Dare To Be Simple

The Bishop’s School calls it a celebration of “Love ART-chitecture,” and you’ve got to love the architecture of Irving Gill, who was responsible for the buildings at Bishop’s. The exhibition, titled Dare to be Simple: Irving J. Gill, Architect, and The Bishop’s School, is on view through April 30 on campus in the exquisitely preserved Wheeler J. Bailey Building. Representative of Gill’s work are photographs, blueprints, and student research.

 

According to historian Molly McClain, it was Ellen Browning Scripps who recommended Gill as designer of Bishop’s. The result was architecture with a simplicity and timelessness that embodied the modernist movement. Decoration was minimal but beautiful, and buildings were designed a century ago with the health of inhabitants in mind. Sound contemporary? Dust, pollen, and germs were to be discouraged through careful choice of materials and arrangements.

 

Learn about the circumstances, historical context, supporters, and, most of all, the man himself. The achievements of this gifted architect were, and remain, remarkable. (www.alumni.bishops.com)   DARLENE G. DAVIES