Lionel Pries
Encyclopedia
Lionel H. Pries (June 1, 1897 – April 7, 1968), was a leading architect
, artist
, and educator in the Pacific Northwest
.
Pries was born in San Francisco and raised in Oakland. He graduated with a B.A. in Architecture from the University of California, Berkeley
, in 1920, where he studied under John Galen Howard
. He then studied under Paul Cret at the University of Pennsylvania
, earning his M.A. in 1921. After travel in Europe, he returned to San Francisco where he practiced architecture for the next four years, although he spent a year in Santa Barbara
(designing buildings for the Bothin Helping Fund) after the 1925 earthquake.
In 1928, Pries moved to Seattle to join Penn classmate William J. Bain
in the firm Bain & Pries. Initially successful, the firm could not survive the Depression and dissolved in late 1931. Thereafter Pries focused on his career as an educator, although he occasionally took on architectural projects under his own name.
Pries joined the faculty of the Department of Architecture at the University of Washington
in fall 1928 and soon became the center of the school. From 1928 to 1958, he was the inspirational teacher of a generation of architecture students at Washington, among them Minoru Yamasaki
, A. Quincy Jones
, Ken Anderson
, Paul H. Kirk
, Roland Terry
, Fred Bassetti
, Victor Steinbrueck
, Perry Johanson
, Wendell Lovett
, and many others.
From 1931 to 1932, Pries served as Director of the Art Institute of Seattle (predecessor to the Seattle Art Museum
). For a time he was part of the circle of Northwest artists that included Kenneth Callahan
, Morris Graves
, and Guy Anderson
. Pries exhibited as an artist (oils
, watercolors, drypoint prints
) in the late 1920s and from the mid-1930s to the mid-1940s.
Beginning in the late 1920s and continuing to 1942, Pries travelled to Mexico
every summer and regularly interacted with leaders in the arts including William Spratling
, Frederick W. Davis
, Rene d'Harnoncourt
, Juan O'Gorman
, and others. Pries's architectural works from the late 1930s to the 1960s showed a mix of Modernism and regionalism, reflecting the profound influence of what he encountered in Mexico.
Pries was gay
, but deeply closeted in the University of Washington community. He anticipated teaching at least until he reached retirement age, but was forced to resign his university position in 1958 after he was picked up in a vice sting
in Los Angeles. The reason for Pries's abrupt departure from the university was concealed at the time.
Pries worked as a drafter until he was able to retire in 1964, then lived quietly until his death in 1968.
In 1981 the University of Washington College of Architecture and Urban Planning (now College of Built Environments
) established the Lionel Pries Endowed Fund, to honor Pries through an annual event as part the College Lecture Series. In 1984 architecture student Drew Rocker published an essay on Pries in the regional design journal Arcade. In the mid-1980s, students in the College of Architecture and Urban Planning established a student-selected award to recognize teaching excellence and named it the “Lionel Pries Teaching Award.”
Pries's influence and significance were cited by many of his students, notably Yamasaki in his autobiography and Steinbrueck in several books on Seattle architecture. Pries is also cited in recent monographs on A. Quincy Jones, Roland Terry, and Wendell Lovett & Arne Bystrom.
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...
, artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
, and educator in the Pacific Northwest
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
.
Pries was born in San Francisco and raised in Oakland. He graduated with a B.A. in Architecture from the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
, in 1920, where he studied under John Galen Howard
John Galen Howard
John Galen Howard was an American architect.He is best known for his work as the supervising architect of the Master Plan for the University of California, Berkeley campus, and for founding the University of California's architecture program...
. He then studied under Paul Cret at the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
, earning his M.A. in 1921. After travel in Europe, he returned to San Francisco where he practiced architecture for the next four years, although he spent a year in Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...
(designing buildings for the Bothin Helping Fund) after the 1925 earthquake.
In 1928, Pries moved to Seattle to join Penn classmate William J. Bain
William J. Bain
William J. Bain was a notable Seattle architect and a founder of the architecture firm, Naramore, Bain, Brady and Johanson, the predecessor to today's NBBJ....
in the firm Bain & Pries. Initially successful, the firm could not survive the Depression and dissolved in late 1931. Thereafter Pries focused on his career as an educator, although he occasionally took on architectural projects under his own name.
