"This book fills one of the many gaps in our knowledge of
twentieth-century architects who were not Modernists. Lundie's more or
less Traditional work is enhanced by its ferocious exploitation of rough
materials, and, in the cabins especially, by what seems to be primordial
Scandinavian references quite at home in the north woods of Minnesota"
Vincent Scully, Sterling Professor Emeritus of the History of Art, Yale
University
"Edwin Lundie was the great romantic among Minnesota architects, and
this lovely book at last gives his work the recognition it so richly
deserves." Larry Millett, author of Lost Twin Cities
"This book reveals Edwin Lundie to be an architect imbued with a passion
for his art that few attain, let alone sustain for a lifetime. His
buildings, as did those of the architect Sir Edwin Lutyens, attained an
instant patina. This was the product of a mind that created character
and composition by means of an extraordinary attention to the craft and
construction of architecture. To realize that I received my
architectural education at the University of Minnesota in the late 1950s
without an awareness of Mr. Lundie's presence, to say nothing of his
mastery of architectural form, leaves me incredulous." William Peterson,
Kohn Pederson Fox Associates PC, Architects & Planning Consultants, New
York City
Throughout a fifty-year career in St. Paul, architect Edwin H. Lundie
(1886-1972) designed more than three hundred projects, predominantly
residences, many utilizing either Northern European or Earl American
themes. His architectural designs, along with the Prairie School
inventions of Purcell and Elmslie and the modernist themes of Ralph
Rapson, are collectively considered the best work of Minnesota
architects in the twentieth century. What set Lundie apart from his
colleagues was his devotion to detail and love of fine craftsmanship.
Long overlooked as architects moved away from picturesque themes in
favor of modernism, Lundie's designs are now enjoying a resurgence of
attention concurrent with revived interest in postmodernism,
regionalism, and a sense of place. For the first time, the significance
of this unique body of work is presented in The Architecture of Edwin
Lundie for architects, art historians, designers, builders,
craftspeople, students, and the general public.
Author Dale Mulfinger undertook this book after a decade of studying and
recording Lundie's buildings and lecturing at local, regional, and
national forums. Here he brings together a foreword by David Gebhard
that sets Lundie in a national context; a biographical essay by Eileen
Michels; his own piece assessing Lundie's design principles; outstanding
color photographs by Peter Kerze; and beautiful rendering in pencil and
ink by Lundie himself. In addition, the book offers thirty profiles of
individual buildings with photos, floor plans, and drawings to highlight
feature demonstrating Lundie's genius.
