Historic Preservation and Decorative Arts in Chicago’s Many Historic Spaces

by Fiona Owens   

As I move forward with my education and career, my experience at the Victorian Society in America Chicago Summer School has strengthened my understanding of the depth of Gilded Age architecture and the power of historic preservation, made possible by the generous support of the Decorative Arts Trust.

Figure 1. Fiona Owens at Crab Tree Farm in Lake Bluff, IL.

As a graduate student, my interests lie primarily in the Pre-Raphaelite and Arts and Crafts movements, and in the transatlantic exchange that allowed these artistic and design ideals to transform in a North American context. I was only slightly aware of the importance of Chicago. I knew, for example, the impact that exhibiting at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition had upon the career of Boston Pre-Raphaelite artist Mary Lizzie Macomber, the subject of my master’s thesis. I was also familiar with the important Arts and Crafts collection at Crab Tree Farm, located just outside Chicago (figure 1). Yet, I had never seen this important city with my own eyes.

I was particularly inspired by the dedication of Chicago to historic preservation, through which a wide variety of architecture effectively displays the full breadth and depth of the city’s past. Organizations such as the Frank Lloyd Wright Conservancy, represented on our trip by John Waters, have sustained the stewardship of Wright’s work, from skyscrapers such as The Rookery to smaller domestic structures such as the J.J. Walser House. The accessibility of historic architecture works to reinforce a sense of unique identity for the city. Each one of these architectural masterpieces defies every stereotype of the late 19th and early 20th centuries as dark or stuffy, and presents a full plate to each visitor hungry for thoughtful, individualistic design.

Throughout my journey, I observed how the power of architectural preservation is enhanced by intact interior spaces, in which decorative and fine arts immerse and educate visitors. I was particularly impressed by the furnishings and décor of Driehaus Museum and the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio. The Driehaus Museum (figure 2) displays an exceedingly wide variety of objects ranging from fire-backs to stained glass. The different cultures and themes represented in each room, ranging from a British Pre-Raphaelite painting and frame to majolica tiles with Middle Eastern inspirations, gives visitors a powerful sense of the cultures and ideas that came together to form the Gilded Age aesthetic.

The Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio (figure 3) provides a completely opposite experience. By preserving and reproducing Wright-designed furniture and textiles, the site adeptly communicates to visitors the effect of one single designer’s all-encompassing power. Two incredibly different approaches, both of the turn of the 20th century, both preserved in Chicago.

As I move forward with my academic studies and curatorial career, my experience with Chicago and its many historic spaces will be pivotal in my work as an exemplar of how a city can communicate its identity and history through a cohesive combination of architectural preservation and the decorative arts.

Fiona Owens is a PhD student in Art History at Case Western Reserve University. Owens received a Decorative Arts Trust Research Grant in 2025 and will speak at the Fall 2026 Symposium in Boston. Read more about her research in this Bulletin post.