graduated from Amherst College
in Massachusetts in the class of 1867. He later learned architecture under George Fletcher Babb in Russell Sturgis
's office in New York City
.
In 1872 Mead partnered with Charles Follen McKim
, a fellow New York architect, but Mead's talent was more for running an office rather than designing. This collaboration with McKim produced one of Mead's only known commissions – a house for an Amherst classmate, Dwight Herrick, from Mead's hometown of Chesterfield, New Hampsire.
Around December 1877, the firm took on William Bigelow, the elder brother of McKim's new wife, Annie Bigelow, as a partner, becoming McKim, Mead and Bigelow, with offices at 57 Broadway. In 1879, Bigelow withdrew from the firm, but they were joined by Stanford White
to form McKim, Mead, and White
. Mead was the partner who "hired and fired", "steered the ship", and spent his time "trying to keep the partners from making damn fools of themselves."
In 1883, Mead married Olga Kilyeni (c1850-1936) in Budapest
, Hungary
. They moved to Rome
, Italy
, where he was heavily involved in the American Academy in Rome
– McKim's favorite project and legacy – until his death. He was an AAR charter member, as was McKim, a Trustee from 1905–1928, and its President from 1910-1928. In 1902, King Victor Emmanuel
conferred on Mead the decoration of Knight Commander of the Crown of Italy for his pioneer work in introducing the Roman and Italian Renaissance architectural style in America. In 1902, Amherst College
conferred upon Mead the honorary degree of LL.D. In 1909, he received a degree of M.S. from Norwich University
in Vermont. In 1913 he received the gold medal of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
Mead retired in 1920. He died on June 30, 1928 in a Paris Hotel room from a heart attack after an illness of several weeks, with his wife at his side. Mead was the last of the firm's founding partners to die, as McKim died in 1909, after White in 1906. At his death, his estate of $250,000 went to his wife, Olga. Olga moved in with her sister in New York City, and died on April 10, 1936 in New York City
in her apartment in the Sherry-Netherland Hotel. She left her entire estate to the trustees of Amherst College. The money was used to build the Mead Art Building, which was designed by James Kellum Smith
of McKim, Mead and White. The building was completed in 1949.
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...
, and was the "Center of the Office" of McKim, Mead, and White
McKim, Mead, and White
McKim, Mead & White was a prominent American architectural firm at the turn of the twentieth century and in the history of American architecture. The firm's founding partners were Charles Follen McKim , William Rutherford Mead and Stanford White...
, a noted Gilded Age
Gilded Age
In United States history, the Gilded Age refers to the era of rapid economic and population growth in the United States during the post–Civil War and post-Reconstruction eras of the late 19th century. The term "Gilded Age" was coined by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner in their book The Gilded...
architectural firm. The firm's other two founding partners were Charles Follen McKim
Charles Follen McKim
Charles Follen McKim FAIA was an American Beaux-Arts architect of the late 19th century. Along with Stanford White, he provided the architectural expertise as a member of the partnership McKim, Mead, and White....
(1847–1909), and Stanford White
Stanford White
Stanford White was an American architect and partner in the architectural firm of McKim, Mead & White, the frontrunner among Beaux-Arts firms. He designed a long series of houses for the rich and the very rich, and various public, institutional, and religious buildings, some of which can be found...
(1853–1906).
Life and career
Mead was born in Brattleboro, VermontBrattleboro, Vermont
Brattleboro, originally Brattleborough, is a town in Windham County, Vermont, United States, located in the southeast corner of the state, along the state line with New Hampshire. The population was 12,046 at the 2010 census...
. He was cousin to President Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford Birchard Hayes was the 19th President of the United States . As president, he oversaw the end of Reconstruction and the United States' entry into the Second Industrial Revolution...
, hence his middle name. His sister, Elinor, later married novelist William Dean Howells
William Dean Howells
William Dean Howells was an American realist author and literary critic. Nicknamed "The Dean of American Letters", he was particularly known for his tenure as editor of the Atlantic Monthly as well as his own writings, including the Christmas story "Christmas Every Day" and the novel The Rise of...
, and his younger brother Larkin Goldsmith Mead
Larkin Goldsmith Mead
Larkin Goldsmith Mead was an American sculptor, working in a neoclassical styleHe was born at Chesterfield, New Hampshire, and was a pupil of Henry Kirke Brown...
became a sculptor. William Mead was handsome, authoritative and quiet. His father was a prominent lawyer, and his mother was the sister of John Humphrey Noyes
John Humphrey Noyes
John Humphrey Noyes was an American utopian socialist. He founded the Oneida Community in 1848. He coined the term "free love".-Early activism:...
