Raymond Hood Photograph Collection
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Abstract
The Raymond Hood Photograph Collection spans the years 1911-1913 and primarily contains photographs of buildings designed by architect Raymond Hood. Buildings pictured are: the Daily News building, the McGraw-Hill building, the American Radiator Company building, all in New York City, the Chicago Tribune Building, and the National Radiator building in London. Photographs of private homes, apartment buildings, churches, memorials, World's Fair exhibits, and competition drawings are also included.
Biographical Note
Raymond Mathewson Hood (1881-1934) was born in Rhode Island and attended Brown University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris, where he studied architecture and design. Hood returned to the United States and established an independent architectural practice in New York in 1914. He entered architectural competitions and took an industrial design job designing radiator covers for the American Radiator Company.
In 1922 Hood, in partnership with the architect John Mead Howells, won the design competition for the new Chicago Tribune Building. This prestigious assignment led to more commissions for large office buildings, such as the American Radiator Company Building, the Daily News Building, and the McGraw-Hill Building, all in New York City. In addition to large office towers, Hood designed apartment buildings, single-family residences, memorials, churches, tombs, and college dormitories. He worked under his own name and also in partnership with Howells, as well as with engineer J. Andre Fouilhoux, and architect Frederick Godley.
Hood also contributed designs for Rockefeller Center, but died before the project came to completion. Hood often used the Art Deco style and collaborated with artists to create murals and sculptures that set his designs apart from other architects. Hood served as president of the Architectural League of New York from 1929 to 1931 and received its Medal of Honor in 1926.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged in four series:
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- Series I. Completed Structures
- Series II. Competition Designs and Plans
- Series III. Exhibitions
- Series IV. Other
Scope and Content Note
The Raymond Hood Photograph Collection spans the period from 1911-1933 and primarily contains photographs of buildings designed by architect Raymond Hood. During his career, Hood worked in partnerships with other architects, including the firms of Godley, Fouilhoux, and Barber; Hood & Howells; Hood & Fouilhoux; Hood, Godley & Fouilhoux; and Hood & Murchison. Hood's work with all these firms is included in this collection. The projects were designed for the United States, except for one building built in London, England. The collection is divided into four series: Completed Structures; Competition Designs and Plans; Exhibitions; and Other.
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Access Restrictions
Open to qualified researchers.
Photocopying undertaken by staff only. Limited to twenty exposures of stable, unbound material per day. See guidelines in Print Room for details.
Use Restrictions
Permission to reproduce any Print Room holdings through publication must be obtained from:
Rights and Reproductions
The New-York Historical Society
Two West 77th Street
New York, NY 10024Phone: (212) 873-3400 ext. 282Fax: (212) 579-8794
The copyright law of the United States governs the making of photocopies and protects unpublished materials as well as published materials. Unpublished materials created before January 1, 1978 cannot be quoted in publication without permission of the copyright holder.
Preferred Citation
This collection should be cited as Raymond Hood Photograph Collection, PR 148, Department of Prints, Photographs, and Architectural Collections, The New-York Historical Society.
Provenance
Gift of Harrison & Abramovitz, July 10, 1950.