Cranbrook and the Genesis of
American Modernism
B y K i m C a r p e n t e r
The Eames Lounge, Saarinen Womb, Bertoia Diamond and
Rapson Rapid Rocker; these are some of the most famous chairs
of the modern era. But they share more than innovative design
and a modern aesthetic: their creators all spent time at the
Cranbrook Academy of Art. The school nurtured some of the
mid 20
th
century’s most celebrated designers, including Eero
Saarinen, Charles and Ray Eames, Florence Knoll, Ralph Rapson
and Harry Bertoia. While the careers of these figures are well
known, less familiar is the story of the small midwestern school
where their creativity first blossomed.
Cranbrook, in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, was founded by
George Gough Booth, a Detroit newspaper publisher and philan-
thropist with a passion for architecture. Born in Canada in 1864,
Booth hoped to study design, but followed family tradition to
become a metalsmith. By his early twenties, he was the co-own-
er of a profitable wrought iron business, but he moved to Detroit
when his family decided to relocate in the 1880s. There he met
Ellen Scripps, daughter of Detroit Evening News publisher James
Scripps, whom he married in 1887. He joined the newspaper
as a reporter and rose through the ranks to become publisher.
Under his leadership, it became one of the most widely circu-
lated dailies in the nation, and Booth Newspapers, which he co-
founded in the 1890s with his brothers, emerged as Michigan’s
largest newspaper chain.
James Scripps encouraged his son-in-law to support the arts
and architecture. With his background in metalsmithing, Booth
was especially interested in the Arts and Crafts movement,
pioneered in the late 1800s by social reformer John Ruskin
and designer William Morris; it emphasized simple, handcrafted
decorative objects meant to enhance everyday life. Booth
became a board member of the American Federation of Arts and
the co-founder and chief patron of the Detroit Society for Arts
and Crafts. Nicknamed “Builder Booth,” he also commissioned,
and helped design, several buildings, including the Scripps Park
Top George Gough Booth, founder of Cranbrook, and his wife, Ellen, at Cranbrook House in 1915.
Center Florence and Hans Knoll, founder of Knoll Associates, visiting the Saarinens at Saarinen House, ca. 1946. Eliel Saarinen and his
wife, Loja, seated at center; back row, left to right, Eero Saarinen and his wife, Lily Swann Saarinen, Florence and Hans Knoll; child is Eric
Saarinen, Eero and Lily’s son.
Bottom Swiss architect Le Corbusier, left, with Eliel Saarinen. Le Corbusier was a guest lecturer at Cranbrook in November 1935.
All photographs courtesy of the Cranbrook Archives, unless otherwise noted.
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