“12th & Chestnut, St. Louis” Etching
In the years following his ejection from Washington University for having boldly modern taste, Charles continued to learn about and appreciate architecture. Lithographs and etchings printed on his own press illustrate examples of buildings he admired. For example, this view of St. Louis’s tallest building at the time features Neo-Gothic spires and steplike recessions of ancient stylistic origins. These historical elements were reinterpreted by the firm Mauran, Russell & Crowell in a new way, with minimal ornament and steel construction. Charles would return to the same subject in another lithograph that won him first prize in the St. Louis Artists’ Guild Annual Black and White Art competition, depicting the skyscraper built for Bell Telephone from a different angle.
“12th + Chestnut St. Louis” and “C. O. Eames” are written in pencil below the image.
- Artifact
- A.2019.1.056
- Material
- Printmaking
- Artist / Designer
- Charles Eames
- Dimensions
- 9 × 7 in
- 22.9 × 17.8 cm
- Date
- c. 1930
The majority of Charles Eames’s etchings and lithographs were produced around 1927–1932, and many convey his great passion for architecture. This small but accomplished example features St. Louis’s Neo-Gothic Bell Telephone building, which was completed in 1926 by architects Mauran, Russell & Crowell. At the time it was Missouri’s tallest building and an early Midwestern example of the setback (an architectural element of ancient origins, featuring step-like recessions that served to distribute weight). A similar Eames lithograph titled Tenth Street, 1930, won first prize in the St. Louis’s Artists Guild Annual Black and White Art contest and features an alternate view of the Bell building. Eames obtained his own lithography press in 1927. He worked for the architectural firm of Trueblood and Graf, St. Louis, from 1928–1930 before opening his own office with colleague Charles Gray.
Rachael Blackburn Cozad