Repository: Dumbarton Oaks Archives, Washington, D.C.
Call Number: Farrand Drawings
Location: Archives 058, A3
Name of Creator(s): Beatrix Jones Farrand
Title: Beatrix Farrand Architectural Drawings and Plans
Inclusive Date: ca. 1927–1933
Language(s): English
Quantity: 10 drawings
Administrative Information
Acquisition Information: These plans and drawings came to Dumbarton Oaks at an unknown date.
Processing Information: The Beatrix Farrand Architectural Plans and Drawings were inventoried by James N. Carder in 2002.
Terms of Use and Access: These plans and drawings can be used for research and publication purposes.
Physical Access: An appointment is required for access to these plans and drawings. For appointment and queries, fill out the online form.
Preferred Citation: Beatrix Farrand Architectural Plans and Drawings, Dumbarton Oaks Archives. Courtesy of Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Washington, D.C.
Historical Note
Beatrix Jones Farrand (June 19, 1872–February 28, 1959) was a landscape architect (who titled herself a landscape gardener). Her career included commissions to design gardens for private residences, estates, and country homes, public parks, botanical gardens, college campuses, and the White House. Farrand was one of the founding eleven members, and the only woman, of the American Society of Landscape Architects. She was likely introduced to Mildred and Robert Woods Bliss by Farrand’s aunt and the Blisses’ friend, the American author Edith Wharton. Farrand worked closely with Mildred Barnes Bliss on the design of the Dumbarton Oaks gardens, beginning in 1921. Her involvement with the gardens gradually subsided in the late 1940s. Her architectural designs for Dumbarton Oaks included cold frames for the greenhouse that she designed in 1927. In 1933, the Blisses also commissioned Farrand to design what is now known as the Guest House at Dumbarton Oaks, a building formerly known as the Superintendent’s Dwelling and the Fellows Building. She also served as a liaison between the Blisses and their architect, Lawrence Grant White.
Scope and Content
The Beatrix Farrand architectural plans and drawings comprise materials for cold frames (1927) and a 1933 addition to Dumbarton Oaks.
Extent
10 drawings.
Collection Inventory and Description
1927 Plans for Cold Frames of Greenhouse Designed by Beatrix Farrand and Fabricated by William H. Lutton Co., Jersey City, N.J.
- Masonry Plan & Details of Lean-To Storage Houses for Mrs. R.W. Bliss, [bp], 8/9/1927;
- Full Size Detail at C-D, [bp], 5/18/1927
1933 Plans for Guest House (aka Dwelling for Superintendent and Fellows Building) by Beatrix Farrand.
- 1. Plot Plan and Typical Wall and Footing, [bp], 10/31/1933;
- 2. Basement Floor Plan, [bp], 10/31/1933 and 12/7/1933;
- 3. First Floor Plan, [bp], 10/31/1933 and 12/2/1933;
- 4. Second Floor Plan, [bp], 10/31/1933 and 12/2/1933;
- 5. Half Roof Plan and Plumbing Section, [bp], 10/31/1933;
- 6. South Elevation, [bp], 10/31/1933;
- 7. North Elevation, [bp], 10/31/1933;
- 8. East Elevation and Section, [bp], 10/31/1933