Calder Loth

by Calder Loth
Senior Architectural Historian for the Virginia Department of Historic Resources.
Member of the Institute of Classical Classical Architecture & Art‘s Advisory Council.

While perusing classical buildings we sometimes encounter bovine skulls decorating the friezes of entablatures. Most often, we find them in the metopes of Doric entablatures, but in a few instances they appear in Ionic and Corinthian friezes, sometimes connected by floral or drapery swags.  The architectural term for these skulls is bucranium (pl.bucrania or bucranes), a word derived from the Latin bos, meaning ox or cow, and cranium, the Medieval Latin term for a skull.  So we might ask, why are bovine skulls decorating friezes? The skulls allude to the ancient Greek and Roman ceremonies of sacrifice. We have a glimpse of this practice in a sculpted frieze on the Ara Pacis, the famous Altar of Peace in Rome, consecrated in 9 BC (figure 1). It shows animals being led for ritualistic slaughter to appease the gods. One of the attendants is carrying a knife, used to carve up the animal once killed.  Another is carrying a shallow plate or patera, for holding sacred wine, some of which was sprinkled on the head of the animal just prior to execution.  Each god required an animal of specific species and sex. Apollo required a bull, Jupiter an ox but also a lamb on special occasions. Mars was also placated with a bull.

Figure 1: Frieze detail, Ara Pacis, Rome. (Loth)

Sacrificial cattle were decorated with garlands of fruit and flowers or decorative ropes with tassels. Following execution, their heads were hung on the temple. This practice was eventually memorialized with sculpted heads or skulls worked into the temple frieze. A fragment of an early archaic Greek temple in Sicily is exhibited in the Regional Archaeological Museum Antonio Silinas in Palermo (figure 2).  The bucranium here shows a patch of hair on its forehead and huge eye sockets giving the piece a somewhat cartoon character. Not all sculpted bucrania were depicted as bare skulls. A small Roman altar in the Villa San Michele on the Island of Capri displays fully intact heads with flesh, nostrils and eyes. Its bucrania are connected with garlands laden with fruits (figure 3).[i]

Figure 2: Archaic Greek frieze fragment, Sicily. (Loth)

Figure 3: Roman altar, Villa San Michele, Capri, Italy. (Loth)

Perhaps the most famous ancient example of a sculpted bucranium survives on the remaining section of the entablature of the Temple of Vespasian and Titus (80s AD) in the Roman Forum.[ii] Along with the bucranium are sculpted representations of the instruments of sacrifice: the whisk or aspergillum for sprinkling wine or water on the animal’s head, the mallet for stunning it, the axe for killing it, the knife for cutting it up, a ceremonial wine jug, the patera or shallow plate for holding the wine, and the priest’s headgear (figure 4). This frieze was famously depicted in Antoine Desgodetz’ Les Édifices Antiques de Rome (1682), which became a primary source for the bucranium image (figure 5).[iii] Thomas Jefferson copied this frieze for the entablature in his parlor at Monticello and for the parlor in Pavilion VIII at the University of Virginia.  

Figure 4: Temple of Vespasian and Titus, Rome. (Loth)

Figure 5: Pl II, Du Temple de Jupiter Tonant, A Rome, Antoine Desgodetz, Les Édifices Antiques de Rome [detail].

In their surveys and studies of Roman Ruins, the Renaissance architects encountered various versions of bucrania. Although it is not certain if they were fully aware of their pagan associations, or even cared, the architects freely applied bucrania to their works and illustrated them in their treatises. One of the earliest published images of bucrania appears in Book IV of Sebastiano Serlio’s  L’Architettura (1537) where he shows a Doric  frieze, stating that was based on a frieze in Rome’s Forum Boarium, originally a cattle market  (figure 6). Whether the forum’s bucrania alluded to its market function is not known, but the market may have been a supplier of sacrificial animals. Serlio’s treatise apparently influenced the design of the famous red and black Swiss gate in Vienna’s Hofburg Palace, erected in 1552 by Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I: its bucrania have garlands heavy with fruit. The metopes, which also sport trophies, are framed by scrolled triglyphs, a distinctly Serlian detail (figure 7).

