Beschreibung:

William P. Spratling (American, 1900-1967) "Two Architectural Views" each pencil, ink and watercolor on paper laid on cardboard the first of Cherokee House and Choctaw Mansion, Natchez, Mississippi; the second of a New Orleans bungalow inscribed at top "To Ethel and Norris Brett...", each signed lower right. Matted, glazed and framed alike. sight, respectively 9-3/4" x 8-1/2" and 6-3/4" x 9-3/4" Notes: Well known for his innovative Mexican silver inspired by Pre-Columbian art, William P. Spratling was also an accomplished architect, who, like Boyd Cruise recorded New Orleans architecture in his drawings and championed for the preservation of Southern edifices throughout the 1920s while he was an instructor at Tulane University's School of Architecture. These two watercolor drawings are excellent examples of Spratling's early work. The first view, which can still be seen today thanks to preservation efforts, is of the Cherokee House in Natchez at 217 High Street, built in 1794-1810 with a side view of the ionic columns and grillwork on the front portico of the Choctaw Mansion constructed in 1836 for Joseph Neibert at 310 N. Wall Street. Both structures are architectural marvels that seamlessly blend Greek Revival elements with the Federal-style form established by Arlington and Rosalie. The second painting of an early 20th-century California-style bungalow, nestled between mid-19th-century double-gallery homes (with their covered two-story galleries framed and supported by columns), is no less impressive, as it captures the architectural diversity characteristic of the Mid-City and Uptown areas of New Orleans. This work may be a 1928 wedding gift or a good-bye token in 1931 presented to Spratling's fellow artists and friends, the Bretts. Ethel (1894-1994), the Director of the Petit Vieux Carre, and her husband, Norris (1894-1959), an actor and tire salesman were active in the arts community and also participated in preservation efforts enacted through the School of Architecture and the Arts and Crafts Club. From the time of their marriage until 1930, the Bretts lived with Ethel's mother on St. Charles Avenue in the eponymous home known today as the Circle Bar, one of the oldest still-standing structures at Lee Circle. From 1935 until Norris' death in 1959, the Bretts lived in the 500 block of South Peters Street. Perhaps the California-style bungalow is one of the homes the Bretts rented in 1931 when Spratling left New Orleans to set up a silver workshop in Taxco, Mexico.