Stanford White in Detail

A rich presentation of the sensual and scenographic effects created by the legendary Stanford White, whose designs extend beyond architecture to encompass lavish interiors, jewelry, furniture, gilded frames, and ceremonial events.

Once proposed as the "Commissioner of Beauty" for New York City, Stanford White was a master of architecture, interior design, and ornament, fearlessly juxtaposing materials and objects from myriad cultures and times.

Drawing on precedents from antiquity and the Renaissance, from Asia, the Middle East, and Europe as well as Colonial America, White created complex surfaces inside and out.

Stanford White in Detail examines this innovative and intricate web through lush, tightly framed vignettes of carved wood and marble, metalwork, mosaic, and tile as well as generous overall room views to demonstrate how these are woven together for a unique effect.

About the Author:

Samuel G. White, a great-grandson of Stanford White, is a consulting partner of PBDW Architects in New York. As a practicing architect with an extensive portfolio of preservation and adaptive reuse projects as well as a deep interest in American residential architecture, he brings a unique perspective to the discussion of Stanford White's designs. He isthe author of three books on McKim, Mead & White, most recently Stanford White Architect. A fellow of the American Institute of Architects and a National Academician, he is a trustee of Green-Wood Cemetery and the Saint-Gaudens Memorial, a member of the Advisory Council of the New York Landmarks Conservancy, and chair of the Committee to Save Gould Memorial Library, the most significant surviving institutional building by Stanford White.