Architect's Centennial Marked with Exhibit In honor of the centennial of the birth of architect Edward Durell Stone, the University Libraries have mounted an exhibit from the Stone Papers in Special Collections. The exhibit contains photographs, published accounts of Stone's career, some of his own writings, and documents from the files of his professional office. Stone's connections to his birthplace in Fayetteville are noted, as well as his friendship with another Fayetteville celebrity, J. William Fulbright. The exhibit is open to the public during Special Collections' regular hours, Monday-Friday 8-5, and Saturdays 9-1 in Room 130 of David W. Mullins Library.

The Edward Durell Stone Papers were donated to the University in 1975, with a second gift in 1979. The collection thoroughly documents his career from 1945 to 1974, when he retired from active practice. It contains all kinds of paper records: correspondence, photographic prints and slides, speeches, and about twenty thousand drawings ranging from quick conceptual sketches to finished presentation renderings. The collection is open to researchers upon application to Special Collections and a finding aid is on line.

Edward Durell Stone, a native son of Fayetteville, was a major figure in twentieth-century architecture. He is associated with the International Style, which originated in Europe in the 1920s and came to the United States shortly thereafter. This architecture made use of modern building techniques and materials such as steel, concrete, and large expanses of glass. In the 1940s and 1950s, he developed a more individualistic style, incorporating classical traditions and contemporary materials and methods. He was an early critic of what he called "America the Un-Beautiful," the tendency to sacrifice natural and civic beauty to growth and "progress." Stone designed many significant structures for government, education, and business clients throughout the world. The United States Embassy in New Delhi (1954), the United States Pavilion at the Brussels World's Fair (1958), and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington (1958), are among his most successful and prestigious projects.

The University of Arkansas campus has several examples of Stone's work, notably the Fine Arts Center. At the time of its construction, the Center was acclaimed for a design that put the instructional, studio, exhibit, and performance spaces for all the arts into one structure. The Carlson Terrace apartment complex used a minimalist style to provide modest but comfortable housing for married students and displays Stone's signature concrete grillwork.

In Fayetteville, the "Old Stone Place," Edward Durell Stone's family home on Center Street, has been restored and adapted as professional offices.

Life pnoto by Dmitri Kessel

Last modified: Friday, January 23, 2009