457:
animal sculptures ranging from 700lbs to several tons each. In the same year, his mural Love
Through the Ages, made its debut. In 1936 Edgar joins Andrew Rebori to design Frank Fisher Apartments. Fisher was a Marshall Field's & Company executive. It was Miller's final handmade home, and the only one he built from scratch. "Miller and Rebori broke the mold when they designed that building", wrote artist Larry Zgoda. They called it "an opportunity to work toward a conception of human organic modern architecture that can achieve compact, livable, light house-keeping units in minimum workable space, with added factors of comfort and beauty." This complex was also the first air-conditioned apartment house in Chicago. Also in 1935, Miller completed the plaster plaques at Punch and Judy Theatre, as well as the ornate lead cut grill of various laborers for the
592:
experiment with the proportions of classic paintings by graphing circles and lines over reproductions. He was convinced he would eventually introduce a universal theory about extending every line found in a painting. "An artist falls in love with a particular pattern of the universe making harmony of it. Love. That's the basis of it. There's a kind of love for the work one is doing that one never outgrows. Age doesn't dim this enthusiasm." His wife, Dale, died in 1977. In 1978, he traveled back to
Chicago for a short spell. He met the new owner of the Glasner Studio, Lucy Montgomery, who was a wealthy
499:
419:
patron of the Art
Institute, who commissioned Edgar to design and execute "a party house" for him. Here Miller attempted his first major woodcarvings, his stained-glass ideas are fresh and original, and in general his work across many mediums is regarded as some of his best ever. This handmade home, which is known as the Glasner Studio, is his masterwork "total environment." Of this Wells Street complex, the Kogen-Miller Studios, Alice McKinstry wrote in the August 1930 issue of Woman Athletic: "homes that you have no right to live in unless you understand, and like, DeBussy's music, and
154:, he decided to fully pursue art: "I could imagine no other existence but to be an artist." Also, his cousin, Ladd Wright, whom he adored, was a famous rodeo star; later on Edgar named his own son Ladd. When Miller was seven, his father gave him a bay pony. Horses, and animals in general, are prominent and frequently presented in Edgar's art and designs: "The affection for her became a definite part of me." In a much later interview, Miller said, "Animals are representations of life and vitality." At 9 years old he created complete illustrations of his favorite poems,
373:
done work at the terra cotta factory; over-glaze I had done in the school years. Stained-glass and textiles I had investigated. I had a Logan Medal for both stained glass and batiks by 1923. A long apprenticeship had given me experience in sculpture, casting, stone cutting and wood carving, as well as mural painting. All I needed was a project." Around 1927 Sol Kogen, his friend from the Art
Institute, brought his idea – of finding and rehabilitating old houses in an artistic manner – to Miller. It became their greatest project, and also came to define the
355:. In 1921, he married artist and musician Dorothy Ann Wood. They had three children: Iris Ann in 1921, Gisela in 1923, and David in 1925. Their marriage was a challenge, and according to his brother Frank: "When two people are as implacably incompatible, nothing short of separation can help." Edgar left his wife and the children in 1929, but Dorothy refused his requests for
518:"That's where the family of Edgar Miller lives and works in a crazy quilt pattern incomprehensible to ordinary mortals. They are artists, the whole family of them. Edgar and his wife and their two sons and his mother-in-law and their teacher of Chinese. Yes, they all study Chinese together. And Malayan and Bengalese. While the boys hook rugs and the elders print
636:
Sometime around 1991, Miller took a fall down some stairs at his Carl Street studio. This accident ruined his depth perception and apparently made him blind in one eye. "Really stopped him in his tracks," Frank Miller wrote. James Edgar Miller died June 1, 1993, from a massive stroke. He was 93 years
195:
painter, saddle-maker and sheet metal worker." Miller was enthralled with this "handmade home", and with the two-story workroom within, built above his living quarters. Here, Jo He executed taxidermy, worked on saddles, braided whips and rope et al. Edgar recalled that Jo He told him "'If you want to
456:
when a petition was issued to shut down the exhibit for being "lewd and lascivious." In court, the judge struck (down) the charge: "it is not the business of this court." For the Animal Court project at Jane Addams Homes in 1935, Miller was hired by the federal government to design a series of stone
381:
house built in 1874. Miller, as the artistic director and designer, went room by room creating new living spaces; and Kogen, more the contractor than a creative partner, went and found parts, tools and assistants. Both of them embraced salvaging and repurposing discarded building materials for their
149:
town of little more than one thousand people, served as a central inspiration for many of Edgar's motifs and ideas in his art – history, science, and nature. He displayed a strong artistic talent and imagination very early on. Around the age of four, after he saw a painting of Custer's last stand at
372:
naval monuments, but unfortunately Shaw passed away in 1926. "In 1927, an opportunity presented itself," he wrote; "it was to create an environment that could include all the 'lesser arts.' Through enjoyment and curiosity, I had gathered most of the ingredients of my idea of an 'environment.' I had
263:
and space regarding painting and pictures, which made an important impression on him. Already doubtful of academia, Miller wrote, "It was never revealed that the circular pupil of the eye gives us a circular field of vision. This pattern antedates the conventional rectangular forms that surround us
418:
was Miller's main assistant on the Carl Street project. Kogen and Miller begin their second multi-unit, artists' residence remodeling project in 1928, the Kogen-Miller complex on Wells Street. It would eventually yield nine units. The rear building was leased to
Rudolph W. Glasner, businessman and
469:
Miller finally received a divorce from
Dorothy in 1940. He promptly married Dale Holcomb, a textile designer whom he met while she was working at the Streets of Paris exhibit in the 1933 World's Fair. Their first son, Norman, was born in 1941, and their second son, Ladd, in 1943. The 1940s meant
591:
article. Miller also told Peters about a book he was writing on a structural and proportional organization of art. It connected to the early meeting and discussions with George
Bellows at the Art Institute in 1919. Those conversations about perspective and line value lead him, years later, to
570:
in New York City. Back in
Chicago, he designed sculptures for the new United States Gypsum Building. The second Love Through the Ages mural was painted at the Tavern Club in 1961; the first one was taken down and cut up into about eighty paintings which were sold to raise money for the club.
561:
hotel, a company history of the Hudson Pulp and Paper
Corporation, and several sculptural projects for Jo Mead Designs. Notably, in 1954 he was commissioned by the Standard Club to design two sets of glass doors and four murals. The murals were carved onto large black
624:, and seemingly on the decline, Miller revitalized when he returned to Chicago and began to actively produce art. In 1987 he was declared one of the founders of Old Town when he received an award from two Old Town organizations. And in 1990,
435:
During the 1930s Miller was one of
Chicago's most prominent artists. In '31, there was a large exhibit at the Art Institute's Summer Show of a wide variety of his work, including carved chairs, benches, glazed pottery, mosaics and
482:'s taproom, the Sternewirt, in 1943. Around this time he created the Tower Court Collection of wallpaper designs for Bassett and Vollum. In the middle 1940s he was commissioned to create a history of eating mural for New York's
178:: "My greatest enthusiasm as a boy was for the wildflower." Jo He (real name Orzo French Eastman 1828–1916) lived at the edge of Idaho Falls around the turn of the Century. He was a bearded patriarch "who looked very much like
142:, the World's Fair of 1909. Hester and James married in 1895 in Idaho Falls; they had five children: Lucille in 1897, (James) Edgar in 1899, Frank in 1900, Hester in 1903 and Fauntleroy in 1906 (known as Buddy or Eugene).
