In honor of Alexander Girard’s birthday today, we share this 1972 poster advertisement from Herman Miller. Girard designed these graphics for Herman Miller’s Environmental Enrichment program and they were meant to be used within the Action Office system. The images were silkscreened on textile panels, which then could be affixed to a variety of flat surfaces to liven up an otherwise dull office environment.  The designs are one of the last projects Girard did for Herman Miller in their storied 22 year history.

More images of these panels can be found over on the Herman Miller blog.

Herman Miller poster (37 in. x 24 in.), Environmental Enrichment designed by Alexander Girard, 1972, FF71, Miller House and Garden Collection, IMA Archives, Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, Indiana.(MHG_III_FF071_001)

No Detail Too Small. Painting screws inside cabinets so “they will hardly be noticed.”

Barbara Voelz to Owen Hungerford, July 1975, 7/60, Miller House and Garden Collection, IMA Archives, Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, Indiana. (MHG_Ib_B007_f060_007)

Irwin Miller asks Sandro Girard what he would like from Russia “outside of Vodka and satellites.”

J. Irwin Miller to Alexander H. Girard, 26 March 1962, 2/13, Miller House and Garden Collection, IMA Archives, Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, Indiana. (MHG_Ia_B002_f013_079)

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SUBMISSION: One to Forty-Nine (c. 1968) by Alexander Girard. Gift of the Estate of Xenia S. Miller to the Indianapolis Museum of Art

Missed this. Saw in person at the Miller House, just inside the front door. Totally charming, especially in a house made of squares.

In 1972, Alexander Girard’s One to Forty-Nine (MH2010.3) was being damaged by moths. Once the moths were killed, the box with feathers was treated with hair spray. Check out the note found in the Miller House and Garden Collection.

http://digitizingmillerhouseandgarden.tumblr.com/post/41810643320/girards-one-to-forty-nine-mh2010-3-was-being

No Detail Too Small. “Remove funny thing on wire of telephone” and “use pure white wire.”

Xenia S. Miller to Owen D. Hungerford, January 1979, 10/89, Miller House and Garden Collection, IMA Archives, Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, Indiana. (MHG_Ib_B010_f089_063)

Nancy Kriplen’s article “An Indiana Town Where Big Names Built” (New York Times, 10 May 2013) chronicles the impact J. Irwin Miller had on the architecture of Columbus, Indiana. When New York Times’ Home News Editor Cynthia Kellogg wrote to Irwin Miller in 1957 asking for permission to publish the Miller House “in a dignified manner,” Mr. Miller replied that he and Mrs. Miller had not yet made up their minds. The house was published in Architectural Forum (September 1958) and House and Garden (February 1959), but not in the New York Times. 

Cynthia Kellogg to J. Irwin Miller, 31 July 1957; draft of letter from J. Irwin Miller to Cynthia Kellogg; draft of letter from J. Irwin Miller to Alexander H. Girard, 1/8, Miller House and Garden Collection, IMA Archives, Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, Indiana.  (MHG_Ia_B001_f008_067-068)

Establishing the Move-In Date. The handwritten note at the bottom of the page establishes the “cut off date” for reporting deficiencies to the contractor as April 6, 1958. We know, then, the Millers moved into their house on April 6, 1957.

Memo from George Newlin to Larry Hoffman, 17 March 1958, 2/11, Miller House and Garden Collection, IMA Archives, Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, Indiana. (MHG_Ia_B002_f011_036)

Establishing the Move-In Date. Writing in March 1958, Leon Yulkowski from Eero Saarinen and Associates advises the contractor’s “guarantee against defective workmanship and material” expires one year after the house was occupied. This letter, however, does not give the date of occupancy.

Letter from Leon Yulkowski to Larry Hoffman, 19 March 1958, 2/11, Miller House and Garden Collection, IMA Archives, Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, Indiana. (MHG_Ia_B002_f011_033)

Establishing the Move-In Date. With Girard’s plans finalized to assist with the Millers’ move, there were still many construction items yet to be completed. This memo from March 28, 1957 lists encourages Mr. Miller to set a move-in date so that the trades must complete necessary work.

Memo to J. Irwin Miller, 28 March 1957, 2/9, Miller House and Garden Collection, IMA Archives, Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, Indiana. (MHG_Ia_B002_f009_051-053)

What did it take for the Millers to move in to their new home? Ten people devoted just to furnishings. Girard enlisted the help of his assistant Jeremy Lepard, five people from Ernest LoNano’s company, and three people from Treganowan’s. (LoNano made curtains and pillows and upholstered furniture. Treganowan made and supplied rugs.) 

Alexander Girard to Wanda Truitt, 11 March 1957, 2/9, Miller House and Garden Collection, IMA Archives, Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, Indiana. (MHG_Ia_B002_f009_076-077)