A. James Speyer

Abraham James Speyer
Born(1913-12-27)December 27, 1913
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
DiedNovember 9, 1986(1986-11-09) (aged 72)
Chicago, Illinois, United States
Education
OccupationsArchitect, academic, art curator
Notable workBen Rose House

Abraham James Speyer (December 27, 1913– November 9, 1986) was an American art curator and architect,[1] who was considered one of the leading experts on American and European contemporary art in the United States.[2] As an architect he is remembered for his modernist house designs. The best known of these is the Ben Rose House in Highland Park, Illinois,[3] which featured in the 1986 film Ferris Bueller's Day Off.[4][5] He also taught architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology and the University of Athens.[6]

Life and career

Speyer was born in Pittsburgh on December 27, 1913, the fist child of Tillie (née Sunstein) and Alexander Crail Speyer, a private investor.[7][8] He was educated at home until about the age of 12.[9] He graduated with a bachelor's degree in architecture from the Carnegie Institute of Technology in 1934. Attracted to the International Style, during the next three years he studied at Chelsea Polytechnic in London and the Sorbonne University in Paris. In 1939, he obtained a master's degree from the Armour Institute of Technology as the first graduate student of Mies van der Rohe, whom he was so eager to study under that in the fall of the previous year he tracked down the newly-arrived émigré from Nazi Germany at the Stevens Hotel in Chicago.[10][11]

In 1941, Speyer was drafted into the United States Army. In the South Pacific, he was in charge of a chemical warfare intelligence unit, which later became part of the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program (the so-called "Monuments Men").[12][13] He was promoted to the rank of major in April 1945.[14]

After returning to Chicago in 1946, Speyer embarked on an architectural career, which was focussed mainly on residential projects. He was offered teaching work at the Illinois (formerly, Armour) Institute of Technology later that year, and for the next decade combined this with his architectal work. He was made an associate professor in 1952.[15] In 1957, through the Fulbright Program, he moved to the University of Athens in Greece.[16]

Having been a regular correspondent for Artnews since 1955,[10] in 1961 he accepted an appointment as Curator of Contemporary Art at the Art Institute of Chicago.[17][18][19] In 1984, he was elected a trustee of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C..[20]

Speyer died on November 9, 1986 at the Bernard A. Mitchell Hospital in Chicago. During the preceding nine years he had undergone numerous rounds of chemotherapy to combat lymphoma.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b Artner, Alan G. (November 11, 1986). "Art Curator A. James Speyer". Section 2. Chicago Tribune. Vol. 140, no. 315 (Sports Final ed.). p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ Ennis, Thomas W. (November 11, 1986). "A. James Speyer, an Authority On Modern Art, Is Dead at 73". The New York Times. Vol. 136, no. 46955. p. B6.
  3. ^ Baur, Lois (September 11, 1955). "At Home in the Woods". Magazine. Chicago Sunday Tribune. Vol. 114, no. 37. p. 46 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Channick, Robert (October 8, 2009). "Rose House by another name is Bueller". Section 1. Chigago Tribune. p. 3. Retrieved June 12, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Lafollette, Ryan (October 14, 2009). "Ferris Takes a Stand". The Architect's Newspaper. No. 1. New York. pp. 1, 8. ISSN 1552-8081 – via Internet Archive.
  6. ^ Saliga, Pauline (1999). "Speyer, A. James". In Garraty, John A. & Carnes, Mark C. (eds.). American National Biography. Vol. 20. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 470–471. doi:10.1093/anb/9780198606697.article.1701067. ISBN 0-19-520635-5.
  7. ^ "Certificate of Birth 218910 – Abraham James Speyer". Pennsylvania (State) Birth Certificates 1906-1913, Box Number 600, Certificate Number Range 217951–219300. Harrisburg, PA: Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission – via Ancestry.com.
  8. ^ Schulze (1998), p. 7.
  9. ^ Saliga (2001), p. 9–10.
  10. ^ a b Saliga, Pauline & Sharp, Robert (1995). "From the Hand of Mies: Architectural Sketches from the Collection of A. James Speyer". Art Institute of Chicago Museum Studies. 21 (1): 56–69, 77–78 – via JSTOR.
  11. ^ Schulze (1998), pp. 7–11.
  12. ^ Saliga (2001), pp. 72–75.
  13. ^ Edsel, Robert M. & Witter, Bret (2009). The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History. New York: Center Street. p. xiv. ISBN 978-1599951492.
  14. ^ "You're in the Army Now". The Pittsburgh Press. Vol. 62, no. 294 (Final ed.). April 16, 1945. p. 25 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "A. James Speyer Promoted at Illinois Tech". Neighborhood (Section 5). Chicago Daily Tribune. Vol. 111, no. 231. September 25, 1952. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ Schulze (1998), p. 15.
  17. ^ "Staff Appointments". The Art Institute of Chicago Quarterly. 55 (3): 58. 1961 – via JSTOR.
  18. ^ "Name Prof. Speyer to Curator's Post at Art Institute". Part 1. Chicago Daily Tribune. Vol. 120, no. 83. April 7, 1961. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ Sittenfeld, Michael (1995). "Forward". Art Institute of Chicago Museum Studies. 21 (1): 4–5 – via JSTOR.
  20. ^ Artner, Alan G. (July 19, 1984). "Calumet sculpture set for unveiling". Tempo (Section 5). Chicago Tribune. Vol. 138, no. 201 (Final ed.). p. 11E – via Newspapers.com.

Sources

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