16 Nov revisiting louis h. sullivan’s bayard-condict building (1899) in 2022
photographic study of louis h. sullivan-designed white speckle glazed terra cotta ornament adorning the bayard building. the 13-story new york city skyscraper was completed in 1899, with louis h. sullivan and lyndon p. smith as architects.
the perth amboy terra cotta company used their own modeler (anlgelo ricci) to execute the building’s terra cotta facade. since kristian schneider wasn’t allowed to model the ornament, sullivan’s office had to make full-sized drawings with detailed annotations for ricci.
unlike schneider, ricci didn’t quite have the instinctual prowess to make sullivan’s ornament flow and become part of the surface itself. as a result, the ornament looks a little stiff.
note: the capitals were faithfully recreated based off an original found in the basement of the brooklyn museum.
images courtesy of eric j. nordstrom and the bldg. 51 archive. all rights reserved. 2022.
seldom seen early 20th century heliotype (image taken by h.h. sidman) of bayard building’s upper stories including cornice. the 13-story new york city skyscraper was completed in 1899, with louis h. sullivan and lyndon p. smith as architects.
below: richard nickel images (kodachromes, 35mm, 120mm, etc.) of bayard-condict taken in 1955 and 1960s.
