The Block’s collection of over 100 drawings by architects Marion Mahony Griffin and Walter Burley Griffin is one of three major holdings of their work in the United States. It includes both realized and unrealized architectural plans and large-scale nature studies. Marion Mahony Griffin was the first female architect licensed in Illinois and worked in the office of Frank Lloyd Wright early in her career. Her Japanese-inspired drawing style, which integrated building and landscape elements, came to be associated with Wright and the Prairie School. While working in the Wright office, she met architect Walter Burley Griffin. The two married in 1911 and worked together for the rest of their careers, designing buildings in the United States, Australia, and India. Together the Griffins designed single-family homes, public buildings, and planned communities. In 1912, as one of 137 entries, the Griffins won the international competition to design Australia’s capital in Canberra, and they spent the next 20 years in Australia. Works in the Block’s collection represent the breadth of the Griffins’ output, with examples from 1906 to 1935.
