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Audio interview with Stanley Barrows (1 of 2), 1994 Feb 1

 File — Box: Mixed pav_9, cassette: 1.A

Scope and Contents

In this audio interview, Martica Sawin and Stanley Barrows examine drawings, photographs and old Parsons School of Design catalogs, using them as a prompt to discuss the Paris Ateliers and the type of work expected of interior design students in the mid-twentieth century. Barrows reminisces about Parsons School of Design presidents William M. Odom and Van Day Truex, as well as interior designers Billy Baldwin and Millicent Rogers. Barrows talks about his own career, primarily as a historian and author of articles.

Dates

  • 1994 Feb 1

Participant Biography

Stanley Barrows (1914-1995) was born in Texas, and graduated from Washington and Lee University before studying at Parsons School of Design. Following his graduation from Parsons, he took a brief job with Joseph Platt as a design associate. After military service in Italy during World War Two as a draughtsman, Barrows returned to Parsons in 1946 to join the Interior Design Department, leading the school’s renowned summer trips to Europe. He left Parsons in 1968 to serve as chairman of the Interior Design Department at the Fashion Institute of Technology. After his retirement in 1985, he became an occasional contributor to Architectural Digest.

Container Summary

00:24.26 duration; Includes PDF transcript.