Important Design 
14 December 2010
Important Design 
102

Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan

pair of windows from the Chicago Stock Exchange

USA, 1894
stained glass, lead 35¾ h × 15 w in (91 × 38 cm)
estimate: $7,000–9,000
result: $7,500
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The stained glass windows for the Chicago Stock Exchange were executed by George Louis Healy and Louis Julian Millet. These windows were originally part of a large arrangement installed directly above the trading floor. Less than half of the original glass art from the Chicago Stock Exchange was recovered making this an exceptionally rare pair of panels.
provenance: Chicago Stock Exchange | Private collection
literature: The Trading Room: Louis Sullivan and The Chicago Stock Exchange, Vinci, ppg. 9, 26, 28-29, 31, 53 Louis Sullivan: His Life and Work, Twombly, ppg. 316-317 Masterpieces of Chicago Architecture, Zulowsky and Thorne, ppg. 44-45

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Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan

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During their partnership, Dankmar Adler and Louis H. Sullivan created some of the ground breaking and influential buildings of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Adler specialized in the engineering side of the business, which allowed Sullivan to work primarily as the designer on their projects. Together they completed many notable structures including the famous Wainwright Building (St. Louis, 1891), the Schiller Building (Chicago, 1891) and the James Charnley House (Chicago, 1891–1892). However, it was the Chicago Stock Exchange, built at the height of the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893, that was undoubtedly the magnum opus of their career. The interior of the building was decorated with lavish organic designs inspired by the flora and fauna of the prairie landscape exemplary of their uniquely Midwestern style of Art Nouveau. Although the partnership ended in 1895, Adler and Sullivan forever changed the architectural landscape of Chicago with more than 180 buildings designed during the 15 years they worked together.

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Important elevator surround from the Chicago Stock Exchange

estimate: $150,000–200,000

result: $161,000

Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan

elevator screen from the Chicago Stock Exchange

estimate: $30,000–40,000

result: $122,500

Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan

Elevator door from the Chicago Stock Exchange

estimate: $30,000–50,000

result: $77,500

Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan

elevator door from the Chicago Stock Exchange

estimate: $20,000–30,000

result: $76,900

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