1981 18c American Architecture: Bank, Owatonna Minn

U.S. #1931
1981 18¢ National Farmer’s Bank
American Architecture

Issue Date: August 28, 1981
City: New York, NY
Quantity: 41,827,000

Printed By: Bureau of Engraving and Printing

Printing Method: Engraved

Perforations: 11

Color: Black and red

This stamp is part of a block of four paying tribute to American architecture, and illustrating the beauty and diversity of four architects' work. The stamps show the New York University Library by Stanford White, the Biltmore House by Richard Morris Hunt, the Palace of the Arts by Bernard Maybeck and the National Farmer's Bank by Louis Sullivan.

The National Farmers’ Bank by Louis Sullivan

Louis Henri Sullivan (1856-1924) was one of America’s most influential architects. Sullivan’s greatness stems from the quality and originality of his buildings, which are considered beautiful and practical. In fact, Sullivan popularized the phrase “form follows function.” The National Farmers’ Bank in Owatonna, Minnesota, is considered one of his finest designs. It was completed in 1908. This building, and others he designed, earned Sullivan a place in history as the father of modernism in American architecture.