It’s always a great day when a new discovery is made. Yesterday Craig, one of our campus architects and project managers, asked me if I knew anything about a pixie-like relief that is located on a Mankato stone column at Kingswood School.  I remember seeing a photo of it years ago but never had reason to look into its origin until now.  As luck would have it, I was able to use my super-sleuthing skills to locate the original drawing of the figure by none other than Eliel Saarinen!  The full-scale detail drawing illustrates the whimsical quality of the figure and even shows the level of intended relief–note the red lines across the figure.  Breen Stone and Marble Company of Kasota, Minnesota was awarded the contract for the stonework at Kingswood School.

Detail of stone column, Kingswood School. Rendered by Eliel Saarinen, March 1931.

~Leslie S. Edwards, Head Archivist