Figure 6: Book 4, Chapter 6, Fol. 18, Sebastiano Serlio, The Five Books of Architecture (Dover Publications reprint of the 1611 English edition) [detail].

Figure 7: Swiss Gate, Hofburg Palace, Vienna, Austria (Loth).

Following Serlio, Giacomo Vignola popularized the use of bucrania for Doric entablatures in his highly influencial La Regola delli Cinque Ordini d’Architettura of 1662, a work that became a standard text for Continental architects well into the 20^th century.  His bucranium for the denticular Doric order shows a skull gaily decorated with a garland of flowers and buds  (figure 8).  Vignola’s text states that this example of the Doric order is taken from the Theatre of Marcellus in Rome, albeit the Theatre of Marcellus has no bucrania in its metopes.  In Book 1 of I Quattro Libri (1570), Palladio incorporated bucrania and paterae in the metopes of his generic Doric order. He most famously applied bucrania along with paterae in the metopes of the ground level of his arcades on the Basilica in Vicenza (figure 9). Moreover, Palladio’s illustrations of the friezes on the Temple of Fortuna Virilis [iv] and the Temple of Vesta at Tivoli in Book 4 have bucrania interspersed with voluptuous festoons of fruit and flowers. These two images provided examples of bucrania for Ionic and Corinthian friezes.

Figure 8: Plate 12, Giacomo Vignola, Canon of the Five Orders of Architecture (Dover Publications reprint of the 1669 English edition) [detail].

Figure 9: Basilica at Vicenza, Italy (Loth).

Palladio’s treatise became the primary vehicle for advancing the Palladian movement in Great Britain, which reached its zenith in the mid-18^th century, spurring innumerable architectural works exhibiting Palladian classicism. Among its leaders was Sir William Chambers, who produced many public and private works in the Palladian spirit. Chambers’ influence was spread  through is his Treatise on Civil Architecture, first published in 1759 and expanded in later editions. Chambers’ version of the mutular Doric order displays a well-modeled skull draped with a knotted rope, an image that helped popularize the motif throughout the British Isles (figure 10). He applied this order to the Casino at Marino (begun 1750s), a garden pavilion outside Dublin, one of the most exquisite classical structures ever built.[v] For its frieze, Chambers followed Palladio’s precedent by alternating bucrania with paterae (figures 11 & 12).

Figure 10: Pl. The Doric Order, William Chambers, A Treatise on the Decorative Part of Civil Architecture (Dover Publications reprint of the 1791 Edition.)

Figure 11: Casino Marino, Dublin, Ireland (Loth).

Figure 12: Entablature detail, Casino Marino (Loth).

Chambers’ treatise as well as his casino contributed to making the bucranium a popular motif in Ireland.  Different versions abound throughout the island, many executed in the beautifully detailed plasterwork for which Ireland is famous. [vi] Three examples shown here illustrate the point.  Bucrania along with an Irish harp decorate the Doric entablature in the entrance hall of Powerscourt House, a mid-18^th-century mansion in the heart of Dublin (figure 13). Castle Coole, an imposing 1790s Neoclassical country house by James Wyatt in Northern Ireland displays bucrania with drapery swags in the stair hall frieze (figure 14). A similar but no less finely executed bucrania frieze enriches the rotunda of the 1799 Townely Hall, a masterpiece by Francis Johnston, the foremost Irish architect of this day (figure 15).

Figure 13: Hall entablature, Powerscourt House, Dublin, Ireland (Loth).

Figure 14: Stair hall frieze, Castle Coole, Northern Ireland (Loth).

Figure 15: Rotunda frieze, Townely Hall, Republic of Ireland (Loth).

I hoped to illustrate colonial American uses of Bucrania, but thus far, my search for a pre-1776 example has been disappointing.  I thought I had discovered early bucrania on the doorways of Harvard University’s 1742 Holden Chapel. However, the west doorway (figure 16) was added to an existing entrance around 1850 by Boston architect Gridley J.F. Bryant. Bryant apparently was well versed in 18-century Georgian design; his doorway is consistent with the chapel’s original architectural character.   A duplicate east doorway with bucrania frieze was added to the east facade around the same time, replacing a later stair tower.[vii]

Figure 16: Holden Chapel west doorway, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts (Loth).

