George Washington Maher American, 1864 - 1926 Urn, 1912 H. 30 1/2 x W. 12 1/2 x Dia. 12 1/2 in.

Like George Elmslie and Frank Lloyd Wright, George Washington Maher began his career with Louis Sullivan. In 1912, Maher designed a summer residence for E. L. King, a successful pharmaceutical businessman. Called Rockledge, the house sat on a cliff overlooking the Mississippi River near Homer, Minnesota, just south of Winona. Maher believed that a building should be linked to its site and integrate the colors, lines, and forms of the surrounding landscape into its design. This large urn features a coral lily and a flattened arch motif, which he used elsewhere in the house. The combination of organic and architectonic forms characterizes much of Maher’s work. Other objects from Rockledge are on display in the Institute’s Prairie School gallery on the third floor.