DESCRIPTION

Edward Colonna (1862-1948) was born in Germany and studied in Belgium. In 1882 he emigrated to the United States. Initially he worked in New York at the Associated Artists, a group of interior decorators headed by Louis Comfort Tiffany. Later he worked as a railroad car designer from 1886 until 1888 for the Barney and Smith Railroad Car Manufacturing Co. in Dayton, OH. Colonna moved to Montreal in 1889 where he worked as an architect and an interior designer, primarily for the Canadian Pacific Railway Company, and for the company's vice-president, William Van Home. He designed railway cars and stations, as well as the interior of Van Home's sumptuous Sherbrooke Street house in Montreal. Colonna was instrumental in developing the Château style for Canadian Pacific's stations across Canada. After he left Montreal, Colonna returned to Europe where he worked from 1898 until 1903 for Samuel Bing's gallery in Paris, L'Art Nouveau. Colonna is best known as a pioneer of the Art Nouveau movement.

For further information, see E. Colonna. Dayton, OH: The Dayton Art Institute, 1983.