Edgewater - The Culmination of Hudson River Vision

Last Wednesday, I went to the finale lecture in the summer series at the Institute of Classical Architecture & Classical America - what a fantastic event!

The architect who worked on Edgewater, Michael Dwyer, spoke of how he approached tasteful construction while preserving the intent of the original. Edgewater is Federal-style house with a Doric portico on Hudson River. The product contains striking Classical arrangments that are distinctly American.

My takeaway from the evening came during the Q&A. Dwyer was asked something about his preference to the Classical style instead of Modern or Contemporary influences when the Classical reverts to ideas that have already ripened. He answered that both Classical and Modern use their own unique grammar to innovate. In the years wherein my taste towards to Classical, I had frequently been challenged on similar terms and I found Dwyer's defense illuminating and helpful.

Many people have trouble seeing the challenge of historic restoration or movements that hark back to these clearly articulated styles as an art of copy, but it is not that simple. Much of what Dwyer accomplished was possible because he used the Classical models as a template, but put together elements that were not used together before in the same way.

Dwyer's addition of a guest house and pool complex commanded an expert understanding of how Classical could bring new ideas and creativity to the building process while preserving the history and intent of the original construction.

The Ideal through History: Ideas of Progress

Kindred Spirits by Asher B. Durand (1849 CE)

On June 17th, Dr. Linda Ferber discussed the Hudson River School painters as representing the “Geography of the Ideal” and articulating the picturesque landscape with poetic elegance. Continuing the conversation from the previous week, the slides progressed from less representational to more interpretive, while maintaining the sublime. Similar to many movements, first a fascination develops, followed by idealized depictions that highlight an almost supernaturally influenced perfection. Take the transformation from early Greek temples in places like Paestum, Italy to the unreal proportions and elegance of the Pantheon.

Ognissanti Maesta by Giotto (c. 13th Century CE)

Or, in Renaissance aesthetic, the transition from Giotto’s flat, Byzantine-influenced Maesta to the Golden Era of the Italian Renaissance with Filippo Lippi’s undertaking that blossoms in ethereal magnificence and the beauty of emotive connection. Ok, enough. The manner that concepts develop in artistic circles is not a novel one, but validates the movement from early etchings of Hudson River School artists (HRS) to the mastery of the scenery by the likes of Asher Durand and Albert Bierstadt. However, it must be recognized that the cognition of ideal changes over time with society’s evaluation of the ideal. Dr. Ferber seemed to indicate that the Hudson River School design reflected the dominant Victorian conventions and values.

Madonna and Child with Two Angels by Filippo Lippi (c. 1450 CE)

Victorian America was obsessed with the expanse of the West, the sublime beauty of open ranges and landscapes. The imagery gains such prominence that over time the river view of the Hudson entered the vernacular. Tableware was ubiquitous and conspicuous deferral to the values invested in the scenes being completely American. As these images became more and more present, they were canonized and simplified in ideal forms and vice versa. This exchange between more popular culture conventions and the fine art development over the course of the 19th Century created an environment that led to a natural progression towards the ideal.

See classicist.org to learn more about the ICA & CA programs.

American Landscapes, Patriotism and Traditional Design

Study of Gneiss Rock, Glenfinlas by John Ruskin (1853)

On June 10^th, Dr. David Schuyler delivered a talk at the Institute of Classical Architecture & Classical America in New York City on the “Sanctified Landscape” in the Hudson River Valley. The landscape of that particular region has preserved the iconography of Colonial America as a culturally viable symbol of its continued identity.

The untouched expanses of American soil represent the sublime beauty of Colonial America and the virtues of the contemporaneous society. The artists’ visuals from the 18th and 19^th Century landscape conveyed the deeply moving and sentimental aspects of environment in depicting the picturesque and the stunning beauty of the terrain. Although the talk did not focus on Classical design in America per say, Paul Gunther, the President of ICA & CA, introduced the conversation by defining the landscape study as “not quite Classical,” but sharing with the tradition of excellence and innovation that is characteristic or attribute of the Classical design.

Dr. Schuyler examined a combination of Washington Irving and Andrew Jackson Downings’ observations and thoughts, concluding that common historic narrative and folklore were established as specific to the location of the Hudson River Valley experience, a religious experience. The lecture title of “Sanctified Landscape” framed the talk with a religious reverence, awareness and a magical aura for the atmosphere of the Hudson River Valley. Writers and artists constructed ideas and associations of virginity to the Earth (a Classically derived motif) that made the scenes spiritual and carry religious importance. Ultimately, by formulating majestic scenery, no different from imposing constructed objects (i.e. idols or houses of worship), the depiction of vast landscapes showed a certain sense of devotion and holy importance.

Although an American phenomenon, Dr. Schuyler referenced this period as similar to the European Grand Tour, but Americanized. The pilgrims or participants would experience nature in a similar way to how 18^th Century characters would visit Florence or Rome. A certain tradition was sought both along the Hudson River and the Arno, as all history is contextualized within the framework of environment, natural and created. Landscape preserved the history of the Revolutionary War. Individuals were conditioned to look at maps and pictures of very specific places and quickly recall the battle or campgrounds situated in that place. Rock faces were identifiable based off of wartime folklore and bodies of water that became part of mythologized culture (i.e. West Point peninsula). Consequentially, the artistic renderings of the Hudson River Valley were valuable to people of that time, as these efforts preserved recent history and today remain valuable in preserving American heritage. In many ways, the undisturbed skylines and tranquil landscape show an America that is new and not limited to preconceived notions or ideas, exactly the image that the colonies sought to achieve at inception. Independence was articulated in the expanse and liberation of open plains and wide streams. These are symbols of traditional American values and the foundation of current ethics in governance and aesthetics.

At the same time, a tradition of depicting the natural also shares a connection to the British Pre-Raphaelites and specifically individuals like John Ruskin who evaluated quality by the close relation between the actual and depicted environments. Ruskin notably condemned individuals such as J.W. Turner for their more interpretive, emotive representations of natural environments.Above is an example of Ruskin’s depiction of a rock face which shares details with Hudson Valley artists. Similar materials were used, namely pen, in recreating the landscape or natural renderings, so as to highlight the details and accurately represent light and linearity. Not only akin in stylistic similarities but also a shared purpose. Nature was meant to show the purest environments and the simplest values, human values. Much of these ideas permeated the borders separated by the Atlantic Ocean and indoctrinated the dominant philosophy.

Upon thinking how these values of honesty and integrity of image may relate to Scofield Historic Lighting, I saw an apparent parallel between Classical simplicity of design and unobscured attempt to recreate the beauty of nature. Some of what SHL does exemplifies and decorates the natural (i.e. the gold leafed Beech Leaf sconce) so as to add brilliance and decoration from the most simple, while other pieces are beautiful in their serene austerity (i.e. the Tulip Bobeche Sconce). The talk illuminated (excuse the poor pun) the importance of design influenced by Western European traditions, however, not dominated by them. The clash of cultures incubated a value that sustains- distinctly American design that carries new and fresh qualifies, laced in elegant simplicity.

See classicist.org to learn more about the ICA & CA programs.