System of Architectural Ornament, Plate 18, Untitled

In 1922 a small group of friends and colleagues worked with Art Institute staff to commission Louis Sullivan to produce a series of drawings illustrating his philosophy of architec- tural ornament. Completed in the last year of his life, this project—an essay and 20 detailed plates—outlines Sullivan’s belief that ornament was the consummate expression of a designer’s intellect and creative freedom. These ideas greatly influenced the next generation of architects in Chicago, and the publication is now recognized as one of the most important statements on modern architecture.