George Mann Niedecken - Interior Design
George Mann Niedecken began taking art classes at the Wisconsin Art Institute when he was 12 years old. By the age of 19, he had enrolled in classes at the Art Institute of Chicago to study decorative art under Louis Millet. He soon had an exhibit at the annual show of the Chicago Architectural Club, in the company of Frank Lloyd Wright and Robert Closson Spencer, Jr. In 1899, he left for Europe to study art in Berlin, Austria, Paris, England and Italy until 1902.
Upon his return to Chicago, he began to teach decorative arts at the Wisconsin School of Arts. In 1909 he entered another exhibit at the Chicago Art Institute, showing his designs for jewelry, wallpaper and architectural decorations. His presence at these exhibitions provided him with introductions to the original architects of the Prairie School of architecture, namely Wright, Spencer, Perkins and Hunt.
Niedecken’s reputation grew for providing exquisite interior detailing. He continued the impressive list by adding designs for the Denkmann-Hauberg house in Rock Island, Illinois, for Robert Spencer. All the original rugs, portiere’s, murals, paint colors and furniture in the mansion were designed by George Mann Niedecken for Susanne Denkmann-Hauberg’s home.
Original designs created by Niedecken in 1910 were painted freehand onto muslin-covered walls. Niedecken drew outlines for stenciled friezes (decorative bands near a room’s ceiling) for all the downstairs rooms. And although the walls had been painted and wallpapered over the years, the stenciled canvases are still underneath.
In addition to wall and ceiling decorations, Niedecken was known for designing wallpaper, rugs, architectural decorations and furniture for prestigious homes throughout the country. His extensive credits include objects created for 12 homes designed by Prairie style architect Frank Lloyd Wright.