Masterpiecework

A small exhibition chronicling the design and construction of Louis Sullivan and George Elmslie's National Farmer's Bank in Owatonna, MN will open on February 14, 1997. Masterpiecework, curated and organized by Iowa State University professor Clare Cardinal-Pett, features a number of the original blueprints from this landmark design. Now a Norwest Bank, the building was recently featured on a U.S. postage stamp. This exhibitions runs through April 13, 1997.

[Exterior] [Interior] [Info] [Links]
Designed by Sullivan and Elmslie to resemble a giant treasure chest for the safekeeping of depositors' money, the [Owatonna] bank was unique in its time and remains so to this day. Its genius lies in the resonant simplicity of its basic form, the wealth and originality of its ornament, the earthy glory of its colors, and the superb craftsmanship of its builders. Constructed from materials of the old order-stone, brick, terra cotta, iron, and stained glass-the bank is little more than a cube punctured by two huge arched windows. Larry Millett, The Curve of the Arch

All images and text on this series of web pages are from Larry Millett's book
The Curve of the Arch:The Story of Louis Sullivan's Owatonna Bank

Copyright 1985 Minnesota Historial Society Press St. Paul
This book is available from the Weisman Museum Store or the publisher.

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