The Miller House that has gained international acclaim as a Modernist marvel reached that status in part due to a visionary woman who guided top designers in some of the significant details of the structure.
Co-authors of a new, 84-page, mini-book-style publication, “Xenia Simons Miller: Prairie Modernist,” will highlight that and more when they speak and sign copies of their work from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Thursday at Gallery 506 inside the Columbus Area Visitors Center, 506 Fifth St. downtown.
Indianapolis-based graphic designer James Sholly and architectural historian Connie Zeigler joined forces to complete the work that puts Xenia Miller in the spotlight as a design leader and patron of the arts. She, like her husband, industrialist J. Irwin Miller, rarely touted their own accomplishments.
J. Irwin Miller died in 2004 at age 95; Xenia Miller died in 2008 at age 90.
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“We discovered just how far her influence extended throughout central Indiana in terms of art, design, historic preservation and architecture,” Sholly said. “And we discovered how very influential she was in the planning of the Miller House, 2764 Highland Way, west of Washington Street on the north side of Columbus.
“So much credit understandably goes to the architects (designer and family friend Eero Saarinen, interior expert Alexander Girard and landscape architect Dan Kiley). But many of the ideas that the house is famous for are things that she talked about 10 years in advance of the beginning of that house,” Sholly said. “That’s a huge thing. Those are kind of like revelations. As famous as that house is, I’m unsure if she has ever received much credit for the planning.”
He credits researcher Ziegler with unearthing such facts.
Sholly stopped short of offering details in order to save material for the presentation. But he mentioned that “core elements of some of the design were things she laid out as sort of wish list of things she wanted to include.”
The visitors center paid for the publishing. Copies will be available for $20 each.
The release is the latest in a series exploring design figures, from fashion to products, from Indiana.
Erin Hawkins, director of marketing with the visitors center, said the decision to support the latest effort was a simple one.
“The visitors center wanted to support this project because it gets at an untold part of the Columbus design story,” Hawkins said. “Mr. Miller’s contributions have been well documented and celebrated over the years. But until now, most of us haven’t understood Mrs. Miller’s role in working with artists and architects.”
Xenia Miller collaborated with Modernist giants Eero Saarinen and Alexander Girard on not one, but two homes — The Miller House and a cottage-style family structure in Muskoka, Canada, that the Millers called the Llanrwst project.
Her contributions to architecture, design, art and historic preservation in central Indiana are largely unknown by many, according to the authors.
Along with J. Irwin Miller, Xenia Miller brought art by leading international figures such as sculptors Jean Tinguely and Henry Moore to Columbus. She worked with major architectural figures such as Edward Larrabee Barnes — and his wife, Mary Barnes — to bring creative design to schools, churches and other civic buildings.
She also made a new version of the Indianapolis Museum of Art-Columbus Gallery in the original Commons mezzanine in downtown Columbus a reality with a $1 million donation in 1993 after she launched the satellite museum’s original space in 1974 at the visitors center. But, true to her modest ways, she balked at a grand plan to name the space in her honor.
She later relented to allow her name to be stenciled only in small letters over the entrance.
“Hers may be one of the great unsung voices in Modernism,” the authors wrote.
Sholly and Zeigler have collaborated previously on eight of the 11 works in the publication series. The latest work features dozens of full color photos and drawings, many never before published.
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What: Indianapolis-based graphic designer James Sholly and architectural historian Connie Zeigler have collaborated on a new mini-book-style publication, "Xenia Simons Miller: Prairie Modernist," published with support of the Columbus Area Visitors Center. It highlights the contributions of Miller as a design leader and patron of the arts.
Speaking: The two authors, and also signing copies of the publication. Also, longtime Irwin Management Company employee Sarla Kalsi and local architect Todd Williams will talk about Miller’s role in establishment of the Columbus Area Visitors Center.
When: 5:30 to 7 p.m. Thursday.
Where: Columbus Area Visitors Center, 506 Fifth St. downtown.
Admission: Free. Copies of the publication are $20 apiece.
Information: 812-378-2622.
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