Griffin, Marion Mahony( 1871 – 1961 )
Federal Capital competition, left panel, view from summit of Mount Ainslie (Part A), 1911 – 1912 ,
National Archives of Australia, Series #41854 38, Accession #A710/ 1 , 63. 2 232. 7 cm
(A, B, and C panels), WatercolorAustralia’s first internationally recognized architects are best known for their winning plan for the cap-
ital city of Canberra. Although the work of their architecture firm displayed the name of Walter
Burley Griffin only, it is recognized that Marion Mahony Griffin was his partner, collaborator, and an
architect in her own right. They jointly designed the competition plan of 1911 , and Marion has been
credited with the large watercolor perspective illustrated on the opposite page (Figure 7. 5 ) (Turnbull
and Navaretti, 1998 ).^4
Marion graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1894 , and she immediately
accepted employment with her cousin Dwight Perkins in Chicago. Walter attended school at the
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, from 1895 to 1899. It was in the office of Frank Lloyd
Wright where they met. Walter left Wright’s office to enter private practice in the Chicago School,
primarily designing houses of the ‘Prairie’ style. While with Wright, Marion held a position that may
be likened to head designer and was responsible for many of the presentation renderings of the office
(Turnbull and Navaretti, 1998 ).
After their winning entry, the pair moved to Australia where Walter accepted the position of
Federal Capital Director of Design and Construction. During this time, they designed and built pro-
jects such as the Capital Theater in Melbourne ( 1924 ); Incinerators in Willoughby and Pyrmont
( 1934 ); and the subdivision development at Castlecrag/Haven Estate (Turnbull and Navaretti, 1998 ).
Their architecture took on an Australian character by integrating the architecture into the site, con-
trasting heavy masonry with delicate appendages, and incorporating indigenous plants (Turnbull and
Navaretti, 1998 ).
This watercolor from their Canberra competition entry provides a persuasive view of the grand lay-
out for the city. It may be considered a sketch because, as a competition entry, it is a brief indication
of an idea. This sketch is the left panel of Marion Griffin’s watercolor triptych. It shows a view not
from directly overhead, but a dramatic approach to the city. Entitled ‘view from the summit of Mount
Ainslie,’ it was sketched from site information provided in the competition package, with the hill
described as being 800 feet above the plain on the outskirts of the proposed site. The watercolor image
has been rendered in muted shades of green, gray, and blue, using typical techniques of Art Nouveau
or the Arts and Crafts graphic imagery prevalent at the time. The metropolis fades beyond the lakes,
helping to articulate the great scale of the project using a sfumatotechnique. The atmospheric, cloudy
sky has been broken by the sun shining directly over the capital building.
This view of the proposed city helps to understand the purpose of a competition entry. Without a
commission, an entry hopes to persuade a jury through the use of imagination; the submittal must
attract attention over the other contestants. Its purpose is to seduce the viewers with the ideas of the
project, since the scheme has not yet been fully resolved. It must provide sufficient information with-
out the detail necessary for construction drawings. Without a firm building in mind, such a sketch
can be the medium to envision the future in compelling terms.
Marion Griffin, having rendered drawings for F. L. Wright, was certainly familiar with techniques
of seduction through images. Wright’s architecture was presented from dramatic perspective angles
with pastel colors, presenting an atmospheric totality of the building incorporated into its site.H5719-Ch07.qxd 7/15/05 3:45 PM Page 177