As the Art Nouveau style was reaching its zenith, Chicago architect, Louis Sullivan (1856-1924), was commissioned to design a modern new department store for Schlesinger and Mayer (1898-1899), now the Carson Pirie, Scott & Co. building in downtown Chicago. From an interior staircase of the building, the decorative balusters exemplified the vegetal ornament that made Sullivan’s steel skyscrapers so distinctive. The copper-plated , cast-iron balusters are decorated with interlaced ribbons of stylized seed forms overlaid on a geometric background. The Sullivan Baluster frame measures 5 ˝” x 5 ˝” with a picture window measuring 2 ˝” X 2 ˝”. The frame is silver plated with and anti-tarnish finish. Gift boxed with provenance card included. |