Pries joined the faculty of the Department of Architecture at the University of Washington
University of Washington College of Built Environments
The College of Built Environments or CBE at the University of Washington is the new name, as of January 1, 2009, of the college formerly called the College of Architecture and Urban Planning. The old name was adopted in 1957-58 when the college had only two departments, architecture and planning...
in fall 1928 and soon became the center of the school. From 1928 to 1958, he was the inspirational teacher of a generation of architecture students at Washington, among them Minoru Yamasaki
Minoru Yamasaki
was a Japanese-American architect, best known for his design of the twin towers of the World Trade Center, buildings 1 and 2. Yamasaki was one of the most prominent architects of the 20th century...
, A. Quincy Jones
A. Quincy Jones
Archibald Quincy Jones, FAIA was a prolific Los Angeles-based architect and educator known for innovative buildings in the modernist style and for urban planning that pioneered the use of greenbelts and green design.-Childhood and early career:...
, Ken Anderson
Ken Anderson (animator)
Ken "Kenneth B." Anderson was an art director, writer, and animator at Walt Disney Animation Studios for 44 years.Anderson studied architecture at the University of Washington, graduating with a B.Arch. in 1934...
, Paul H. Kirk
Paul H. Kirk
Paul Hayden Kirk was among the most significant Pacific Northwest architects from 1945 to 1980. Paul Kirk's designs contributed to development of a regionally appropriate version of Modern architecture...
, Roland Terry
Roland Terry
Roland Terry was a leading Pacific Northwest architect from the 1950s to the 1990s. He was a prime contributor to the regional approach to Modern architecture created in the Northwest in the post-World War II era....
, Fred Bassetti
Fred Bassetti
Fred Bassetti FAIA, is an award-winning Pacific Northwest architect, teacher, and a prime contributor to the regional approach to Modern architecture during the 1940s-1990’s. Now retired, his architectural legacy includes some of the Seattle area's more recognizable buildings and spaces...
, Victor Steinbrueck
Victor Steinbrueck
Victor Steinbrueck was a Seattle architect, and University of Washington faculty member, and best known for his efforts to preserve the city's Pioneer Square and Pike Place Market.-Biography:...
, Perry Johanson
Perry Johanson
Perry Johanson was a Seattle architect and one of the founders of the architectural firm NBBJ....
, Wendell Lovett
Wendell Lovett
Wendell Harper Lovett is a significant Pacific Northwest architect and teacher.Born and raised in Seattle, Washington, Lovett entered the University of Washington program in architecture in 1940, but his college years were interrupted by wartime service. He graduated from the University of...
, and many others.
From 1931 to 1932, Pries served as Director of the Art Institute of Seattle (predecessor to the Seattle Art Museum
Seattle Art Museum
The Seattle Art Museum is an art museum located in Seattle, Washington, USA. It maintains three major facilities: its main museum in downtown Seattle; the Seattle Asian Art Museum in Volunteer Park on Capitol Hill, and the Olympic Sculpture Park on the central Seattle waterfront, which opened on...
). For a time he was part of the circle of Northwest artists that included Kenneth Callahan
Kenneth Callahan
Kenneth Callahan was a noted 20th century Abstract Expressionism painter, art critic curator, and a founder of the Northwest School....
, Morris Graves
Morris Graves
Morris Cole Graves was an American expressionist painter. Along with Guy Anderson, Kenneth Callahan, William Cumming, and Mark Tobey, he founded the Northwest School. Graves was also a mystic.-Early years:...
, and Guy Anderson
Guy Anderson
Guy Anderson , born in Edmonds, Washington, was an American Abstract Expressionism painter. Along with Kenneth Callahan, Morris Graves, William Cumming, and Mark Tobey, Anderson was identified in a Life Magazine article as one of the "northwest mystics," also known as the Northwest School.-Early...
. Pries exhibited as an artist (oils
Oil painting
Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments that are bound with a medium of drying oil—especially in early modern Europe, linseed oil. Often an oil such as linseed was boiled with a resin such as pine resin or even frankincense; these were called 'varnishes' and were prized for their body...