As implied above, Thomas Jefferson was among the foremost advocates of architectural ornament based on ancient classical precedents, applying bucrania in the entablatures of his dining room and parlor at Monticello. For the University of Virginia, Jefferson intended his designs for the Pavilions (or faculty residences and classrooms) to serve as instructive examples of different versions of Roman classical orders.  Hence, the pavilions’ exteriors were rendered in various orders adapted from Palladio’s Quattro Libri and Freart de Chambray’s Parallèle de l’Architecture Antique et de la Moderne.[viii] Inside, the professors’ second-floor parlors were enriched with entablatures combining elements from illustrations in treatises owned by Jefferson.  Typical is the entablature in Pavilion V, which is based on the Doric of Palladio. The bucrania in its metopes are simple skulls devoid of the usual garlands or ropes hanging from the horns (figures 17 & 18). The bucrania and paterae are of composition material supplied by New York sculptor and ornament maker William Coffee and installed in 1823. Jefferson also had entablatures with friezes containing bucrania installed in the parlors of Pavilions I, II, VII, and VIII.

Figure 17: Pavilion V, University of Virginia, Charlottesville (Loth).

Figure 18: Parlor entablature, Pavilion V (James D.W. Zehmer).

Following completion of the university complex, several of his skilled builders designed and constructed various works in the classical idiom learned from their famous client. Outstanding among these Jeffersonian buildings is Estouteville, completed in 1830 by James Dinsmore, a master builder originally from Ireland.  The spacious hall occupying the entire center portion of the house features a bold mutular Doric entablature with bucrania in every metope (figures 19 & 20). Unlike the university’s bucrania, Estouteville’s skulls are decorated with knotted ropes similar to those seen in Chambers’ Doric order.

Figure 19: Estouteville, Albemarle County, Virginia (Virginia Department of Historic Resources).

Figure 20: Estouteville entablature (Virginia Department of Historic Resources).

A search for other 19th-century uses of bucrania leads to only minimal finds. This may be because the majority of antebellum American buildings are in the Greek Revival, Italianate, or Gothic Revival styles,  which do not include bucrania in their vocabularies. A noteworthy find, however, is Charleston’s 1841 Market Hall, an elegant temple-form structure rendered in a Roman Doric order. Designed by Charleston architect Edward Brickell White, the market’s entablature is decorated with cast-iron bucrania and ram’s heads, which local tradition holds were intended to signal the presence of the meat market (figures 21 & 22). Nevertheless, both head types are based on sound classical precedents and are elegant enrichments for this dignified building.

Figure 21: Market Hall, Charleston, South Carolina (Loth)

Figure 22: Market Hall entablature (Loth)

Despite its associations with ancient Rome, architects of the American Renaissance made sparing use of bucrania. It may be that skulls were considered too macabre for domestic interiors, or were too pagan for important public works. Nevertheless, I offer two examples of their use, both found on much-admired edifices. The first appears in the vast entrance hall of New York’s University Club, a masterpiece by Charles Follen McKim of McKim, Mead & White. This monumental space is treated as a great atrium with columns of Connemara marble supporting a massive mutular Doric entablature. The metopes have fierce-looking gilded bucrania alternating with gilded trophies. They provide an immediate signal that this is a serious institution—one demanding proper decorum from all who enter. (figure 23)  The second example is found on the pair of ancillary structures of Carrère & Hasting’s New York Public Library in Bryant Park. These two French Renaissance-style pavilions are both enriched with friezes of bucrania and fruit swags. The north pavilion serves as a public restroom, possibly the most elegant public facility of its function in existence (figures 24 & 25).

Figure 23: Entrance Hall entablature, University Club, New York City (Loth; with permission of the University Club).

Figure 24: Bryant Park public restroom, New York Public Library, New York City (Loth).

Figure 25: Frieze detail, Bryant Park restroom (Loth).

In summary, the bucranium is a decorative device of classical architecture whose use can be traced back more than 2500 years. Originally a symbol of pagan religious rites, it came to be a motif employed mainly to lend a quality of erudition to classical-style designs. Rarely if ever used today, bucrania can still add a note of authority and pedigree to a work of architecture.  And even if we elect not to embellish our new buildings with bovine skulls, it is important to be aware of these ancient motifs, and to delight in spotting them.

