Three Centuries of Notable American Architects

Authors:Joseph J. Thorndike (Editor), Vincent Scully (Writer of introduction)

Summary:"Charles Bulfinch...Thomas Jefferson...Stanford White...Frank Lloyd Wright... These are just some of our nation's master builders you'll meet in these pages. Here are the gifted and fascinating geniuses who gave America some of its most enduring legacies: capitol buildings and stately homes; museums and campuses; cathedrals and skyscrapers. Because architects are often overshadowed by their buildings, we can understand better these men who shaped America when we understand the forces that shaped each one of them. You'll learn about their apprentice years; their friends and mentors, patrons and clients; the traditions they inherited, the innovations they bequeathed. The personalities are dazzling in their variety, yet all share a high level of zest, courage, imagination - and careers of constant challenge and inspired solutions. Understanding the art and the science of their work makes us more alive to the architecture we see every day. Those insights also enrich the experience of visiting any important building: a statehouse or great church, a lavish mansion or corporate skyscraper. To help you sense these architects' achievements, this volume is profusely illustrated, not only with compelling photographs of the buildings themselves but with original presentation drawings, cutaways, and paintings, culled from museums and private collections across the country. Included, too: seldom seen and rarely published sketches, doodles, and water colors that offer rare glimpses into the creative process. Altogether there are more than 300 illustrations, 52 in color. A special feature is a portfolio of unbuilt dreams: the masters' visions that exist now only on paper, including Frank Lloyd Wright's proposed mile-high skyscraper, presented here in a special double-width fold-out. The volume begins with an introduction by Vincent Scully, the distinguished architectural historian and art critic and professor at Yale. He traces the origins and development of architecture in America, an inheritance given vitality and force by the geniuses portrayed in this volume. The authors, each an expert on a particular architect and his era, include Marshall B. Davidson, writing on Charles Bulfinch and Thomas Jefferson; Wayne Andrews, portraying Louis Sullivan; and Paul Goldberger on the masters of our times. The Editor of this volume is Joseph J. Thorndike, Jr., one of the founders of American Heritage books, including The Very Rich and The Magnificent Builders, and served as Editor of Mysteries of the Past, Discovery of Lost Worlds, and Mysteries of the Deep." -- Book Jacket