, watercolors, drypoint prints
Drypoint
Drypoint is a printmaking technique of the intaglio family, in which an image is incised into a plate with a hard-pointed "needle" of sharp metal or diamond point. Traditionally the plate was copper, but now acetate, zinc, or plexiglas are also commonly used...
) in the late 1920s and from the mid-1930s to the mid-1940s.
Beginning in the late 1920s and continuing to 1942, Pries travelled to Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
every summer and regularly interacted with leaders in the arts including William Spratling
William Spratling
William Spratling was an American-born silversmith and artist, best known for his influence on 20th century Mexican silver design....
, Frederick W. Davis
Frederick W. Davis
Frederick W. Davis operated an antiquities and folk art shop in Mexico City. Davis was an early collector and dealer in pre-Columbian and Mexican folk art and his shop was a place where Mexican Modern artists who were interested in pre-Columbian and folk art, often met.Davis was born and raised...
, Rene d'Harnoncourt
Rene d'Harnoncourt
Rene d'Harnoncourt was an art curator, and a Director of the Museum of Modern Art, New York, from 1949 to 1967....
, Juan O'Gorman
Juan O'Gorman
Juan O'Gorman was a Mexican painter and architect.-Biography:O'Gorman was born in Coyoacán, then a village to the south of Mexico City and now a borough of the Federal District, to an Irish father, Cecil Crawford O'Gorman and a Mexican mother...
, and others. Pries's architectural works from the late 1930s to the 1960s showed a mix of Modernism and regionalism, reflecting the profound influence of what he encountered in Mexico.
Pries was gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
, but deeply closeted in the University of Washington community. He anticipated teaching at least until he reached retirement age, but was forced to resign his university position in 1958 after he was picked up in a vice sting
Vice
Vice is a practice or a behavior or habit considered immoral, depraved, or degrading in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a defect, an infirmity, or merely a bad habit. Synonyms for vice include fault, depravity, sin, iniquity, wickedness, and corruption...
in Los Angeles. The reason for Pries's abrupt departure from the university was concealed at the time.
Pries worked as a drafter until he was able to retire in 1964, then lived quietly until his death in 1968.
In 1981 the University of Washington College of Architecture and Urban Planning (now College of Built Environments
University of Washington College of Built Environments
The College of Built Environments or CBE at the University of Washington is the new name, as of January 1, 2009, of the college formerly called the College of Architecture and Urban Planning. The old name was adopted in 1957-58 when the college had only two departments, architecture and planning...
) established the Lionel Pries Endowed Fund, to honor Pries through an annual event as part the College Lecture Series. In 1984 architecture student Drew Rocker published an essay on Pries in the regional design journal Arcade. In the mid-1980s, students in the College of Architecture and Urban Planning established a student-selected award to recognize teaching excellence and named it the “Lionel Pries Teaching Award.”
Pries's influence and significance were cited by many of his students, notably Yamasaki in his autobiography and Steinbrueck in several books on Seattle architecture. Pries is also cited in recent monographs on A. Quincy Jones, Roland Terry, and Wendell Lovett & Arne Bystrom.
Further reading
- Ochsner, Jeffrey KarlJeffrey Karl OchsnerJeffrey Karl Ochsner is an architect, architectural historian, and professor at the University of Washington in Seattle. He is known for his research and writing on American architects Henry Hobson Richardson and Lionel H. Pries, and on Seattle architecture.Ochsner graduated from Rice University...
, Lionel H. Pries, Architect, Artist, Educator: From Arts and Crafts to Modern Architecture University of Washington Press, Seattle and London, 2007. ISBN 0295986980. - Ochsner, Jeffrey Karl, "Modern or Traditional? Lionel H. Pries and Architectural Education at the University of Washington, 1928–1942," Pacific Northwest Quarterly 96 (Summer 2005), pages 132–150.
- Rocker, Andrew, "Lionel H. Pries: Educator of Architects,” Arcade 4 (April/May 1984). pages 1, 8–9.
- Rocker, Drew, "Lionel H. Pries," in Shaping Seattle Architecture: A Historical Guide to the Architects (ed. Jeffrey Karl Ochsner), University of Washington Press, Seattle and London, 1994, pages 228–233.