Paul Gunther

A message from our President, Paul Gunther

On May 1, our co-founder, intellectual sparkplug, and moral conscience, Henry Hope Reed Jr. passed peacefully in his Manhattan home at the age of 97, with his cherished nephew Andy beside him.

We pledge to honor his memory with redoubled commitment to our core educational mission.

Meanwhile, picture this in fond remembrance:

JULY 7, 1955, Capitol Hill, Washington DC

Testimony before the House Appropriations Committee of the 84^th Congress over the 1956 Department of Defense allocation.

Subject:  Initial plans for an Air Force Academy to be sited in Colorado Springs.

Cast:  Henry Hope Reed and Frank Lloyd Wright — first Henry then Frank, allied in their conviction that America deserved better than the first banal SOM design proposal.

Surely this important symbol of American pride — one set in such a magnificent place — deserved better. And it deserved some house of worship or other communal anchor of shared values.

Henry’s transcript says it best:

“In the creation of a United States Air Force Academy the Government I believe is not taking advantage of a great opportunity to assert the tradition of building magnificently with the aid of all the arts.  By so doing, all Americans gain the opportunity to reaffirm their patriotism in a visual form—an opportunity that this Government has offered them up until now.”

Their joint efforts prevailed and the renowned chapel emerged therefore.

Such a debate continues today especially amidst tight budgets, but the spirit of Henry’s words stand the test of time.

Not all agree that a building without ornament in this 21^st century is like a night sky without stars, as Henry liked to admonish.

Yet we all do believe that the possibility and the ability to place stars in the sky should endure through a contemporary synthesis of imagination and skill.  That is the Institute’s purpose: Tradition is innovation that has succeeded.

Henry, along with Arthur Ross, founded in 1982 the annual Arthur Ross Awards for Excellence in the Classical Tradition, when the first architect winner was Philip Trammell Shutze just six months before that great Atlanta master’s death.

It was especially appropriate therefore to celebrate Henry at the 32^nd presentation last week, when the five Ross Laureates and the Board of Directors’ honoree Richard Cameron took center stage as each so heartily merited.

They are:
Architecture: Fairfax & Sammons Architects, New York

Anne Fairfax & Richard Sammons

Artisanship: Miriam Ellner, New York, New York

Paul Gunther with Miriam Ellner

Artisanship: Timothy Richards, Bath, England

Timothy Richards

Board of Directors Honor: Richard Cameron, Brooklyn, New York

Richard Cameron, Alexa Aron, and Peter Francis

Interior Design: Thomas Jayne, New York, New York

Father Stephen Gerth, Thomas Jayne, and Lt. Col. Timothy Adams

Patronage: Jonathan Nelson, Providence, Rhode Island

Jonathan and Judy Nelson

This roster of winners personifies the essential trinity of good design and building excellence: practitioner, artisan, and patron.

It is this mutual engagement that makes the Arthur Ross Awards so dense and lively in full measure of Arthur and Henry’s great expectations.

I thank the 2013 jurors: chair Barbara Eberlein of the Philadelphia Chapter; Robert Baird, Utah Chapter; Kate Brodsky and Melissa del Vecchio of New York; Coby Everdell of San Francisco and the Northern California Chapter; John Margolis from Boston and the New England Chapter; Scott Merrill of Vero Beach, Florida; and board directors Peter Pennoyer and Barbara Sallick.

Finally, a request: ICAA seeks tax-deductible gifts made in Henry’s honor, above all in order to allow Columbia’s Avery Architectural & Fine Arts Library to complete the digitization and cataloging of his personal papers and unique archives of contemporary classicism of the last three generations. As was his decision, that is where this unique resource will reside with due permanent promise.  In addition, proceeds from our request today will assist the faculty of our Beaux-Arts Atelier as it prepares for its third year next fall.

Click here to donate online in Henry’s honor and indicate its memorial intent directly, or call Kathleen Maloney at (212) 730-9646, ext. 106. We will publish a memorial donor honor roll in The Classicist No. 11, which its editor Steven Semes is framing to include a scholarly examination of Mr. Reed’s example.