, the Oneida Utopian. Mead attended Norwich University
Norwich University
Norwich University is a private university located in Northfield, Vermont . The university was founded in 1819 at Norwich, Vermont, as the American Literary, Scientific and Military Academy. It is the oldest of six Senior Military Colleges, and is recognized by the United States Department of...
for two years and graduated from Amherst College
Amherst College
Amherst College is a private liberal arts college located in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Amherst is an exclusively undergraduate four-year institution and enrolled 1,744 students in the fall of 2009...
in Massachusetts in the class of 1867. He later learned architecture under George Fletcher Babb in Russell Sturgis
Russell Sturgis
Russell Sturgis was an American architect and art criticof the 19th and early 20th centuries. He was one of the founders of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1870.-Early life and marriage:...
's office in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
In 1872 Mead partnered with Charles Follen McKim
Charles Follen McKim
Charles Follen McKim FAIA was an American Beaux-Arts architect of the late 19th century. Along with Stanford White, he provided the architectural expertise as a member of the partnership McKim, Mead, and White....
, a fellow New York architect, but Mead's talent was more for running an office rather than designing. This collaboration with McKim produced one of Mead's only known commissions – a house for an Amherst classmate, Dwight Herrick, from Mead's hometown of Chesterfield, New Hampsire.
Around December 1877, the firm took on William Bigelow, the elder brother of McKim's new wife, Annie Bigelow, as a partner, becoming McKim, Mead and Bigelow, with offices at 57 Broadway. In 1879, Bigelow withdrew from the firm, but they were joined by Stanford White
Stanford White
Stanford White was an American architect and partner in the architectural firm of McKim, Mead & White, the frontrunner among Beaux-Arts firms. He designed a long series of houses for the rich and the very rich, and various public, institutional, and religious buildings, some of which can be found...
to form McKim, Mead, and White
McKim, Mead, and White
McKim, Mead & White was a prominent American architectural firm at the turn of the twentieth century and in the history of American architecture. The firm's founding partners were Charles Follen McKim , William Rutherford Mead and Stanford White...
. Mead was the partner who "hired and fired", "steered the ship", and spent his time "trying to keep the partners from making damn fools of themselves."
In 1883, Mead married Olga Kilyeni (c1850-1936) in Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
. They moved to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, where he was heavily involved in the American Academy in Rome
American Academy in Rome
The American Academy in Rome is a research and arts institution located on the Gianicolo in Rome.- History :In 1893, a group of American architects, painters and sculptors met regularly while planning the fine arts section of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition...
– McKim's favorite project and legacy – until his death. He was an AAR charter member, as was McKim, a Trustee from 1905–1928, and its President from 1910-1928. In 1902, King Victor Emmanuel
Victor Emmanuel
Victor Emmanuel may refer to:*Victor Emmanuel I of Sardinia *Victor Emmanuel II of Italy *Victor Emmanuel III of Italy *Vittorio Emanuele, Prince of Naples...
conferred on Mead the decoration of Knight Commander of the Crown of Italy for his pioneer work in introducing the Roman and Italian Renaissance architectural style in America. In 1902, Amherst College
Amherst College
Amherst College is a private liberal arts college located in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Amherst is an exclusively undergraduate four-year institution and enrolled 1,744 students in the fall of 2009...
conferred upon Mead the honorary degree of LL.D. In 1909, he received a degree of M.S. from Norwich University
Norwich University
Norwich University is a private university located in Northfield, Vermont . The university was founded in 1819 at Norwich, Vermont, as the American Literary, Scientific and Military Academy. It is the oldest of six Senior Military Colleges, and is recognized by the United States Department of...
in Vermont. In 1913 he received the gold medal of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
Mead retired in 1920. He died on June 30, 1928 in a Paris Hotel room from a heart attack after an illness of several weeks, with his wife at his side. Mead was the last of the firm's founding partners to die, as McKim died in 1909, after White in 1906. At his death, his estate of $250,000 went to his wife, Olga. Olga moved in with her sister in New York City, and died on April 10, 1936 in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in her apartment in the Sherry-Netherland Hotel. She left her entire estate to the trustees of Amherst College. The money was used to build the Mead Art Building, which was designed by James Kellum Smith
James Kellum Smith
James Kellum Smith Sr. was an American architect, of the well-known Gilded Age architectural firm of McKim, Mead, and White....
of McKim, Mead and White. The building was completed in 1949.