Peter Bonnett Wight
Encyclopedia
Peter B. Wight was a 19th century architect from New York City
who worked there and in Chicago
.
and Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin." After the Chicago fire of 1871, Wight came to Chicago and developed his interest in modern technologies for fireproof construction, founding the Wight Fireproofing Co. by 1881. The firm "designed and manufactured hollow terra cotta
tile
s—impervious to fire and non heat-conductive—for construction."
Wight was raised in New York City and graduated from the Free Academy. He had associations with critic Russell Sturgis
and was mentored by Thomas R. Jackson
, through whom he came to admire American architect Richard Upjohn
and English social reformer and art critic John Ruskin
Wight opened his own office in 1862 and produced designs for the "highly decorative and polychromatic" design for the High Victorian Gothic National Academy of Design
. Wight was involved in the establishment of the Society for the Advancement of Truth in Art in 1863, before leaving New York after a decline in commission to move to Chicago after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 where demand for architects who could help with rebuilding was high.
In Chicago he worked with Asher Carter and then William Drake. Wight designed commercial and residential buildings, as well as furniture and wallpaper in the Eastlake style. He retired to Pasadena
, California in 1918 where he died in 1925.
Isaac G. Perry
's work designing the The New York State Inebriate Asylum may have been assisted by Peter Bonnett Wight (1838–1925), the head draftsman in Thomas R. Jackson
's firm, but Wight's role in the project is not well documented.
Russell Sturgis
was associated with Wight from 1863 to 1868 and then practiced alone until 1880. George Keller (architect) worked at his firm in New York.
Bonnett's design for Yale University
's Street Hall incorporated both the School of the Fine Arts (the first such school on a U.S. college campus) and galleries for exhibiting art. The building's entrances from the college campus and Chapel Street reflected "the donor's wishes and symbolically uniting school and 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...
who worked there and 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...
.
Biography
Wight's career "flourished in the 1860s and 1870s in New York, where he developed a decorative, historicist style that showed affinities to the work of European designers John RuskinJohn Ruskin
John Ruskin was the leading English art critic of the Victorian era, also an art patron, draughtsman, watercolourist, a prominent social thinker and philanthropist. He wrote on subjects ranging from geology to architecture, myth to ornithology, literature to education, and botany to political...
and Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin." After the Chicago fire of 1871, Wight came to Chicago and developed his interest in modern technologies for fireproof construction, founding the Wight Fireproofing Co. by 1881. The firm "designed and manufactured hollow terra cotta
Terra cotta
Terracotta, Terra cotta or Terra-cotta is a clay-based unglazed ceramic, although the term can also be applied to glazed ceramics where the fired body is porous and red in color...
tile
Tile
A tile is a manufactured piece of hard-wearing material such as ceramic, stone, metal, or even glass. Tiles are generally used for covering roofs, floors, walls, showers, or other objects such as tabletops...
s—impervious to fire and non heat-conductive—for construction."
Wight was raised in New York City and graduated from the Free Academy. He had associations with critic 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:...
and was mentored by Thomas R. Jackson
Thomas R. Jackson
Thomas R. Jackson was an English-born American architect who rose to the position of head draftsman in the office of Richard Upjohn , one of New York's most prominent designers; in his position in Upjohn's office he was one of the designers in the construction of Trinity Church, New York. The...
, through whom he came to admire American architect Richard Upjohn
Richard Upjohn
Richard Upjohn was an English-born architect who emigrated to the United States and became most famous for his Gothic Revival churches. He was partially responsible for launching the movement to such popularity in the United States. Upjohn also did extensive work in and helped to popularize the...
and English social reformer and art critic John Ruskin
John Ruskin
John Ruskin was the leading English art critic of the Victorian era, also an art patron, draughtsman, watercolourist, a prominent social thinker and philanthropist. He wrote on subjects ranging from geology to architecture, myth to ornithology, literature to education, and botany to political...
Wight opened his own office in 1862 and produced designs for the "highly decorative and polychromatic" design for the High Victorian Gothic National Academy of Design
National Academy of Design
The National Academy Museum and School of Fine Arts, founded in New York City as the National Academy of Design – known simply as the "National Academy" – is an honorary association of American artists founded in 1825 by Samuel F. B. Morse, Asher B. Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E...
. Wight was involved in the establishment of the Society for the Advancement of Truth in Art in 1863, before leaving New York after a decline in commission to move to Chicago after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 where demand for architects who could help with rebuilding was high.
In Chicago he worked with Asher Carter and then William Drake. Wight designed commercial and residential buildings, as well as furniture and wallpaper in the Eastlake style. He retired to Pasadena
Pasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
, California in 1918 where he died in 1925.
Isaac G. Perry
Isaac G. Perry
Isaac Gale Perry , was a prolific New York State architect and builder. His works include New York State Inebriate Asylum, Monday Afternoon Club, Phelps Mansion and the First National Bank of Oxford.- Life and career :...
's work designing the The New York State Inebriate Asylum may have been assisted by Peter Bonnett Wight (1838–1925), the head draftsman in Thomas R. Jackson
Thomas R. Jackson
Thomas R. Jackson was an English-born American architect who rose to the position of head draftsman in the office of Richard Upjohn , one of New York's most prominent designers; in his position in Upjohn's office he was one of the designers in the construction of Trinity Church, New York. The...
's firm, but Wight's role in the project is not well documented.
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:...
was associated with Wight from 1863 to 1868 and then practiced alone until 1880. George Keller (architect) worked at his firm in New York.
Bonnett's design for Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
's Street Hall incorporated both the School of the Fine Arts (the first such school on a U.S. college campus) and galleries for exhibiting art. The building's entrances from the college campus and Chapel Street reflected "the donor's wishes and symbolically uniting school and city."
Projects
- Street HallStreet HallStreet Hall is a historic building on the Yale University campus. It was the first collegiate art school in the United States and a gift from Augustus Russell Street to Yale for the establishment its School of Fine Arts. It was designed by Peter Bonnett Wight....
(1867), named for Augustus Russell StreetAugustus Russell StreetAugustus Russell Street was a philanthropist who made significant donations to Yale University.He was born in New Haven, Connecticut, the son of Titus Street , the founder of Streetsboro Township, Ohio, and his wife, née Amaryllis Atwater...
, a New Haven native and Yale graduate (Class of 1812), and Peter Bonnett Wight's only building at Yale UniversityYale UniversityYale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States... - Manierre Building and Lennox Building
- Mercantile Library (1869) Montague Street between Clinton and Court Streets, BrooklynBrooklynBrooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York (demolished) - New York Academy of Design 23rd Street and Fourth Avenue New York City
- Grant Park design considerations (lithograph drawing with Lorado Taft and writings 1915-1916)
- Thomas P. Jacobs House (1867), Louisville, KentuckyLouisville, KentuckyLouisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
in a polychromatic Gothic style
Further reading
- Sarah Bradford Landau P.B. Wight: Architect, Contractor, Critic, 1838-1925. Chicago: The Art Institute of Chicago, 1981