{Photos by Mia McDonald.}

By Christine G. H. Franck

As America’s oldest city St. Augustine celebrated the 500^th Anniversary of the exploration of Florida by Juan Ponce de León, the ICAA Florida Chapter held its second annual jury for the Addison Mizner Medal for Excellence in Classical and Traditional Architecture.

I was honored to join one of my mentors, Thomas Gordon Smith, an architect, scholar, and professor who in 1989 established the program in classical architecture at Notre Dame. We were both thrilled to have Semyon Mikhailovsky come all the way from St. Petersburg, Russia for the jury. An artist himself, he is currently Rector of the St. Petersburg State Academy Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, which was founded in 1757 and to this day offers education in classical art, sculpture, and architecture. Over a fine repast at the Casa Monica on our first evening we remarked upon how our three respective institutions, the St. Petersburg Academy, Notre Dame, and the ICAA, when taken together, reflect the longevity and vitality of the classical tradition.

We would see that vitality on full display as our jury spent more than six hours reviewing all the submissions. But before we got to down to work on Saturday, we enjoyed a tour the chapter arranged of some of the treasures of St. Augustine.

Gathered in the Plaza de la Constitucion we enjoyed an insightful orientation lecture from Paul Weaver of the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation. Hosting us on this tour were ICAA Florida Chapter President, David Case; ICAA Florida Chapter trustee and Addison Mizner Medal Committee Chairman, Téofilo Victoria; ICAA Florida Chapter trustees, Cliff Duch and Joe Cronk; architect and professor, Rafael Fornés; and ICAA Florida Chapter State Coordinator, Lane Jeter Manis.

After an overview of St. Augustine’s history, urban plan, and some of its architectural highlights, we left the shade of the Spanish-moss-covered trees to walk westward on King Street for a visit to Carrère and Hastings’ brilliant Ponce de Léon Hotel, now Flagler College. Shortly after completing their studies at the École des Beaux-Arts, John Merven Carrère and Thomas Hastings were commissioned for their first major commission by tycoon Henry Flagler. He wanted a grand hotel in St. Augustine for the influx of wintering northerners he expected as he improved and built railway connections in eastern Florida.

An exclusive hotel with masterpieces at every turn, such as Louis Comfort Tiffany stained glass windows and evocative murals painted by George W. Maynard, it is astounding that construction began on the hotel in 1885 and was completed by 1887. By blending Spanish Renaissance, picturesque elements, and axially symmetrical planning, and traditional materials like coquina used as aggregate in unreinforced poured concrete walls, Carrère and Hastings created a modern classical building filled with delight.

A highlight of our visit, which began in the courtyard by the sparkling fountain, was when Flagler College President, Dr. William T. Abare, Jr., stopped by to meet our group. We were very impressed by his commitment to the preservation of their architectural heritage and his understanding that it greatly enhances his students’ experience.

In collaboration with Flagler College, the University of Florida has developed the Carrère & Hastings Digital Collection. Formed “through a Saving St. Augustine’s Architectural Treasures project grant to conserve and digitally preserve an irreplaceable collection of the earliest architectural drawings of [Carrère and Hastings]. Created for Henry Flagler in St. Augustine, Florida, these drawings had been “lost” for decades. The few people who knew of their existence were unaware of their historical significance. Stored in a basement boiler room under high Florida temperatures and humidity, and exposed to insects and rodents, this treasure trove remained unknown and endangered until its rediscovery in 2004.”

Though our visit was leisurely, with so much to see in the building, I never felt like I had enough time there. But another Carrère & Hastings masterpiece awaited us. Constructed in 1890, Carrère and Hastings’ Memorial Presbyterian Church, also commissioned by Flagler, is a creative blend of motifs reminiscent of Venice. Walking into the church, I found myself thinking that Carrère and Hastings must have been having fun applying “lively mental energy,” as Thomas Gordon Smith often quotes Vitruvius. On our way out, I paused a moment at Flagler’s tomb to contemplate the impact a patron and his architects can have.

