Project Files

Project files document Saarinen's work on a variety of commissions including those for book cover designs, federal government buildings, post offices, schools and playgrounds (particularly the Crow Island School reliefs), companies such as KLM (then Royal Dutch Airlines), businesses such as Toffenetti's restaurant in Chicago, and private clients, including sister-in-law, Pipsan Saarinen. The majority of the projects documented here resulted in fully realized commissions for Saarinen, although several represent ideas and proposals. Project files typically contain any and all of the following: correspondence and notes, many preliminary sketches, plans and blueprints, and photographs of artwork and project sites, with the bulk of the material being in the form of sketches. Sketches are primarily in graphite, although some are hand-colored with ink and/or paint. Crow Island school sketches are arranged alphabetically by subject, primarily animals.