Eliel Saarinen


Eliel Saarinen, Architect, April 1941. Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research.

Eliel Saarinen rose to prominence in 1900 with his design for the Finnish pavilion at the Paris International Exposition. Working from his home and studio, Hvitträsk, Saarinen helped develop a regional variation of the Arts and Crafts Movement that incorporated influences from French Art Nouveau, Austrian Secessionists, and Finnish folklore.

In 1922, Eliel was runner-up in the Chicago Tribune Tower Competition. His proposal transformed skyscraper design and prompted the family to emigrate to America, eventually arriving at Cranbrook in 1925. Over the next two decades he designed Cranbrook’s School for Boys, Academy of Art, including Saarinen House, Kingswood School for Girls, Institute of Science, and the Academy’s Art Museum and Library. While known as an architect, Eliel trained first as a painter and continued to paint throughout his life.

Primary Medium: Architecture

Primary Stylistic Term: Modernism

HAHS Affiliations: Eliel was married to textile artist Loja Saarinen. Tiles by artist Henry Chapman Mercer are installed in the Saarinen House interiors.

Recommended Publications: Saarinen House and Garden: A Total Work of Art, eds. by Gregory Wittkopp and Diana Balmori (1995); The Creative Spirit of Cranbrook: The Early Years (1972)