New exhibition at the National Archives of Australia, Marion: the other Griffin, is a deep dive into the woman who co-designed Canberra.
It extensively chronicles her career achievements while also shedding light on the woman who famously brought her husband’s vision for Canberra to life via 16 magnificent renderings of their grand plans for Australia’s capital.
While long overshadowed by both her husband and early career collaborator, Frank Lloyd Wright, appreciation and acknowledgement of Marion Mahony Griffin’s extraordinary accomplishments has grown substantially over the years.
In 2013, the ACT Government appropriately named the view from the top of Mount Ainslie after her.
Then, last year her 150th birthday was celebrated extensively in Canberra via the Magic of Marion festival that ran throughout July and August.
And now, the Archives are honouring and adding further context to the woman who co-designed and drew Canberra via Marion: the other Griffin, detailing her life, times, and achievements.
Archives curator, Emily Catt, started work on the exhibition by looking at what was available in their collection before supplementing it with additional pieces from the National Library, and graphic reproductions of a multitude of materials from the USA.
“The idea was how do we put the Griffins’ drawings in the context of her life and work,” she said. “It was really looking at Marion’s role and then building out either side of the Canberra story.”
Patrons are welcomed into the exhibit by a life size reproduction of a mural Marion created for a school in Chicago that encompasses the entirety of the entryway.
“It’s something Marion completed completely on her own without collaboration,” Catt said. “It really wraps her love of the environment, her love of children and love of nature, so it’s a really unique thing.”
While primarily telling Marion’s bittersweet yet beautifully poetic life story, The Other Griffin also features the strong undercurrent of a love story, detailing her professional and personal life with husband Walter from when they began working together in 1909 to his untimely death aged 60 in 1937.
Canberra design ‘fit the landscape like a glove’
The exhibition’s centrepiece, Marion and Walter’s original plans for the design of Canberra, feature prominently.
“They hadn’t ever visited the capital, but they managed to come up with a design that fit the landscape like a glove,” Catt said.
On display are two very long axis drawings, the view from the summit and a series of accompanying drawings.
“Walter had always wanted to design a city, basically,” she said. “And Marion was always a key voice in their partnership.”
With Walter procrastinating on doing his part of the gargantuan task, it took Marion giving him a kick in the pants while on a canoe trip to get him into gear.
“She said to him ‘I know you can design the city in a couple of weeks, but I need to draw them and if you don’t start it now, I won’t touch a pen to them’, and fortunately she did because we have the beautiful award-winning drawings,” Catt said.
In 1914 the couple moved to Australia to oversee the building of Canberra. Walter was appointed the Federal Capital Director of Design and Construction, where he suffered a problematic relationship with public servants. Bureaucrats undermined and white anted the Griffins from the get-go, with a Royal Commission in 1917 determining as much.
Their time in Australia was ultimately fruitful, however. The couple had practices that flourished in Sydney and Melbourne, designing a few iconic buildings like Melbourne’s stunning Capital Theatre.
Walter passed abruptly while on assignment in Lucknow, India with Marion by her side. Heartbroken, she quickly returned to Australia for a brief stay. While here, she returned to Canberra for one last time to visit the summit of Mount Ainslie.
“She’s taken back by the fact her vision is coming to life before her,” Catt said, “but she does lament that until the lake is there, the view won’t be complete.”
Marion then made her way home to Chicago, where she lived out the rest of her life. She died in 1961 aged 90 destitute and was buried in an unmarked grave.
It wasn’t until the 1990s that newfound interest and recognition of her work and influence resurfaced. Her ashes were moved to the architecture section of Chicago’s Graceland cemetery, where she now fittingly rests alongside her contemporaries like Frank Lloyd Wright.
Marion: the other Griffin is on display at the National Archives of Australia until 8 May; click here for more.
Get all the latest Canberra news, sport, entertainment, lifestyle, competitions and more delivered straight to your inbox with the Canberra Daily Daily Newsletter. Sign up here.
