The Western European Architecture Foundation has awarded the 2017 Gabriel Prize to Barbara Worth Ratner. The Atlanta–based architect will receive a $20,000 grant to study classical architecture and landscape for three months in France. During her fellowship, Ratner will focus on one aspect of French architecture (of her choosing) while working closely with one of the foundation’s European representative.
“The Gabriel Prize will free me for three months from the necessity and anxiety of earning a living in a freelance profession,” Ranter says. “It will support me so that I can focus on drawing and painting every day; that is a version, I'm sure, of the dream every person who practices an art has.”
After she received her M.Arch. from Yale University, Ratner experimented with an array of mediums such as acrylic, ink, marker, and colored pencil, before selecting watercolor as her primary medium. In 1990, she established her own firm—BWR Architectural Illustration—creating imagery for potential projects. She has been a member of the American Society of Architectural Illustrators for 30 years. “Through that organization, I saw several colleagues, winners of the Prize, return from France, their painting skills dramatically advanced,” she says.
Founded by architecture patron George Parker Jr. in 1991, the Gabriel Prize allows architects to develop and challenge their thinking and drawing skills. The program was named after 18th-century French architect Ange-Jacques Gabriel, the creator of France's monuments such as Place de la Concorde, Versailles, the Petit Trianon, L’ École Militaire, Le Château de Compiègne. The program flourished from Parker's concern with students lack of interest in historic architecture and the diminishing ability to draw by hand. Each year, a candidate is selected to travel to France and work on the craft. "We all need practice and freedom to practice, and the Gabriel Prize will mean I will get that daunting chance," Ratner says.
The 2017 Gabriel Prize jury was composed of: Patrick J. Fleming, president of WEAF; Carol Fleming, vice president; Marc Appleton, AIA, Appleton Partners; Stephen Harby; John Margolis, AIA, KAA Design; Nancy Goslee Power; Figret Yegül; Raymond L. Gindroz, FAIA; Patrick L. Pinnell, FAIA, Architecture & Town Planning; Amy Gardner, FAIA, Gardner Architects; Mireille Roddier; Joyce Rosner.
