This exhibition reveals the often-overlooked story of the rich partnership behind a celebrated yet understudied work of midcentury architecture: Paul Rudolph, Louis Fry, Sr., and Col. John Welch’s landmarked Tuskegee Chapel (1960–1969) on the campus of Tuskegee University, the HBCU in Macon County, Alabama.
Timed to coincide with the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Rudolph retrospective, Materialized Space: The Architecture of Paul Rudolph, this complementary exhibition The Tuskegee Chapel: Paul Rudolph X Fry & Welch reveals the design evolution of the chapel, the nature of the collaboration between Rudolph and Fry & Welch, and the specific contributions from each of the two studios. The exhibition also highlights the significant careers of Tuskegee faculty members Louis Fry, Sr. and John Welch as Rudolph’s collaborators, who successfully translated Rudolph’s sculptural concrete form into a spiritual home in local brick that echoed and modernized the building vernacular of Tuskegee. In considering Fry & Welch’s contributions, this exhibition illuminates the long-standing tradition of architectural excellence and masonry craftsmanship on the landmarked Tuskegee campus, as established by first president Dr. Booker T. Washington and pioneering campus architect Robert R. Taylor more than 125 years ago.
The exhibition features architectural models of the chapel, full-scale brick replicas of Fry & Welch’s masonry details, rarely seen construction drawings from Fry & Welch, concept sketches and correspondence from Rudolph’s studio, vintage and contemporary campus photographs from eminent photographer and Tuskegee alumnus Chester Higgins, a new interview with the last living member of the design team, Fry & Welch Project Representative Major Holland, iconic photos of the chapel from Ezra Stoller, a newly commissioned masonry sculpture by Tuskegee alumnus Myles Sampson, and recordings from Tuskegee’s famed Golden Voices Concert Choir.
