Michael Graves:
Images of a Grand Tour
Karen Nichols , Patrick Burke, Caroline Hancock

In 1960, before his skyscrapers and teapots made him a household name, Michael Graves set out on a journey once considered obligatory for a young architect: a grand tour of the great monuments of Europe. As a recipient of the prestigious Prix de Rome, Graves traveled through Italy, Greece, Turkey, Spain, England, Germany, and France, studying and recording the masterworks of both ancient and modern architecture. Michael Graves: Images of A Grand Tour collects for the first time the stunning artwork produced during this trip. Delicate pencil sketches, striking ink washes, and colorful photographs show the deep connection Graves had to the places he visited, from the Roman Forum to the Grecian Acropolis to Wiltshires Stonehenge. They also tell something of the education of an architect, bringing to light the classical buildings that caused Graves to reexamine his early devotion to modernism. A foreword by Graves reflects on these travels from the distance of forty years, while author Brian Ambroziak puts the tour into the context of Graves's life and work.


Brian M. Ambroziak studied under Michael Graves at Princeton University and worked for four years as a project designer for Michael Graves & Associates. In 1999, he co-authored Infinite Perspectives: Two Thousand Years of Three-Dimensional Mapmaking. He is an assistant professor at the University of Tennessee's College of Architecture and Design.
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Editorial Reviews

CHOICE:
"This beautiful book, with previously unpublished artwork, reveals the role of visual images in shaping the life and the work of American architect Graves, a seminal figure whoes work has influenced both students and professional colleagues for 40 years." — J. H. Heinicke, Simpson College (February, 2006)

New York Living:
"In the early 1960s, Michael Graves spent two years at the American Academy in Rome, an experience, as he says in the forward of the book, which changed the way he looked at the world. The drawings and photos in this collection articulate Graves fascination with the architecture of Italy, Greece, Turkey, France, Spain, and the United Kingdom, as well as illuminate th eprocess of one of the 20th centurys most influential architects. " (January, 2006)

Elements of Living:
"Sketches and photographs not only record the vernacular architectural language of an ancient time and place but suggest how, in his work, Graves has extended the architectural dialogue. Images Of A Grand Tour stands on its own as an inspirational collection of beautiful and visually compelling renderings." (December 2005)

Architectural Record:
"As illustrated so compellingly in Michael Graves, Images of a Grand Tour, the drawings and sketches that Graves executed in the early 1950s at the American Academy in Rome attest to the power of the city's patrimony on the Prix de Rome winner. " (January 2007)

Register - News:
"His experience helped to shape his understanding of architecture as a language, and he has found himself speaking the language of the Roman architects throughout his impressive career."

Time Off:
"With the first-time release of these drawings, readers now have the chance to see Europe's great architecture through Mr. Graves' eyes. His drawings helped him see things like the liberties Palladio took with classical architecture, lending ingenuity and fun in architectural plays on words akin to literature's double-entendres. . . . His experience helped shape his understanding of architecture as a language, and he has found himself speaking the language of the Roman architects throughout his impressive career." (Feb. 3-12, 2006)

Wichita Eagle:
"In 1960 architect Micael Graves was awarded the Prix de Rome by the American Academy in Rome, then embarked on a trip to indulge his lifelong fascination with the landscape, culture and history of Italy. Michael Graves: Images of a Grand Tour (Princeton Architectural Press) by Brian Ambroziak, collects the sketches and photographs he made 45 years ago. " — Nicholas A. Basbanes (December 18, 2005)

Improvised Schema:
"The drawings within Images of a Grand Tour are grand themselves as they vary from quick pencil sketches to elaborate pen and ink sketches of full building perspectives, details, and partial cityscapes. All of the drawings exhume a certain elegance in their composition and mannerism despite the level of time and detail Graves may have paid to them.Whether or not one may love or loathe the work of Michael Graves, Images of a Grand Tour is a superb collection of drawings that are worthy of note and worthy of owning." (2/27/2006)

Designer, architect, now author Michael Graves shares new book, Burlington County Times:
"a collection of artwork Graves produced as he traveled throughout Europe as a recepient of the Prix De Rome in 1960." (November 20, 2005)

Connecticut Cottages & Gardens:
"Find inspiration in Michael Graves: Images of a Grand Tour, full of drawings and photographs created by the world-renowned architect." (April 2006)

Indianapolis Star:
"The book provides a glimpse into the education of an architect whose modernist approach to design was altered by his exposure to classical European buildings." (12/30/2005)

Traditional Building:
"This book is a worthy documentation of the clear-headed courage of Graves' engagement with the past, and a subtle articulation of the value of drawing by hand for architects of any stripe -- not to mention a defense of the value of studying in Rome, if one were needed. His essay found near the end of the book is a cogent, suggestive argument about how drawings work in the design process; with the onslaught of digital drafting it is all the more relevant today than it was when first published in Architectural Design (June 1977)." (February 2006)

Sources + Design:
"As the recipient of the Rome Prize in 1960, Michael Graves spent two years touring Europe sketching and photographing great architecture. Images of a Grand Tour puts the tour in the context of the architect's life and work." (July/August 2006)

Reader Comments

A Grand Collection (rating 5 out of 5):

Prior to creating post-modernist architecture and becoming a household name (thanks to Target), Michael Graves' career took him to the American Academy in Rome from 1960 through 1962. While there, Graves immersed himself in the architecture of Rome, Italy, Greece, Turkey, France, Spain, and the United Kingdom which have been collected into a book aptly entitled "Michael Graves: imageFiles of a Grand Tour". The drawings within "imageFiles if a Grand Tour" are grand themselves as they vary from quick pencil sketches to elaborate pen and ink sketches of full building perspectives, details, and partial cityscapes. All of the drawings exhume a certain elegance in their composition and mannerism despite the level of time and detail Graves may have paid to them. Two important lessons can be drawn from the collection of Graves drawings. The first is that the importance of drawing to the representation of architecture - be it built or conceived - is unparalleled. The drawings contain gestures of ideas, form, etc. that Graves was highly interested in. This point is further reinforced with the inclusion of Graves' writing entitled "The Necessity for Drawing". The second lesson that can be observed from this collection is the emergence of Michael Graves as an Architect. Graves' noted architectural style evolves with his studies during those two years, and one can begin to see many of the forms and shapes arise from what Graves is immersed in. Whether or not one may love or loathe the work of Michael Graves, "imageFiles of a Grand Tour" is a superb collection of drawings that are worthy of note and worthy of owning.

- Stan from Cleveland, Ohio (02/26/2006)

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