Niedecken was born August 16, 1878, in Milwaukee. At twelve years old he attended the Wisconsin Art Institute,[1] and he studied under artist
Richard Lorenz.[2] When he was 19 he moved to Chicago and entered the
Art Institute of Chicago. There he was instructed by
Louis Millet. From 1899–1902 he studied art in Europe. In 1902 he returned to Milwaukee, Wisconsin where he took a position teaching
decorative arts at the Wisconsin School of Arts.[3] Niedecken married Mary (née) Thayer on October 2, 1905, and their only child died shortly after birth.[4]
Career
Niedecken started an interior-architecture firm in 1907, called Niedecken-Waldbridge, with his brother-in-law in Milwaukee.[4] He became known for his work in
Prairie style buildings.[3] He worked closely with the architect Frank Lloyd Wright (1902 and 1918).[5] Niedecken worked on eleven Wright commissions providing interior design with textiles, lighting, furniture and arts.[6] The relationship began in 1902 when he was commissioned by Wright to make a mural for the
Dana–Thomas House.[5] He worked on the design for several Chicago area Wright commissions, including the
Avery Coonley House, and the
Frederick Robie House.[7][8] The collaboration ended in 1918 when Wright opened an office in Los Angeles, and Niedecken stayed in Milwaukee.[6] In 1999 Cheryl Robertson wrote a book about Niedecken's work with Wright, Frank Lloyd Wright and George Mann Niedecken : Prairie School collaborators.[9]
He also made interior design for
Marion Mahony Griffin's commissions.[4] Mahony was a close associate of Frank Lloyd Wright along with Niedecken.[10] He designed furniture and murals for the Amberg and Irving houses which were Mahony commissions.[4] Mahony was one of the first licensed female architects in the world, and she is considered an original member of the
Prairie School.[11]
In 1999 Wendy Moonan of
The New York Times said, "Flea market aficionados take note: pieces by Niedecken are a new collecting category."[6] In 2007 he received a Wisconsin Visual Arts Lifetime Achievement Award.[12]
^Kamin, Blair (October 22, 1995).
"Class Projects". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved June 14, 2022.
^Jarman, Baird (2009). "A Revolutionary in Milwaukee: The Designs of George Mann Niedecken - Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, April 17-July 20, 2008". Design and Culture. 1 (3): 367–369.
doi:
10.1080/17547075.2009.11643296.
ISSN1754-7075.
S2CID152083143.
^Robertson, Cheryl (1999). Frank Lloyd Wright and George Mann Niedecken : Prairie School collaborators. Milwaukee: Milwaukee Art Museum. pp. 8, 64.
ISBN978-1889541013.
^"The Oak Park Studio". Frank Lloyd Wright Trust. Frank Lloyd Wright Trust. Retrieved June 14, 2022.
^Allaback, Sarah (2008). The First American Women Architects. Illinois, USA: Urbana: University of Illinois Press. p. 87.
ISBN978-0252033216.
^"George Niedecken". Wisconsin Visual Art Achievement Awards. Wisconsin Visual Art Achievement Awards. Retrieved June 15, 2022.