452:, Edgar (with the help of Andrew Rebori) helped design and execute the Streets of Paris exhibit, and ran the concessions with other artists. The nudity of female performers at some of the concessions almost led to a
367:
was one of the judges of the competition. They became professional contacts afterwards, and Miller designed stained-glass windows for three Shaw buildings. The two were set to collaborate on two Shaw commissioned
204:. It was a happy and adventurous time which brought him to a deeper understanding of nature, and the essence of existence. They took the S.S. Tahiti, a twin-screw freighter, for a 28-day voyage across the
182:
in his old age." Miller wrote often about his visits to see Jo He. The older man taught Edgar about art and also showed him a home which he built and designed – "he carved stone, built his own home, was a
125:
rider. He moved to what is now Idaho Falls, Idaho (then called Eagle Rock) in 1878 to open a small jewelry store after he became interested in watchmaking and engraving. Later on in his life he studied
881:
901:
280:; spent five years working on advertising, design, packaging, ink drawings, mural posters, stained glass and cut stone. Through Iannelli, Miller met important studio clients like
616:. Montgomery also commissioned Miller to create more stained-glass windows for her home. Three Chicago admirers, Jannine Aldinger, Mark Mamolen and Fleming Wilson, flew to
545:
Around that time, Edgar mostly focused on ecclesiastical work, creating many new stained-glass windows for churches, temples and hospitals. In 1950, he was hired by the
138:; she eventually moved to Idaho to search for work with her brothers and sisters. One of Edgar's fond memories of her is when Hester took her kids alone to visit the
134:. His mother, Hester Elizabeth Gibson Martin, was born in 1864 in Missouri. She was a school teacher who taught the Choctaw Indians/People/Native Americans in the
105:; in the 1940s, "one of the most versatile artists in America." By the 1950s, he was the go-to guy for some of the nation's most successful industrial designers.
444:
wrote of it, "In fact, an old Florentine master come to life in this machine age." Also in 1931, he completed cut lead windows for the executive offices of the
319:
at his short-lived gallery space, The House at the End of the Street. He ran it for a few years, and afterwards helped run a gallery on the top floor of the
303:
magazine, amongst many other commissions and projects. He also busily promoted other arts and artists; for example, he introduced musical works by composers
97:
designers. He could sculpt and draw, and he was considered a pioneer in the use of graphic art in advertising. In the 1920s, he was called "the blond boy
386:, notable architect and future Miller cohort, served as the consulting architect, but he said he was rarely asked for advice. A 1943 article in the
139:
587:, but still made art. "It was a long time before I knew Edgar Miller as more than the proprietor of the Roxy Motel," wrote Pamela Peters in a 1975
896:
102:
256:
251:(the nation's first settlement house). He took classes with Louis W. Wilson, whose theories about sound and color interested him. Also, he met
677:
553:
series. Then a series of new commissions: murals depicting Chicago history for the Chicago Title and Trust Company, barbecue scenes for a
296:
In his 20s Edgar was already an active and established artist in Chicago's creative world, designing illustrations for books and ads for
546:
232:. Life raising bees in Australia became difficult after a year or two, and they made their way back to Idaho a few months later.
264:
when architecture became an established part of human life." At school he also met Sol Kogen, his future partner for the
407:
356:
151:
196:
do anything, go ahead and do it', all I had to do was try." In 1913 Edgar, with his father and brother Frank, moved to
550:
620:
in 1986 to see Edgar and potentially bring him back to Chicago. Although living in questionable circumstances in the
593:
498:
475:
163:
567:
411:
241:
78:
415:
558:
471:
458:
441:
269:
229:
579:
At the age of 67, in 1967, Miller and his wife Dale sold their mansion on North Sheridan road and moved to
621:
538:
Norman Miller, known as Skippy, was a natural artist like his father, and Edgar held exhibits of his art.
479:
364:
363:
during the 1920s as well. In 1923, he won his second Logan Medal, this time for his stained-glass work;
167:
155:
891:
886:
588:
377:
neighborhood of Chicago. They began the Carl Street Studios, a multi-unit remodeling of a double-lot
613:
554:
449:
297:
281:
265:
175:
159:
423:'s paintings, and Dudley Poore's poetry, and Anton Bruehl's photographs, and the dynamic folly of
390:
by Paul A. Hochman says about the Carl Street Studios, "In this one structure, there's a touch of
445:
403:
391:
387:
135:
742:
285:
673:
490:, he designed murals and bas-relief sculptures for the Statler Hotel, now the Capital Hilton.
