Architect as Illustrator

Introduction

The two architects featured in this exhibit approached their work as artists. Both came from different backgrounds and were established in separate practices. However, seeing their work together showcases their similarities as draftsmen who consistently put pencil and pastel to paper to bring their concepts to life. Both artists share the distinction of having many of their unidentified concepts housed at the Preservation Foundation’s archive. While neither architect is an illustrator per se, they both have an illustrative hand that sets them apart from other architects in the collection.

William R. Johnson

William R. Johnson

William Johnson and his wife Virginia, 1940

William Royster Johnson (1901-1991) was born in Raleigh, North Carolina. He studied architecture at the University of Virginia under Fiske Kimball, who was a pioneer in the field of architectural preservation in the United States. In 1925 he joined Wyeth & King Architects and spent two years in the New York office—while studying painting at the Art Students League. In 1932 he became partner and in 1944 his name was added to the firm after he obtained his Florida architecture license. Johnson was a gifted draftsman who worked on many significant projects. His collection includes a number of house designs that are notable for their clean and elegant lines. He continued to be involved in the arts and served on the Board of Trustees at the Norton Museum of Art from 1948-1955, and as president of the trustees from 1952-1955.

A Monterey style home surrounded by palm trees waving full fronds. Johnson utilizes negative space leading up to the house, February 1941

A Bermuda style house with soft color pencil, in a closer frame, surrounded by palms. The long overhanging roof lines and shaded interiors create a sense of coolness from the Florida sunshine, 1950.

A flat roofed modern home with louvers to modify light and three figures for scale and context. Johnson’s characteristic use of pencil shading adds a quality of sun dappled warmth—evoked through the palm tree shadows touching the ground. A simple border line keeps the composition in place.

Watercolor adds warmth and depth to this Bermudian house. The view is from the back on the house and the repetition of horizontal lines juxtaposes with the natural environment. Here the palm fronds are sunlit and shaded, foliage grows over the border, fronds frame the bottom right corner, and the mixture of sandy grass gives a sense of Florida’s unique horticulture. The overall effect is a house immersed in nature.

Interior watercolor of a modern living room open on either side to the outdoors. Vibrant hues painted in gouache bring this interior to life.

Belford Shoumate

Belford Shoumate

Belford Shoumate, 1958

Belford Shoumate (1903-1991) was born in Mobile, Alabama and attended Barton Academy—Alabama’s first public school. He received his architectural training from the University of Pennsylvania, where he studied with French architect Paul Philippe Cret, who was Professor of Design from 1903-1937. Shoumate also served as Assistant Instructor of Design at the University. After completing his studies in 1929, he worked for Joseph Urban in New York City for four years. He then worked for Carlos Schoeppl for one year in Miami before arriving in West Palm Beach in 1936. He became a licensed architect in 1937 and practiced out of his Phipps Plaza office for 54 years.

In an interview from 1988, Shoumate stated that “back then I was very much influenced by Joseph Urban and the New School of Social Research. I appreciated Urban’s use of color and the success he was having with color at the World’s Fair. We architects all joined right in with him. We were all caught up in color and form back then.”

Shoumate drafted hundreds of untitled sketches on tracing paper. His preferred method was pastel that lightly colored his deft drawings. Compared to Johnson, Shoumate’s drawings are centered more on the structure versus the setting. Nevertheless, he accented all of his structures with foliage and each sketch is grounded by a long horizontal line.

Fan-like bushes and spikey palm fronds frame this modern Bermudian home. Elegant figures accented in red stand in the doorway and on the terrace. The lines are precise, while the use of pastel adds a smudged emboldened quality that animates the drawing.

A simple Bermudian home with a triangular chimney. Again, a figure in red stands by the door. Fan-like bushes, spikey palms, and a willowy tree off to the left surround the home. The soft blue in the background could symbolize water while the streaks of white represent passing clouds.

A simple cottage with a cupola is framed by rougher foliage and topiary. One of Shoumate’s characteristic figures in a bell style skirt stands at the door. The scale is slightly larger than the other houses and encompasses more of the page.

Here we see Shoumate’s truly modern vision. Horizontal lines define the series of volumes and the house is flanked on either side by rounded archways. Palms are frond down, clouds whisper over the top, and animated bulbous trees are to the right.

Soft green other worldly foliage surrounds this three-tiered almost circular structure. A figure in red centers the drawing. The clean white lines of the structure are countered by the greenery and bit of blue at the top.