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Why did Louis Sullivan travel to Paris in 1874?
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Louis Sullivan
Louis Sullivan, detail of an oil painting by Frank A. Werner, 1919; in the collection of the Chicago Historical Society.
Louis Sullivan traveled to Paris in 1874 to pursue his long-held ambition of studying at the Ăcole des Beaux-Arts.
Although he had previously gained experience working for architectural firms in Philadelphia and Chicago, the desire to attend the prestigious French school persisted. After sailing for Europe in July 1874, he successfully passed the school's rigorous entrance examinations and spent a year in Paris, where he was attached to the atelier of the architect Ămile Vaudremer.1