Horta in America

While Victor Horta was in London in 1915 attending a conference on the future reconstruction of Belgium, a journalist quoted his negative comments about the Germans and Horta was unable to return to Belgium. Meanwhile, his wife Julia had taken the opportunity of the London trip to organise lectures in her native Sweden on the wartime suffering of the Belgians, especially children. She turned out to be an electrifying speaker and the Belgian government sent her on a charitable mission to the US.where she raised the equivalent of €11 million in today's money. During the rest of the war years, the Hortas travelled across America both lecturing and sightseeing.The Maison Autrique, one of Horta's first houses, is hosting an exhibition on the Horta's American years. Etienne Schreder, Maison Autrique Director talks to us about how the expat experience in the US changed Horta's way of practising architecture. Until 1 October http://www.autrique.be/en/