Austin, TX (December 18, 2001)- Drawings of the noted Texas architect O'Neil Ford (1905-1982) have been donated to the Alexander Architectural Archive at The University of Texas at Austin by his widow, Wanda Graham Ford. The gift includes 5,540 original architectural drawings, 5,484 prints, 40 presentation drawings, 39 presentation sketches, and 63 sheets of photographic materials.

The donation covers Ford's work through 1966 (at which point he went into partnership with Ford Powell & Carson) and complements an earlier gift to the Alexander Architectural Archive of Ford's office files, personal papers, and books.

O'Neil Ford emphasized the integration of crafts and the use of native materials in his designs. His larger, most notable projects include the restoration of La Villita and designs for the new campus for Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas and Skidmore College in New York. Among his honors were appointments to the National Council on the Arts in 1968 and to the American Council for the Arts in Education in 1975. The first endowed chair in the School of Architecture at The University of Texas at Austin was named for O'Neil Ford.

It will take several years to fully process and catalog this extensive collection of materials. Access to the O'Neil Ford materials within the Alexander Architectural Archive, a unit of the General Libraries of The University of Texas at Austin, is by appointment only.

# # #

For more information on the O'Neil Ford materials, please contact:

Beth Dodd, Curator
Alexander Architectural Archive
The General Libraries
Architecture and Planning Library
The University of Texas at Austin
(512) 495-4621 or dodd.beth@mail.utexas.edu

Janine Henri, Head Librarian
Architecture and Planning Library
The General Libraries
The University of Texas at Austin
(512) 495-4623 or jhenri@mail.utexas.edu