After attending the Latin School of Chicago and Yale University and serving a winery apprenticeship in Germany, Albert took over the family liquor business.

Three years later, as Elsa was expecting their first child, Albert commissioned his brother-in-law, Richard E. Schmidt to design and construct a new house on west Burton Place in the Gold Coast.

Former Graham Foundation director Carter Manny described the Madlener House as "an unusually successful amalgamation of tradition and innovation in architecture, a harmonious reflection of its time and place."

This amalgamation refers to the eclectic usages of then-popular architectural styles in the Midwest and abroad, as well as the incorporation of both organic and geometric design elements.

However, many of the house's details derive from Chicago's own Prairie School movement, made famous by Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright.

Embedded in this fireplace is the most prominent tribute to the Arts and Crafts movement in the house: Albert Van Den Berghen's bronze relief, "Spirit of the Waves."

[4] A relief sculpture by the Belgian architect Albert Van Den Berghen was commissioned by the Madlener family and Richard Schmidt some time after the house's completion.

The Madlener House also holds a significant collection of late nineteenth and early twentieth century architectural fragments from such architects as Louis Sullivan, Dankmar Adler, H.H.

Richardson, Frank Lloyd Wright, John H. Edelmann, Raymond Hood and George Elmslie, retrieved from Chicago buildings that are now primarily demolished.

[6] Today, the Madlener House is directed by Sarah Herda[7] the main venue for the Graham Foundation's various public programs, including exhibitions, talks, performances, and meetings.

Architects and others featured in recent exhibitions include Barbara Kasten, Lina Bo Bardi, Jimenez Lai, Lawrence Halprin and Anna Halprin, Sylvia Lavin, Judy Ledgerwood, Peter Lang, Thomas Demand, Richard Pare, Stanley Tigerman, Jack Stauffacher, Nancy Holt, Anne Tyng, Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown, Felipe Dulzaides, Cecil Balmond, Bjarke Ingels Group.