Saarinen House - A Total Work of Art
Saarinen House is Eliel Saarinen's Art Deco masterwork and the jewel of Cranbrook's architectural treasures. Designed in the late 1920s and located at the heart of Cranbrook Academy of Art, Saarinen House served as the home and studio of the Finnish-American designer Eliel Saarinen (Cranbrook's first resident architect and the Academy's first president and head of the Architecture Department) and Loja Saarinen (the Academy's first head of the Weaving Department) from 1930 through 1950. The extraordinary interior, now impeccably restored, features the Saarinens' original furnishings, including Eliel's delicately-veneered furniture and Loja's sumptuous textiles, as well as early furniture designs by their son Eero Saarinen.
This season, Danish ceramist Anders Ruhwald presents a series of site-sensitive installations in Saarinen House, the ideal backdrop for his continued investigations into the nature of Modernism. The setting will serve to heighten the dialogue that his work promotes within the overlapping fields of art, craft, and design. Ruhwald serves as an Artist-in-Residence and Head of the Ceramics Department at Cranbrook Academy of Art. For more information about Anders Ruhwald at Saarinen House: The Anatomy of a Home click here.
The exhibition is sponsored by Jeanne and Ralph Graham and Danish Crafts.
Please click here to view the Saarinen House and Garden Visitor's Guide
Public Tours
Docent-guided Public Tours of Saarinen House depart from the front desk of Cranbrook Art Museum, where tickets also may be purchased on tour days. Public Tours are scheduled May 1 through October 31, 2013, 2:00pm Wednesday through Saturday, and at 1:00pm and 3:00pm on Sunday. Tours are limited to 12 guests.
The tours are about 90 minutes long and include stairs and two ten-minute walks on Cranbrook's campus. Tours take place rain or shine.
Public Tour Fees: ArtMembers free; $10 Adults; $8 Seniors (65+); and $6 full-time students with ID and children. Saarinen House Tours include admission to Cranbrook Art Museum. Please call 248-645-3320 to make a reservation.
Private Tours
A limited number of Private Tours of Saarinen House are available Monday through Friday, May through October, with at least three weeks advance notice. Private Tour Fees: $10 ArtMembers; $15 Adults and Seniors; and $10 full-time students with ID (with a minimum Private Tour group fee of $100). To inquire about the availability of a Private Tour, please call 248-645-3319.