Convening after lunch in the landmark building, 24 Cathedral Place, home to offices of Cronk Duch Architects, our jury settled in to review a diverse and impressive array of awards’ submissions. I can’t reveal the winners yet, but our jury discussions were intense, philosophical, and detailed. The quality of all submissions was high, making our deliberations difficult. After making our final decisions and looking back at the projects selected for recognition, we were pleased with the array and unanimously felt that it reflected the depth and breadth of contemporary classicism.

After bidding farewell to my fellow jurors, I paused to reflect on the weekend. The ICAA Florida Chapter is dynamic, as all ICAA chapters are. The work we juried was from talented contemporary classicists, as it is in the Bulfinch, Shutze, Staub, and White Awards. Taken together, this all signals yet another step forward toward excellence in the life of the ICAA and the classical tradition.

I join my fellow jurors in offering resounding congratulations to all entrants and winners on work very well done and our heartfelt appreciation to the ICAA Florida Chapter for an inspiring and delightful weekend.

Paul Gunther

A message from our President, Paul Gunther

I am pleased to announce the advent both online and in situ of the Institute’s Library. It is the collective result of generous foresight on the part of so many ICAA stalwarts over these first 20 years sharing a commitment to the printed book alongside the sort of Wen catalog that brings the collection to bear in contemporary discourse. It is located in the Henry Hope Reed Classroom just as Mr. Reed heralds his 98th year. There are so many contributors but Seth Weine, Taylor Harbison, and Henry himself merit particular praise.

I attach here the permanent link created by our cherished colleague, Nora Reilly, who has served as our founding librarian and catalog architect as she completes her Master in Library Science at Queens College CUNY. Her work leads the way to scope and access. A further introduction to the library and its services, which will find a permanent home on the ICAA website in the next week, can be found here. Please take advantage and spread the word. Appointments for use can be arranged with due facility; we do so while also sustaining a central role in safeguarding accumulated knowledge as originally conceived in line with our mission’s founding principles.

I also commend John Flower of Flower Construction and Zepsa Industries for contributing so abundantly to the library’s beautiful build-out designed by Richard Cameron and Andy Taylor in accordance with the underlying blueprint conceived now eight years ago by Gary Brewer and his fellow volunteer architects at Robert A. M. Stern. Tom Jayne’s contributing paint palate sealed it.

With our limited resources and with the generous support of donors like you at all levels, we endeavor constantly to advance our public service to the classical tradition.

Please know that with the budding advent of The Classicist No. 11, Steven Semes, Associate Professor at the School of Architecture of the University of Notre Dame, has accepted the consulting post of its Editor following as he does in the esteemed footsteps of Dr. Richard John, who is now completing issue No. 10 for publication later this year. We hope you agree that a multiplicity of viewpoints is what is called for in the Institute’s varied educational efforts.

We welcome to the national staff Kathleen Maloney as Development & Membership Associate, who will be working with David Ludwig in sustaining and expanding the national network that has proved so essential to our overall impact and well being. Make sure to introduce yourself when next coming by.

Finally I call last-minute attention to the imminent celebration the 32nd annual Arthur Ross Awards for Excellence in the Classical Tradition on May 6 at New York’s landmark University Club. To learn more, including the proud roster of laureates, visit classicist.org.

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In anticipation of its future, permanent home on the ICAA website, please take a moment to peruse the ICAA Library’s About and Research Services pages below. Here you’ll find information on how to visit and access the library, and here is the link to the catalog where you can search by keyword, title, author, etc..

[Of particular interest may be to search using the phrase "Taylor Harbison", to view books and monographs on European drawings and paintings, and "Seth Weine", to view the books that cherished ICAA Fellow and Instructor has selected for our students over the years.]

Paul Gunther

A message from our President, Paul Gunther

The ICAA Web site now includes a benefit for members in search of skilled applicants. Find the link to the Professional Job Board on our home page and proceed as described. It is straightforward and worthy. Note that it is for prospective employers who send requisite details to jobs@classicist.org. We make the postings available accordingly to those in the market looking for assignments that meet their experience and aspirations. And we offer this service with gratitude and allegiance to the demands of contemporary practice across disciplines nationwide. I commend my colleagues David Ludwig and Kelly Price for this initiative. If there are any questions about its purpose and function, they are, as always, at your call.

