John M. Donaldson

John Donaldson c. 1904

John M. Donaldson (1854–1941) was an American architect and artist born on January 17, 1854, in Stirling, Scotland. Donaldson was principal designer of the successful Detroit-based architectural firm Donaldson and Meier from 1880 onwards.

Early years

In 1856 John and Isabella (McNaughten) Donaldson immigrated to Detroit, Michigan with their two-year-old son John. He graduated from the Detroit Public Schools and later from the Polytechnic Collage. Following that he returned to Europe where he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich, Germany, at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, France, finishing his European art studies in Venice, Italy.

Success in Detroit

Statue of Pere Marquette at the Detroit City Hall

He returned to Detroit and in 1874 was invited to produce architectural sculpture for the Detroit City Hall then being built. For this building Donaldson made a model of a statue of Pere Marquette that was carved in stone by Julius Melchers. When the building was demolished in the 1950s the statue was salvaged and now stands on the campus of Wayne State University.

In 1878 Donaldson joined in partnership with architect Henry T. Brush, but Brush's death a year later in 1879 ended it. In 1882, Donaldson married Charlotte Grosvenor Brush, his former partner's widow. In 1880, he formed a partnership with Henry J. Meier, Donaldson and Meier. Though Meier died in 1917, the firm continued as Donaldson and Meier until the 1970s.

Donaldson was a member of the American Institute of Architects and the National Sculpture Society.

In 1900, Donaldson wrote a letter for the Detroit Century Box time capsule.^[1]

Sources

• Eckert, Kathryn Bishop, Buildings of Michigan, Oxford University Press, New York 1993
  • Ferry, W. Hawkins, The Buildings of Detroit: A History, Wayne State University Press, Detroit, Michigan, 1968
• Gibson, Arthur Hopkin, Artists of Early Michigan: A Biographical Dictionary of Artists Native to or Active in Michigan, 1701-1900, Wayne State University Press, Detroit, 1975
• Hill, Eric J., and John Gallagher, AIA Detroit: The American Institute of Architects Guide to Architecture in Detroit, Wayne State University Press, Detroit, MI 2003
• Meyer, Katharine Mattingly and Martin C.P. McElroy, Detroit Architecture: A.I.A. Guide, Wayne State University Press, Detroit, 1980

References

External links

• The Detroiters, Pages 143 - 146 at www.usgennet.org

v t e Architects and artisans of metropolitan Detroit Resident architects Charles N. Agree Gunnar Birkerts Marcus Burrowes Henry T. Brush C. Howard Crane Peter J. Diederichs Robert O. Derrick John M. Donaldson Joseph N. French Yousif Ghafari Alvin E. Harley William E. Higginbotham Eric J. Hill John C. Haro Eugene C. Hopkins Albert Kahn Louis Kamper William E. Kapp William Kessler Hugh T. Keyes Gordon W. Lloyd William G. Malcomson George D. Mason S. Kenneth Neumann Mark Nickita Harry J. Rill Gino Rossetti Matthew L. Rossetti Wirt C. Rowland Eero Saarinen Wallace Frost Eliel Saarinen Victor Saroki Smith, Hinchman & Grylls Leonard B. Willeke Minoru Yamasaki Visiting architects Henry Bacon John Burgee Daniel Burnham Ralph Adams Cram Paul Cret Henry Engelbert Cass Gilbert Bertram Goodhue Michael Graves Victor Gruen Richard W. Jennings Jens Jensen Alfredas Kulpa-Kulpavičius Philip Johnson Charles Luckman McKim, Mead & White Frederick Olmsted Charles A. Platt John C. Portman, Jr. Henry Hobson Richardson Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Horace Trumbauer Whitney Warren Charles Wetmore Stanford White Frank Lloyd Wright Resident sculptors Marshall Fredericks Julius Melchers Carl Milles Isamu Noguchi Corrado Parducci Carlo Romanelli Edward Wagner Visiting sculptors Herbert Adams Donald De Lue Avard Fairbanks Daniel Chester French Robert Graham Lee Lawrie Giacomo Manzù J. Massey Rhind Ulysses Ricci Augusto Rivalta Randolph Rogers Raffaello Romanelli Adolph Alexander Weinman Resident ceramists Horace Caulkins Diana Pancioli Mary Chase Perry Stratton Photographers Michelle Andonian Curt Clayton Don Coles Carlos Diaz Sean Doerr Marge Beaver Roy Feldman Dale Fisher Jeff Garland Steve Hall Balthazar Korab Dave Krieger Laszlo Regos Tony Soluri William Zbaren See also Architecture of metropolitan Detroit