Design Sketches for a Memorial Library (recto and verso) (possibly the Winn Memorial Library, Woburn, Massachusetts) 1871 - 1881

Curator: At first glance, this feels like a peek into a fascinating architectural daydream, all done up in pencil. There's a lightness to it, like catching an idea mid-flight. Editor: Indeed. What we are looking at are "Design Sketches for a Memorial Library," potentially for the Winn Memorial Library in Woburn, Massachusetts, crafted by Henry Hobson Richardson sometime between 1871 and 1881. It's an assortment of architectural studies rendered in mixed media, including drawing, print, and pencil on paper. Curator: Dreamy is definitely the word. The lines feel so tentative and raw, not precise blueprints but more like the ghost of a building taking shape. Editor: Precisely, the sketch showcases multiple elevations and a floor plan. Richardson experiments with form and function. The varying perspectives allow him to assess massing, fenestration, and spatial relationships within the library's design. Curator: You can almost feel him working out problems, crossing things out, trying different angles. It feels like you’re in the studio, right there with the guy. Did he end up building the thing exactly like this? Editor: Actually, there were significant departures from this early concept in the built Winn Memorial Library. This drawing is invaluable, offering a glimpse into Richardson's evolving vision as it transforms into the monumental structure that stands today. Curator: Well, regardless of the outcome, I get such a satisfying glimpse into process here. It’s less about the solid brick and mortar and more about the fizz of invention. Makes you want to grab a pencil. Editor: The immediacy captured in this design study transcends its architectural purpose; it invites one to contemplate the very nature of design and aspiration, don't you think? Curator: Absolutely. I walk away seeing the building of an idea. Not just a library, but an act of imaginative construction that stretches beyond any blueprint. Editor: And for me, a clear study in how formalism functions. Structure precedes outcome and utility is the ancestor of art.