Likewise the Professional Directory on the Web site is a global service to prospective clients and colleagues who rely on the Institute as a resource for excellence in design, construction, art, and craft as all called for by our constituents and those looking our way for guidance. It is visited by many tens of thousands monthly. Make sure that those belonging there take due advantage.

Also, we hope to see you on Monday, May 6 for the 32^nd annual Arthur Ross Awards for Excellence in the Classical Tradition. Reserve today as space still allows in honor of the very deserving slate of 2013 laureates. The national jury did a fine job indeed and I thank them.

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One brisk New York winter’s eve I skipped into the Century Association, thrilled that the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art had arranged a visit to see Charles Platt’s book collection. His scrapbooks, with shiny photographs lining black pages, were the highlight. In awed silence I imagined Platt studying them as he designed his own projects. Designers need access to good precedents, yet one cannot always dash off to study buildings and places in person. It is with that in mind that I have assembled and shared my Architectural Image Database.

Over the past year I have scanned my collection of architectural photographs and, along with my digital images, uploaded them all to Flickr. They are now available for design professionals, educators, authors, students, and anyone seeking such references. While the collection is limited by the extent of my own travels and interests, it does capture buildings and landscapes across Canada, the United States, Jamaica, Barbados, England, Ireland, Scotland, The Netherlands, Belgium, France, Italy, and Tunisia in over 12,800 images.

The photographs are arranged into thematic collections including locations, building types and architectural, landscape, and interior details. There are also special collections for Classical architecture and museums. Within each collection, you will find sets of photographs for specific cities, buildings, elements such as windows and doors, specific orders like the Ionic, ornament, and more.  Generally things are arranged alphabetically, though sometimes I have chosen to arrange them in what I hope is an intuitive manner.

Each image is tagged with information such as location, building name, architect and, if applicable, the type of building or architectural element. Some images have detailed information and links to further resources. You may explore the collection by browsing through the collections and sets, or by searching. As I add more tags, you will be able to search quite specifically.

Please feel free to share this resource widely, for surely the more we have access to good lessons of design, the more we will improve our built environment.

Paul Gunther

On behalf of the remarkable national jury working with Fellows coordinator Seth Weine, I can announce today that the winners by category are as outlined below:

ARCHITECTURE
Fairfax & Sammons Architects, New York and Palm Beach

ARTISANSHIP
Miriam Ellner, New York

ARTISANSHIP
Timothy Richards, Bath, England

INTERIOR DESIGN
Thomas Jayne, New York

PATRONAGE
Jonathan Nelson, Providence

BOARD OF DIRECTORS HONOR
Richard Cameron, New York

The 2013 Ross Jury chair, Barbara Eberlein, Interior Designer, author and president of the Philadelphia Chapter summed it up well: “Our team marveled at the quality and breadth of the entries which explored and expressed the ideals of classicism in architecture, landscape architecture, craftsmanship, artisanship and, for the first time, interior design. There were also important additions to our body of knowledge in history, research and publishing. We were particularly impressed by the notable accomplishments in stewardship and patronage; without these champions, our built environment would not enjoy such beauty and integrity.”

She was joined on the national jury by Robert Baird, Kate Brodsky, Melissa del Vecchio, Coby Everdell, John Margolis, Scott Merrill, Peter Pennoyer, and Barbara Sallick.

The ICAA is grateful that the new and overdue category of interior design was affirmed with the selection of Tom Jayne whose example on multiple fronts fits the bill ideally. A true harbinger of recognition in a central arena of contemporary classical design excellence. The process also reminded one and all for the essential need to recruit nominations from throughout the chapter network so that regional achievement becomes evermore part of the countrywide conversation.

For more information or to purchase tickets to the 2013 Arthur Ross Awards, call David Ludwig at (212) 730-9646, ext. 104.

Take a moment to review the full array of February programs and plan to participate accordingly. Special note can be paid to the complementary regional awards initiatives both under way and taking shape; two more chapter opportunities are poised for announcement soon.

Finally I welcome to the board of directors the renowned interior, fixture, and furniture designer Alexa Hampton, whose candidacy was affirmed at the recent trustee meeting. We welcome her leadership example and look forward to many years of service to the vibrant constituency you exemplify.