Steedman Fellowship in Architecture Competition Records

Collection

Identifier: WUA-01-wua00376

Staff Only

This collection contains material from 1925 to 2012. Awards were given every year except the following: 1926, 1934, 1941, 1943-1948, 1951-1952, 1955, 1975-1977, and 1989. After 1988 the Governing Committee decided to make the Fellowship biennial in order to provide more financial resources for the year of foreign travel. There was no winner awarded in 1926, the first year of the Competition, because the jury felt that the competitors failed to grasp the purpose of the program and had not presented an acceptable Architectural composition. So in 1927 two winners were awarded. Some of these disruptions were due to national historical events, such as World War II.

In 1988 the Governing Committee added an additional competition, Steedman II. This was offered to graduate students in architecture at Washington University. This prize was given annually, and the winner spent a summer at Fontainbleau School of Fine Arts and Architecture in France. The collection includes records of the Steedman II Fellowship for 1989-1998 and 2006-2007.

Dates

Creation: 1926-2012

Creator

Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts (Organization)

Conditions Governing Access

Open

Conditions Governing Use

Users of the collection must read and agree to abide by the rules and procedures set forth in the Materials Use Policies.

Providing access to materials does not constitute permission to publish or otherwise authorize use. All publication not covered by fair use or other exceptions is restricted to those who have permission of the copyright holder, which may or may not be Washington University.

If you wish to publish or license Special Collections materials, please contact Special Collections to inquire about copyright status at (314) 935-5495 or spec@wumail.wustl.edu. (Publish means quotation in whole or in part in seminar or term papers, theses or dissertations, journal articles, monographs, books, digital forms, photographs, images, dramatic presentations, transcriptions, or any other form prepared for a limited or general public.)

Extent

6 linear feet

6 boxes (1 drawer)

Additional Description

Biographical/Historical Information

James Harrison Steedman was born June 24, 1867 and graduated in 1889 in mechanical engineering from Washington University. He served as First Lieutenant U.S. Naval Reserves in World War I, remaining at his post in spite of deteriorating health until the time of his death 1921.

Steedman’s widow, Mrs. Virginia Clark Weddell, and brother, George Fox Steedman, established the Fellowship in 1925 to honor Steedman. The Fellowship was first granted in 1927 and continues to the present, enabling graduates of accredited professional degree programs in architecture around the world to travel for architectural research and study in foreign countries.

Arrangement

This collection is divided into two series: Series I: Paper Materials and Series II: Digital Materials.

Series I is organized based on the year designation of the fellowship, although the material in the folders may span various years. The relationship between the actual date of the Competition and the title given to the Fellow varies throughout the history of the Steedman program. Books of the competition are located toward the end of the collection.

The following are explanations of the more confusing designations:

1) Richard Bliss was named the 1942 Steedman Fellow, but his travel reports and correspondences occurred in 1948. These documents are labeled within the year 1942.

2) J. Bodnar was titled the 1978-1979 Fellow, but later lists of winners designate his year as 1980. We labeled his folder, and other folders regarding the Competition that he won, as 1978-1979.

3) Joseph de Pace received the award in 1983, but was designated the 1984-1985 Steedman Fellow. The materials for this Competition are labeled 1984-1985, despite the fact that the bulk of the correspondence occurred in 1983.

4) Due to the unexpected death of James Fitzgibbon, director of the Steedman Program, in 1985, the Competition was cancelled for the Fellowship year 1986-1987. When the Competition resumed in the fall of 1986, the winner (George Queral) was designated the 1987-1988 Fellow, but later lists give his year as 1987.

Series II consists of digital copies of the winning, alternate, and honorable mention submissions from 2006, 2008, 2010, and 2012.