Russell Sturgis (; October 16, 1836 – February 11, 1909) was an American
architect
An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
and
art critic
An art critic is a person who is specialized in analyzing, interpreting, and evaluating art. Their written critiques or reviews contribute to art criticism and they are published in newspapers, magazines, books, exhibition brochures, and catalogue ...
of the 19th and early 20th centuries. He was one of the founders of the
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...
in 1870.
Sturgis was born in
Baltimore County, Maryland
Baltimore County ( , locally: or ) is the third-most populous county in the U.S. state of Maryland. The county is part of the Central Maryland region of the state. Baltimore County partly surrounds but does not include the independent cit ...
. His parents were Russell Sturgis, a
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
New York may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* ...
shipping merchant living temporarily in Baltimore, and Margaret Dawes (Appleton) Sturgis.
His paternal grandparents were Thomas Sturgis (1755-1821), who served as a Private in Captain Micah Hamlin's Company, Colonel Simeon Cary's Regiment (1776) and was the younger brother of the merchant
Russell Sturgis (1750-1826), and Elizabeth (Jackson) Sturgis (1768-1844)). Sturgis is, therefore, a second cousin to the merchant and banker
Russell Sturgis (1805–1887).
Educated in the public schools of
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, Sturgis was graduated from the Free Academy in New York (now the
College of the City of New York) in 1856, and later studied architecture under
Leopold Eidlitz. For about a year and a half he also studied in
Munich
Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
. In 1862 he returned to the United States. He was associated with
Peter Bonnett Wight from 1863 to 1868 and then practiced alone until 1880.
in 1863 Sturgis together with the painter
John William Hill, art critic
Clarence Cook, and geologist and art critic
Clarence King
Clarence Rivers King (January 6, 1842 – December 24, 1901) was an American geologist, mountaineer, and author. He was the first director of the United States Geological Survey from 1879 to 1881. Nominated by Republican President Rutherford B. ...
helped to found the
Society for the Advancement of Truth in Art which published a journal ''The New Path.'' The articles written by Sturgis provided an early glimpse of his critical interest in art and architecture, made amply clear in his later writings.
On May 26, 1864, he married Sarah Maria Barney, daughter of
Danford N. Barney of New York City. Her father served as president of
Wells Fargo & Company
Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational financial services company with a significant global presence. The company operates in 35 countries and serves over 70 million customers worldwide. It is a systemically important fi ...
from 1853 to 1866. Russell and Sarah Sturgis were the parents of four sons and three daughters, of whom one son died in infancy.
[''The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography'', Vol. IX, p. 331.]
Career as architect
Between 1865 and 1880 he designed Battell Chapel and Lawrance, Farnam and Durfee Halls at Yale
Yale University is a private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and one of the nine colonial colleges ch ...
; the Homeopathic Medical College and Flower Hospital, New York City; the Farmers' and Mechanics' Bank of Albany; and churches, commercial buildings, and residences in New York City, Albany, Aurora, Tarrytown and Watertown, New York; New Haven, Farmington and Litchfield, Connecticut; Louisville, Kentucky; and Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Upon the reorganization of the American Institute of Architects
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C. AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach progr ...
in 1868, Sturgis was elected secretary, while Richard Upjohn
Richard Upjohn (22 January 1802 – 16 August 1878) was a British-American architect who immigrated to the United States and became most famous for his Gothic Revival churches. He was partially responsible for launching the movement to popula ...
was president and R.G. Hatfield treasurer. Also in 1868, Sturgis published his ''Manual of the Jarves Collection of Early American Pictures in the Yale School of Fine Arts''. When the Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...
was established in 1870, Sturgis was a trustee and a member of the executive committee until 1876, also serving as corresponding secretary from 1870 to 1873.[ He designed the First Baptist Church at ]Tarrytown, New York
Tarrytown is a administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in the administrative divisions of New York#Town, town of Greenburgh, New York, Greenburgh in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County, New York (state), New York, Unit ...
about 1875.
During the Exposition Universelle of 1878, Sturgis spent some months in France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, and upon his return accepted the chair of architecture and the arts of design at the College of the City of New York. He was the co-author, with Charles Eliot Norton
Charles Eliot Norton (November 16, 1827 – October 21, 1908) was an American author, social critic, and Harvard professor of art based in New England. He was a progressive social reformer and a liberal activist whom many of his contemporaries c ...
, of a ''Catalogue of Ancient and Modern Engravings, Woodcuts and Illustrated Books, Parts of the Collections of C.E. Norton and R. Sturgis'' (1879). On account of ill health he left his professorship and retired from business in 1880 and went to Europe. Residing chiefly in Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
and Florence
Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025.
Florence ...
, he remained abroad until 1884. For a short time after his return he was secretary of the New York Municipal Civil Service Board, but resigned out of dislike for the political complications involved in the position.[
He trained architect Arthur Bates Jennings.
On December 30, 1886, Sturgis and his eldest son, Appleton, represented the family at the funeral of his wife's uncle, Ashbel H. Barney, retired president (1869–70) of ]Wells Fargo & Company
Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational financial services company with a significant global presence. The company operates in 35 countries and serves over 70 million customers worldwide. It is a systemically important fi ...
.
Author and critic
Sturgis was a fellow of the American Institute of Architects
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C. AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach progr ...
and of the National Academy of Design
The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Frederick Styles Agate, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, an ...
