John M. Donaldson

John M. Donaldson (1854 - 1941) was an American architect and artist born on January 17, 1854, in Stirling, Scotland::::"See Donaldson and Meier for list commissions worked on."

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.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 1950's 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, that lasted until Meijer's death in 1917, and in fact the firm continued under the name "Donaldson and Meier" until into the 1930s.

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

ources

*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

Links

[http://www.usgennet.org/usa/mi/county/tuscola/det/detdod-dou.htm The Detroiters, Pages 143 - 146 ] at www.usgennet.org