A pioneer in Landscape Architecture and a beard grower: Professor James Sturgis Pray

Born in Boston, Massachusetts on February 26, 1871, James Sturgis Pray was raised and educated in the Boston area. His landscape architecture career was also based in the Boston area. He was a pioneering leader who helped develop the foundation for formal education programs in the field of landscape architecture and guided the profession in its early stages.

James Sturgis Pray was married in 1901 to Florence Mabel Nichols. The couple had two children: Benjamin Sturgis Pray and Frances Motley Pray.

James Sturgis Pray apparently was an avid beard grower. It’s unknown when he grew his first beard and whether he remained bearded continuously from there on out. In the handful of photos that I found of him, he always had his big walrus mustache along with some form of beard. The photo of Pray in this post shows him fully bearded, with the walrus mustache. Other photos have shown him apparently with only the mustache and a goatee. At least one photo showed him with the walrus mustache, the goatee, and with the rest of the beard and sideburns maintained as thick stubble.

The photo above was published in various newspapers in 1916. That was thirteen years before his passing in 1929.

Education

Chauncy Hall School, Boston, Massachusetts

Young Pray was an outstanding and popular student.

• 1887: Won gold medal in drill sergeants’ competition. Pray also won the Chauncy Hall Association gold medal for being voted “best boy in the school” by the other students.
• 1888: Received captain military commission.

Harvard College, Cambridge, Massachusetts

• 1891: Began his studies at Harvard.
• 1894: Withdrew from Harvard for health reasons.
• 1896: Returned to Harvard to resume his studies.
• 1898: Received his A.B. degree, designated “as of 1895”.

During 1897 and 1898, while at Harvard, Pray pursued specialized studies at the Lawrence Scientific school and Bussey Institute. These studies helped to pave the way for establishing the new profession of landscape architecture.

Professional Career

Private practice

• 1898 to 1903: Worked in landscape architecture at the firm of the renowned Olmsted Brothers.
• 1903 to 1918: Pray had his own firm: at first solo, and later with partners.

Landscape Architecture education

Overlapping with Pray’s private practice was his growing career as an educator at Harvard. Starting in 1903 as an Assistant in Landscape Architecture, he became an Instructor in 1903, an Assistant Professor in 1905, Department Chairman in 1908, and then Chairman of the Council of the new Graduate School of Landscape Architecture. In 1915 he was appointed the Charles Eliot Professor of Landscape Architecture, a position he held until his 1929 passing. Earlier, in 1928 he resigned as the graduate school chairman for health reasons.

Professor Pray was not only a trailblazer in the creation of educational programs for the emerging field of landscape architecture, but he also taught the first course in the United States on the subject of city planning. This first course led to the development of a degree program in city planning at Harvard. Professor Pray also supported education programs for women and encouraged them to enter the field of landscape architecture.

Professional activities

Professor Pray was involved in a wide variety of activities related to landscape architecture and nature.

• 1896: Listed as secretary of the Columbine Association which had been formed recently to campaign for the columbine to be officially adopted as the National Flower of the United States. As secretary of the Association, he was widely quoted nationwide for making the case for the columbine flower.
• 1898: Elected as a member of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society.
• 1899: As a member, Professor Pray attended the American Forestry Association‘s national convention in Los Angeles, California.
• 1902: Confirmed as a councilor for the Appalachian Mountain Club.
• 1911: Became a Trustee of the American Society of Landscape Architects. He also served as Vice President from 1913 to 1915, and President from 1915 to 1920.
• 1913: Became the first Vice President of the new Boston Society of Landscape Architects and was President by 1914.
• 1917: Traveled to Fort Riley, Kansas to present a preliminary overall plan for a “soldier city” to house fifty thousand soldiers.
• 1920: Listed as a Trustee of the American Academy in Rome, Italy. He later worked to establish the first Fellowship in Landscape Architecture at the Academy.
• 1921: Went on a tour of all national parks and national monuments for the purpose of preparing and presenting an unofficial report to Stephen Mather, Director of the National Park Service.

Legacy

Professor Pray was a true pioneer in the development of the field of landscape architecture and the educational programs to maintain and advance it. His leadership was exemplary. His influence spread far and wide. His students spread his teachings even further. They demonstrated and taught Professor Pray’s ideas by:

• the practice of landscape architecture, implementing Pray’s teachings in completed works
• teaching his ideas and concepts in degree programs throughout the land
• running undergraduate schools of landscape architecture

The results of Professor Pray’s teachings can be seen through his own realized projects as well as those of his students who were taught by his students. His ideas continued to be passed on to generations of students beyond. He left behind a remarkable legacy of landscape architecture with the beauty of nature.

Colorizing beards from the past

As part of the Retro Beards project here on All About BEARDS, I am trying out colorizing antique photos that are available only in black and white. While the colors cannot be verified for accuracy, they give an idea of how the subject might look in color. Professor Pray, here, is the first example.

After an extended unexpected delay, Retro Beards is just now getting started. This is only the beginning. A lot more is on the way. There is a lot that we can learn from Retro Beards, our beard history.

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Header photo at top of post: Professor Pray against a background photo of the remarkable Gilroy Gardens in Gilroy, California. Gilroy Gardens photo: All About BEARDS.