Edwin Hugh Lundie

Edwin Hugh Lundie (October 13, 1886 – January 8, 1972) was an American architect who established his firm in 1917,^[1] in downtown Saint Paul, Minnesota, from where he designed homes, country estates, cabins, and public spaces, until his death at age 85. “He consistently drew from the vernacular forms that connected him to his clients’ tastes.”^[2] In 1922, he became a member of the American Institute of Architects(AIA).”^[3] In 1948, he became Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (F.A.I.A.) “for his contribution to the advancement of the profession because of his achievement in design.”^[3]

Life and work

Edwin Lundie was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and at the age of thirteen, he moved with his parents to Salem, South Dakota; then, just out of high school, in 1904, he set out on his own for Saint Paul, Minnesota. He began as an apprentice, then as a draftsman, in the Saint Paul firm of Cass Gilbert (1858-1934) and Thomas Holyoke (1866-1925), from 1904 through 1911. When Mr. Gilbert moved entirely to his office in New York, Edwin Lundie continued as a draftsman for Thomas Holyoke, and at the same time he studied drawing at the Saint Paul School of Art, 1909 and 1910. With the encouragement of Mr. Holyoke, in 1911, Edwin Lundie joined the staff of the firm of Emmanuel Masqueray (1861-1917) as draftsman, with affiliation in the Atelier Masqueray, in Saint Paul, influenced through the American Society of Beaux-Arts Architecture, and for the next several years became immersed in a large field of complex and grand-scale architectural commissions.^[4]

Lundie became an accomplished draftsman and remained with Emmanuel Masqueray until his unexpected death in 1917. At this time, Edwin Lundie, with two of his fellow draftsmen, Frederick Slifer (1885-1948) and Frank Abrahamson (1885-1972), from the office of Monsieur Masqueray, formed a temporary partnership to divide and complete Masqueray’s remaining commissions. Lundie was responsible for overseeing the completion of several projects, including the Cathedral of Saint Joseph in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.^[4]

At this time, in 1917, Edwin Lundie opened his own office in the Endicott building, downtown Saint Paul, where he remained for the next five decades specializing in domestic architecture varying in scale from cottages to country estates and city houses. "Lundie did not call on the repertoire of the more lavish Renaissance and Beaux-Arts forms that distinguished the careers of his previous employers. Instead, he took his classical training and inherent art talent in a different direction, favoring smaller, less formal designs on a more intimate scale. Lundie’s architecture was defined by the use of traditional materials, processes, and the talents of a variety of artisans. He wanted to convey the spirit of not only what was necessary to execute the authenticity of his creations, but also to exemplify the charm of engagement of human craftsmanship. He communicated his vision with clients and was inspired to express his ideas through presentation drawings and design. He became a true artist of the architectural perspective rendering genre, always paying meticulous attention to the chronological architectural period, studying and refining the details, and applying great sensitivity to the picturesque context of each client architectural situation."^[5]

“In sharp contrast to the Modernists who were getting much of the attention during the height of his career, Lundie gravitated toward the classical. His work was inspired both by...the French Beaux-Arts movement and the practicality of the Colonial Revivalists: homes with even proportions, shutters and a cottage style that evoked a feeling of rural England or the French countryside. Lundie’s trademark became taking basic elements of the home and turning them into discrete works of art.”^[6]

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