; an honorary fellow of the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences; a fellow in perpetuity of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...
; life member of the American Numismatic and Archaeological Society; honorary member of the National Society of Mural Painters; and a member of the Architectural League of New York
The Architectural League of New York is a non-profit organization "for creative and intellectual work in architecture
Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construct ...
(president in 1889-93), the Grolier Club, the Municipal Art Society, Archaeological Institute of America, National Sculpture Society, the Japan Society, the Fine Arts Federation of New York (first president, 1895–97); member of the University, Century and Players clubs of New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
; and a member of the Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies in London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
.
He lectured on art at Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
, the Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...
in New York; the Peabody Institute
The Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University is a Private university, private music and dance music school, conservatory and College-preparatory school, preparatory school in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1857, it became affiliat ...
of Baltimore and the Art Institute of Chicago; his Scammon Lectures of 1904-05 in Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
were published under the title ''The Interdependence of the Arts of Design'' (1905). Sturgis received the honorary degrees of MA from Yale in 1870 and PhD from the College of the City of New York in 1893. A disciple of John Ruskin
John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English polymath a writer, lecturer, art historian, art critic, draughtsman and philanthropist of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as art, architecture, Critique of politic ...
, Sturgis intensely disliked the trend toward neoclassic eclecticism at the end of the 19th century and hailed Louis H. Sullivan's work as the most significant that was being done in America.[
A leading authority on the history of architecture and art, Sturgis was editor for decorative art and medieval archaeology of the ''Century Dictionary'', editor of architecture and fine art for ''Johnson's Universal Cyclopaedia'' (1893–95); and compiler (for the ]American Library Association
The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world.
History 19th century ...
) of the ''Annotated Bibliography of Fine Art'' (1897). In January 1897 he became editor of ''The Field of Art'', a department of ''Scribner's Magazine'', which he continued until his death.
He is best known as a writer on art and architecture, making many contributions to dictionaries, encyclopedias and periodicals. He was editor-in-chief of ''A Dictionary of Architecture and Building'' (3 vols, 1901–1902). Sturgis edited and revised the English version of Wilhelm Luebke's ''Outlines of the History of Art'' (2 vols, 1904), and was editor on fine arts for the ''Encyclopedia Americana'' (1904–05). He wrote:
* ''European Architecture: A Historical Study'' (1896).
* ''The Etchings of Piranesi'' (1900).
* ''How to Judge Architecture'' (1903).
* ''The Appreciation of Sculpture'' (1904).
* ''The Appreciation of Pictures'' (1905).
* ''A Study of the Artist's Way of Working in the Various Handicrafts and Arts of Design'' (2 vols, 1905).
* ''The Interdependence of the Arts of Design'' (1905).
* ''Ruskin on Architecture'' (1906).
* ''History of Architecture'' (4 vols., 1906–1915; Vols. III and IV were completed by A.L. Frothingham, Jr.).
** Volume I. ''Antiquity'' (1906).
** Volume II. ''Romanesque and Oriental'' (1909).
** Volume III. ''Gothic in Italy, France, and Northern Europe'' (1915)
** Volume IV. ''Gothic in Great Britain — Renaissance — Modern Architecture'' (1915)
During his last years he was nearly blind. He died on February 11, 1909, at his long-time home, 307 East 17th Street, in New York City. Sarah Sturgis died there on May 1, 1910.
Selected buildings
* Joseph H. Scranton house (1867–71), Scranton, Pennsylvania.
* Farnham Hall (1868–70), Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut.
* Dean Sage house (1869), 839 St. Mark's Avenue, Brooklyn, New York.
* Durfee Hall (1870–71), Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut.
* Theodore Roosevelt, Sr. house (1872–73, demolished), 6 West 57th Street, New York City. Interiors were designed by Frank Furness
Frank Heyling Furness (November 12, 1839 – June 27, 1912) was an American architect of the Victorian era. He designed more than 600 buildings, most in the Philadelphia area, and is remembered for his diverse, muscular, often inordinately scaled ...
and executed by Daniel Pabst.
* Mechanics' and Farmers' Bank (1874–75), State & James Streets, Albany, New York.
* Battell Chapel (1874–76), Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut.
* First Baptist Church (1875–81), Tarrytown, New York.
* Lawrance Hall (1885–86), Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut.
* Homeopathic Medical College and Flower Free Surgical Hospital (1888–89), York Avenue & 63rd Street, New York City.
* Rev. Cannon Douglas house (c. 1899), Tuxedo Park, New York.Rev. Cannon Douglas House
from Hudson River Valley Heritage.
File:DurfeeHall.jpg, Durfee Hall (1871), Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut.
File:Old Campus, Yale University (3).jpg, Battell Chapel (1874–76), Farnham Hall (1868-70), and Lawrance Hall (1886), Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut.
File:Yale Battell Chapel.jpg, Battell Chapel (1874–76), Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut.
File:First Baptist Church of Tarrytown, NY.jpg, First Baptist Church (1875–81), Tarrytown, New York.
Notes
References
*
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sturgis, Russell
1836 births
1909 deaths
American architecture writers
American male non-fiction writers
American art critics
Writers from Baltimore
Architects from Baltimore
Writers from New York City
Architects from New York City
Sturgis family