Catherine Minkiewicz student work
1964-1966
- Collection Overview
- Biographical note
- Scope and Contents of Collection
- Administrative Information
- Related Materials
- Keywords for Searching Related Subjects
- Collection Inventory
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Guide to the Catherine Minkiewicz student work
Collection Overview
- Repository
- Kellen Design Archives
- Creator - Designer
- Minkiewicz, Catherine
- Title
- Catherine Minkiewicz student work, 1964-1966
- Extent
- 2.7 linear ft: 6 oversize folders
- Summary
- The collection consists primarily of course assignments in the form of a collage, presentation boards, photographs, and a watercolor rendering by interior designer Catherine Minkiewicz ('66) during her studies in Parsons School of Design's Interior Design Department.
Biographical note
Catherine Minkiewicz was born in Canada. She studied architecture at McGill University before relocating to Long Island, New York with her husband, Michael. Minkiewicz transferred from McGill to Parsons School of Design's Interior Design Department in 1964, studying lighting design, figure drawing, art and design history, and -- of importance to her future career path -- public speaking. Among her classmates and friends were designers Bob Bray, Mike Schaible, and Larry Durham. She graduated from the program in 1966.
Following graduation, Minkiewicz designed commercial spaces for MIA Commercial Interiors, then Jones and Mogensen, Architects, both located on Long Island. The headquarters and regional offices of Con Edison, New York City's energy provider, were among her interior design projects. She left the workforce to raise a family, but later returned to college to complete degrees in the history of architecture and liturgy through the State University of New York. Following Michael's retirement, she became a family minister and served as Director of Lay Ministry and Adult Faith Formation for the Archdiocese of Boston, a career lasting over a decade.
The Minkiewiczes retired to Martha's Vineyard, where Catherine Minkiewicz serves as the Chair of the Christian Education Committee of her local church and as the president of a garden club.
A personal essay written by Cartherine Minkiewicz for a Kellen Design Archives-sponsored exhibition is available upon request.
Scope and Contents of Collection
The collection consists of student work Catherine Minkiewicz created during a course of study in Parsons School of Design's Interior Design Department. It does not include records of her professional career, nor does it contain personal materials.
A substantial portion of the collection is a project focusing on the proposed restoration of an historic hotel in Montreal for the 1967 International and Universal Exposition, commonly known as "Expo 67." Project materials include a typed and bound report, design drawings of the Rasco's Hotel structure, and presentation boards featuring maps and historic images of Montreal. Color photographs of three-dimensional models, a collage based on J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye (1951), presentation boards for a restaurant and a residential project, and a watercolor rendering represent the remaining student work. None of the projects are dated, but all were completed within the same two-year span of 1964-1966.
Administrative Information
Publication Information
Kellen Design Archives September 21, 2011
66 5th Ave./lobby level/
New York, NY, 10011
212.229.5942
archivist@newschool.edu
Use Restrictions
To publish images of material from this collection, permission must be obtained in writing from the Kellen Design Archives. Please contact: archivist@newschool.edu.
Related Materials
Researchers may also wish to consult the Kellen Design Archives’ additional holdings of student work from the Interior Design and Environmental Design Departments.
Keywords for Searching Related Subjects
Corporate Name(s)
- Parsons School of Design. Interior Design Dept.
Genre(s)
- Collages (visual works).
- Drawings.
- Photographs.
- Site plans.
- Student projects.
Subject(s)
- Expo 67 (Montréal, Québec).
- Interior decoration -- Study and teaching -- New York (State) -- New York -- 20th century.
Collection Inventory
| Title | Box | Folder | ||
| Collage | k_OSxx-4 | 2 | ||
| Title | Box | Folder | ||
| Design problems: Rasco's Hotel renovation | k_10 | 2 | ||
| k_OSxxx-4 | 3-5 | |||
| Design problems: Residential | k_OSxxx-4 | 2 | ||
| Design problems: Restaurant | k_OSxxx-4 | 6 | ||
| Photographs | k_10 | 2 | ||
| Rendering | k_OSxxx-4 | 2 | ||