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| Driehaus Foundation | |
|---|---|
| Name | Driehaus Foundation |
| Founded | 1999 |
| Founder | Richard H. Driehaus |
| Headquarters | Chicago, Illinois |
| Type | Philanthropic foundation |
| Focus | Historic preservation, architecture, community development, arts, education |
| Leader title | President |
| Leader name | (see Governance and Leadership) |
Driehaus Foundation The Driehaus Foundation is a private philanthropic organization established to support historic preservation, classical architecture, cultural institutions, urban revitalization, and arts education. Founded by financier and collector Richard H. Driehaus, the foundation has engaged with museums, universities, conservancies, municipal agencies, and public-private partnerships to fund restoration, scholarships, exhibitions, and public programs. Its activities intersect with major cultural landmarks, academic centers, and preservation networks across the United States and internationally.
The foundation was created by Richard H. Driehaus after a career in finance that connected him to institutions such as the Chicago Board of Trade, Chicago Mercantile Exchange, University of Chicago, DePaul University, Harvard University, and Yale University. Early initiatives drew on relationships with organizations like the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Landmarks Illinois, Chicago Architecture Center, and the Glessner House Museum. Over time the foundation expanded collaborations to include the Museum of Modern Art, Art Institute of Chicago, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Smithsonian Institution, Library of Congress, and international partners such as the Victoria and Albert Museum, National Gallery (London), and Institut national d'histoire de l'art.
The foundation’s timeline features projects with municipal counterparts including the City of Chicago, the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, and regional conservancies like the Preservation Society of Charleston and Boston Preservation Alliance, and initiatives linked to higher-education programs at Northwestern University, Columbia University, and Princeton University.
The stated mission emphasizes preservation of historic fabric and promotion of classical and traditional design through grants, awards, and programming. Programmatic areas engage museums, libraries, and cultural organizations such as the Newberry Library, Chicago History Museum, Morgan Library & Museum, Frick Collection, and Peabody Institute. The foundation’s work also intersects with policy and advocacy bodies like the National Park Service, Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, and philanthropic consortia including the Ford Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, and Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Programs target restoration of landmark structures, support for apprenticeship and craft training at institutions like the Conservation Center (Winterthur), and public outreach with partners such as the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Cooper-Hewitt, and the National Building Museum.
Grantmaking has supported capital campaigns, endowments, exhibitions, and conservation projects with recipients that include the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Chicago Cultural Center, Wrightwood 659, and regional historic houses such as Aldridge-Bailey House and Glessner House. Funding initiatives have partnered with university centers like the Berghahn Books-affiliated research programs, the Historic Preservation Program at Columbia University, and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
The foundation has also underwritten awards and prizes in architecture and preservation, similar in visibility to the Pritzker Architecture Prize, AIA Gold Medal, and the Carpenter Medal through collaborations with professional organizations including the American Institute of Architects, International Council on Monuments and Sites, and regional bodies like Chicago Architecture Biennial participants.
A core emphasis is on restoring and conserving historically significant structures and landscapes, collaborating with entities such as the Getty Conservation Institute, World Monuments Fund, and the Society of Architectural Historians. Projects have ranged from urban landmarks in Chicago to ecclesiastical restorations connected to diocesan archives like those of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago and civic commissions such as the Commission on Chicago Landmarks. Work often ties to architectural movements and figures represented in collections and scholarship at institutions like the Richard H. Driehaus Museum, the Frank Lloyd Wright Trust, the Louis Sullivan archives, and the Prairie School of Architecture.
Conservation efforts engage craftspeople and firms associated with restoration projects for theaters, civic buildings, and residential ensembles, coordinated with bodies such as the Historic New England and the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Save America’s Treasures program.
Educational support includes fellowships, scholarships, and curricular partnerships with universities and conservatories including DePaul University, University of Notre Dame School of Architecture, Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, Harvard Graduate School of Design, Princeton School of Architecture, and the University of Pennsylvania Stuart Weitzman School of Design. The foundation funds lecture series, catalogues, and research grants that involve publishers and academic presses such as Oxford University Press, University of Chicago Press, and Yale University Press.
Scholarship programs often connect with museum education departments like those at the Art Institute of Chicago and Metropolitan Museum of Art, and with professional training provided by organizations such as the American Institute for Conservation.
Notable initiatives include support for the restoration and public presentation of landmark interiors and facades in partnership with institutions such as the Richard H. Driehaus Museum (housed in the Samuel M. Nickerson House), collaborations with the Art Institute of Chicago and the Chicago Cultural Center, and project-based grants to regional preservation campaigns with groups like Landmarks Illinois and Historic Chicago.
International ties have involved partnerships with the Historic Houses Association (UK), the Venice Biennale, and conservation fellowships linked to the Getty Foundation’s Keeping It Modern program. Cultural programming partnerships have extended to performing-arts institutions such as the Lyric Opera of Chicago and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and to scholarly exhibitions with the Morgan Library & Museum and the Frick Collection.
Governance structures follow typical private foundation models with a board of trustees and executive officers. Leadership has included trustees and officers drawn from finance, law, preservation, and the arts, reflecting connections to entities such as Northern Trust Corporation, Goldman Sachs, Sidley Austin, and major nonprofit boards including those of the Art Institute of Chicago and Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Senior staff and advisory committees have collaborated with curators, conservators, and academic leaders from institutions like Harvard University, Yale University, and Princeton University.