Speaking French: The Influence of The École Des Beaux-arts on 19th Century American Architecture

In 1846, Richard Morris Hunt became the first American student to be admitted to the architecture section of the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Two decades later, Charles McKim also enrolled at the École. Their collective impact on American architecture included both true Beaux-Arts styling, directly imported from France, and an evolved rationality that had its basis in French design but reflected a more rational, American approach.