374:
348:
184:
625:
609:
529:
487:
420:
316:
277:
542:, the Finnish composer, was an admirer of Skippy's work and once wrote him a fan letter.
414:. The whole thing is a poem, but it's free verse." Talented and ambitious Mexican artisan
378:
344:
320:
304:
600:. She used Miller's handmade home as a meeting ground and safe house for radicals like
399:
312:
252:
118:
875:
617:
539:
511:
470:
bigger jobs for Edgar. For example, in 1941 Miller created bas-relief sculptures for
383:
360:
352:
308:
205:
94:
605:
601:
597:
583:. They purchased several pieces of real estate, one being a motel. Edgar became an
566:
panels. In 1959, Miller was hired to produce murals for the Marco Polo Club in the
179:
171:
122:
98:
424:
369:
336:
332:
324:
245:
217:
46:
483:
437:
328:
248:
340:
225:
197:
188:
131:
127:
16:
American designer, painter, craftsman, woodcarver and stained-glass designer
563:
474:'s Technological Institute and he again worked with Andrew Rebori on the
395:
260:
146:
114:
93:, painter, craftsman, master woodcarver and one of the nation's foremost
90:
580:
519:
507:
453:
209:
276:. The same year he was hired as an apprentice in the design studio of
221:
213:
201:
478:. He made a history of brewing beer, in fresco, on the walls of the
145:
Edgar Miller loved the Great American West. Idaho Falls, a western
497:
273:
192:
50:
818:
Stained Glass Inventive Style Brings Designer's Career into Focus
506:
The early 1950s finds Miller and his family living in an 18-room
240:
Edgar Miller arrived in Chicago in January 1917, enrolled at the
861:
Artner, Alan (July 2, 1978). "Chicago Tribune Arts & Fun".
628:
inducted Edgar into the Chicago Senior Citizens Hall of Fame.
584:
494:
A fulfilling family life and a darling of the design world
771:
Darling, Sharon S. (1979). "Chicago Historical Society".
113:
Miller's father, James Edgar Miller, was born in 1857 in
846:
Bowly, Jr, Devereux (January 1978). "Inland Architect".
259:
around 1919. Bellows showed Miller some of his ideas on
831:
Huxtable, Ada (March 14, 1976). "The New York Times".
465:
1940s – "one of the most versatile artists in America"
440:
columns. It was universally applauded. The art critic
693:
Reed Jr, Earl H. "Edgar Miller, Designer-Craftsman".
170:." Couple years later he became an apprentice at an
427:'s ju-ju dance." Bolm had a studio at Carl Street.
74:
58:
28:
21:
816:Moffat, Gary (March 2, 1986). "Chicago Tribune".
268:and the Kogen-Miller Studios. In 1919 he won the
882:American stained glass artists and manufacturers
292:First successes as a designer and working artist
848:The Montmartre look: Sol Kogen's Old Town fling
708:Murray, George (June 23, 1957). "Talman Talk".
516:
288:, and developed a network of future employers.
121:(1837–1913), the well-known essayist, poet and
786:Mix, Sheldon A. (Spring 1966). "Chicago Mag".
766:
764:
902:School of the Art Institute of Chicago alumni
672:. Chicago: City Files Press. pp. 18–93.
8:
663:
661:
659:
657:
655:
653:
651:
649:
216:(which was then French Polynesia). Then to
863:Back in town; Edgar Miller, design pioneer
668:Cahan, Richard; Williams, Michael (2009).
18:
801:"The Chicago American Pictorial Living".
723:"New Type of Hand Wrought Lead Grilles".
