L. Bancel LaFarge

L. Bancel LaFarge (1900–1989) was an American architect. He was a founding member of the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission.^[1]

Early life and education

Louis Bancel LaFarge was born into a prominent American family. His grandfather, John LaFarge, was a noted American artist. His grandmother was a granddaughter of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry and a direct descendant of Benjamin Franklin.^[2] His father, Bancel LaFarge, was an artist who continued his father's work in glass,^[3]^[4] and his brother Tom was a mural painter.^[5]

LaFarge was a graduate of Harvard College and the Yale School of Architecture.^[3] He married the advertising executive Margaret Hockaday,^[6] with whom he had three children: Timothy, Benjamin, and Celestine.^[1]

Career

LaFarge established himself as an architect in New York specializing in domestic architecture. His practice was interrupted by military service in the Second World War. At war's end, he returned to his work as an architect. At one time he served as president of the New York chapter of the American Institute of Architects (1958–1960), and he was a founding member of the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (1965–70).^[1]

World War II

Major LaFarge was assigned to the 7th Army in Europe during the Second World War. He was the Chief of the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives (MFAA) section. LaFarge was the first MFAA officer to arrive in France after D-Day in 1944.^[3]

Notes

^ ^a ^b ^c Flint, Peter B. (1989-07-04). "L. B. La Farge, 89, an Architect". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on September 26, 2023. Retrieved 2023-09-26.
^ "Religion: Reasoned Optimist". Time Magazine. March 3, 1952. Archived from the original on November 4, 2012.
^ ^a ^b ^c Monuments Men Foundation: Monuments Men Archived 2013-10-12 at the Wayback Machine LaFarge, Maj. L. Bancel]
^ Time. March 3, 1952.
^ Clarke, T. Emigrés in the Wilderness. New York: Macmilland, 1941, p. 178.
^ Howe, Marvine (1992-12-22). "Margaret Hockaday Is Dead at Age 85; Started Ad Agency". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on July 24, 2010. Retrieved 2021-10-20.

References

American Commission for the Protection and Salvage of Artistic and Historic Monuments in War Areas. (1946). Report. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. OCLC 185537904
Nicholas, Lynn H. (1995). The Rape of Europa: The Fate of Europe’s Teasures in the Third Reich and the Second World War. New York: Vintage Books. ISBN 978-0-679-75686-6; OCLC 32531154

Archival resources

Charles Maurice Fleischner papers, Yale University Library, Manuscripts and Archives
LaFarge Family Papers, Yale University Library

External links

PBS (Oregon Public Broadcasting): "The Rape of Europa.", 2006 film, aired November 24, 2008
Monuments Men Foundation: Monuments Men> LaFarge, Maj. L. Bancel
Obituary: Flint, Peter B. "L. B. La Farge, 89, an Architect," New York Times. July 4, 1989.

[nyt1989obit-1] Flint, Peter B. (1989-07-04). "L. B. La Farge, 89, an Architect". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on September 26, 2023. Retrieved 2023-09-26.

[2] "Religion: Reasoned Optimist". Time Magazine. March 3, 1952. Archived from the original on November 4, 2012.

[mfaa-3] Monuments Men Foundation: Monuments Men Archived 2013-10-12 at the Wayback Machine LaFarge, Maj. L. Bancel]

[4] Time. March 3, 1952.

[5] Clarke, T. Emigrés in the Wilderness. New York: Macmilland, 1941, p. 178.

[6] Howe, Marvine (1992-12-22). "Margaret Hockaday Is Dead at Age 85; Started Ad Agency". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on July 24, 2010. Retrieved 2021-10-20.

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