Description

Colored drawing on thin white vellum paper. A long, low building on a slightly sloping site fills the middle section of the sheet. The building is yellow-orange, suggesting stucco, and the roof is dark red-brown, suggesting terracotta tiles. Trellises support colorful, dense red vines scattered across the façade, and five tall trees are on the right side.

“Michael Graves considered drawing a ‘speculative act’ and an important part of an architect’s process. He formulated a division of architectural drawings into three categories, all of which are observable in his work for the San Juan Capistrano Public Library. First is the referential sketch, a quick notation that serves as a ‘record of discovery’ and that can be a starting point for future work. Second is the preparatory study, which is ‘deliberately experimental’ and ‘documents the process of inquiry’—the iterative and exploratory aspects of design. Third [this drawing] is the definitive drawing, which is a fixed technical record of the final development of an idea.” –“Drawing After Modernism” exhibition text

Drawing publication history:

- Karen Vogel, Wheeler Peter Arnell, and Ted Bickford (eds.), “Michael Graves: Buildings and Projects, 1966–1981” (New York: Rizzoli, 1982).

Additional Information

Provenance: Max Protetch Gallery, New York; Martin E. Zimmerman.