557:restaurant, foyer and bar murals for the
450:1933 World's Fair, A Century of Progress
359:. He began seriously experimenting with
645:
410:, a little English Country House, and
117:'s lumber country. He was related to
101:"; in the 1930s, "a new luminary" by
7:
749:. Chicago Architecture Center. 2019
331:. It was frequented by people like
833:Rediscovering Chicago Architecture
773:Chicago Ceramics and Glass History
670:Edgar Miller and the Handmade Home
191:, imaginative gardener, inventor,
14:
547:Container Corporation of America
459:Trustees System Service Building
327:hangout in the neighborhood of
272:from the Art Institute for his
140:Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition
897:People from Idaho Falls, Idaho
697:. LXVI, August 1932, Number 2.
1:
208:. After 12 days they reached
152:Battle of the Little Big Horn
502:Restaurant mural, circa 1947
282:Marshall Field & Company
236:Education and apprenticeship
89:(1899–1993) was an American
549:to design a poster for its
918:
612:, and for groups like the
551:Great Ideas of Western Man
476:Dr. Philip Weintraub House
514:on Chicago's north side:
431:1930s – "a new luminary"
130:and eventually became a
79:Art Institute of Chicago
472:Northwestern University
244:and took a room in the
743:"Emanuel Congregation"
626:Mayor Richard M. Daley
536:
527:George Murray, in the
503:
200:to help James run his
501:
480:Pabst Brewing Company
365:Howard Van Doren Shaw
103:Architecture Magazine
69:Chicago, Illinois, US
731:(5. September 1932).
589:St. Petersburg Times
382:construction needs.
301:Fashions of the Hour
270:Frank G. Logan Medal
803:The Millers at Home
335:"The Hobo Doctor",
286:Holabird & Root
266:Carl Street Studios
747:Open House Chicago
710:A Crazy Quilt Life
504:
446:Palmolive Building
136:Oklahoma Territory
87:James Edgar Miller
33:James Edgar Miller
679:978-0-9785450-5-5
349:Sherwood Anderson
168:Skeleton in Armor
84:
83:
43:December 17, 1899
909:
867:
866:
858:
852:
851:
843:
837:
836:
828:
822:
821:
813:
807:
806:
805:. July 14, 1957.
798:
792:
791:
783:
777:
776:
768:
759:
758:
756:
754:
739:
733:
732:
720:
714:
713:
705:
699:
698:
690:
684:
683:
665:
632:Death and legacy
610:Eldridge Cleaver
534:
530:Chicago American
488:Washington, D.C.
298:Marshall Field's
278:Alfonso Iannelli
65:
42:
40:
19:
917:
916:
912:
911:
910:
908:
907:
906:
872:
871:
870:
860:
859:
855:
845:
844:
840:
830:
829:
825:
815:
814:
810:
800:
799:
795:
785:
784:
780:
770:
769:
762:
752:
750:
741:
740:
736:
722:
721:
717:
707:
706:
702:
692:
691:
687:
680:
667:
666:
647:
643:
634:
577:
568:Waldorf-Astoria
535:
526:
496:
467:
433:
412:Arts and Crafts
345:Clarence Darrow
321:Dil Pickle Club
294:
238:
228:and eventually
160:Lady of Shalott
111:
70:
67:
63:
54:
44:
38:
36:
35:
34:
24:
17:
12:
11:
5:
915:
913:
905:
904:
899:
894:
889:
884:
874:
873:
869:
868:
853:
838:
823:
808:
793:
778:
760:
734:
715:
700:
685:
678:
644:
642:
639:
633:
630:
614:Black Panthers
598:philanthropist
576:
573:
524:
495:
492:
466:
463:
432:
429:
388:New York Times
293:
290:
253:George Bellows
237:
234:
119:Joaquin Miller
110:
107:
82:
81:
76:
72:
71:
68:
