The
Gentleman's Farm: Elegant Country House Living
Written
by Laurie Ossman and Debra A. McClane, Photographed by Walter
Smalling
“This
sumptuous volume features gracious country homes that blend the very
best of vernacular tradition, classical architecture, and high-style
elegance. For four centuries, the ideal of the gentleman’s farm has
inspired Virginians to create extraordinary homes on landscapes of
unparalleled beauty. Often places of retreat, these houses display
the virtues of the very best of American historic and classical
architecture, incorporating harmonious proportion, elegant interiors,
and thoughtful design in traditional styles. Each one in its way a
model of taste and beauty, the houses of The Gentleman’s Farm are
an expression of an American ideal of domestic happiness, the very
picture of home, which has served to influence the style of
residential building across the country. The houses featured,
including a centuries-old home for a president as well as recently
built residences, present a stylish, traditional aesthetic, hallmarks
of which include warm, wood-paneled libraries, plaster walls hung
with paintings of horse riding scenes, classical motifs, lovingly
wrought architectural detail, screened porches, large windows that
frame inspiring vistas of the country landscape—all those things
that say home to the country and suburban gentleman and gentlewoman”
Laurie
Ossman is director of museum affairs at the Preservation Society of
Newport County, Newport, Rhode Island, author of Great Houses of the
South, and coauthor of Carrère & Hastings: The Masterworks.
Debra
A. McClane is an architectural historian and preservationist and the
author of Botetourt County, Virginia, Revisited.
Walter
Smalling is a widely published architectural photographer whose books
include Uncommon Vernacular: The Early Houses of Jefferson County,
West Virginia, 1735–1835.
No comments:
Post a Comment