66:(aged 93)
60:
56:
55:
45:
32:
30:
26:
25:
22:
15:
13:
10:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
914:
903:
900:
898:
895:
893:
890:
888:
885:
883:
880:
879:
877:
864:
857:
854:
849:
842:
839:
834:
827:
824:
819:
812:
809:
804:
797:
794:
789:
782:
779:
774:
767:
765:
761:
748:
744:
738:
735:
730:
726:
719:
716:
711:
704:
701:
696:
689:
686:
681:
675:
671:
664:
662:
660:
658:
656:
654:
652:
650:
646:
640:
638:
631:
629:
627:
623:
619:
618:San Francisco
615:
611:
607:
603:
599:
596:activist and
595:
590:
586:
582:
575:End of an era
574:
572:
569:
565:
560:
556:
552:
548:
543:
541:
540:Jean Sibelius
532:
531:
523:
521:
515:
513:
512:Lake Michigan
509:
500:
493:
491:
489:
485:
481:
477:
473:
464:
462:
460:
455:
451:
447:
443:
439:
430:
428:
426:
422:
417:
413:
409:
405:
401:
397:
393:
389:
385:
384:Andrew Rebori
380:
376:
371:
366:
362:
361:stained-glass
358:
354:
353:Carl Sandburg
350:
346:
342:
338:
334:
330:
326:
322:
318:
314:
310:
306:
302:
299:
291:
289:
287:
283:
279:
275:
271:
267:
262:
258:
254:
250:
247:
243:
242:Art Institute
235:
233:
231:
227:
223:
219:
215:
212:, capital of
211:
207:
203:
199:
194:
190:
186:
181:
177:
176:watercolorist
174:company as a
173:
172:architectural
169:
165:
161:
157:
153:
148:
143:
141:
137:
133:
129:
124:
120:
116:
108:
106:
104:
100:
96:
95:stained-glass
92:
88:
80:
77:
73:
61:
57:
52:
48:
31:
27:
20:
862:
856:
847:
841:
832:
826:
817:
811:
802:
796:
788:Burton Place
787:
781:
772:
751:. Retrieved
746:
737:
728:
724:
718:
709:
703:
695:Architecture
694:
688:
669:
635:
606:Angela Davis
602:Fred Hampton
594:civil rights
578:
559:Palmer House
544:
537:
528:
517:
510:overlooking
505:
484:Pierre Hotel
468:
442:C.J. Bulliet
434:
416:Jesus Torres
300:
295:
239:
180:Walt Whitman
144:
123:Pony Express
112:
99:Michelangelo
86:
85:
64:(1993-06-01)
62:June 1, 1993
23:Edgar Miller
892:1993 deaths
887:1899 births
753:January 11,
555:Fred Harvey
370:World War I
337:Dorothy Day
333:Ben Reitman
246:Jane Addams
224:Australia,
218:New Zealand
189:taxidermist
47:Idaho Falls
876:Categories
641:References
448:. For the
438:terracotta
425:Adolf Bolm
329:Tower Town
305:Stravinsky
164:Longfellow
109:Early life
39:1899-12-17
585:innkeeper
379:Victorian
341:Ben Hecht
317:Prokofiev
249:Hullhouse
226:Melbourne
198:Australia
132:beekeeper
128:optometry
75:Education
622:Bay Area
564:linoleum
525:—
520:textiles
375:Old Town
325:bohemian
261:symmetry
156:Tennyson
147:frontier
115:Michigan
91:designer
581:Florida
533:, 1957.
508:mansion
454:scandal
421:Roerich
408:Mission
400:Prairie
392:Moderne
357:divorce
313:DeBussy
255:at the
210:Papeete
206:Pacific
676:
274:batiks
230:Maldon
222:Sydney
214:Tahiti
202:apiary
185:tanner
162:" and
637:old.
486:. In
404:Tudor
309:Ravel
193:mural
51:Idaho
755:2024
725:Lead
674:ISBN
608:and
396:Deco
351:and
323:, a
315:and
284:and
257:SAIC
166:'s "
158:'s "
150:the
59:Died
53:, US
29:Born
878::
763:^
745:.
727:.
648:^
604:,
522:."
461:.
406:,
402:,
398:,
394:,
347:,
343:,
339:,
311:,
307:,
220:,
187:,
49:,
865:.
850:.
835:.
820:.
790:.
775:.
757:.
729:2
712:.
682:.
41:)
37:(
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.