Robert Adam His Brothers

Robert Adam is perhaps the best known of all British architects, the only one whose name denotes both a style and an era. The new decorative language he introduced at Kedleston and Syon around 1760 put him at the forefront of dynamic changes taking place in 18th-century British architecture. His later claim that his practice with his brother James had effected 'a kind of revolution' in design was no idle boast. Their style dominated the later Georgian period and their influence was widespread, not only in Western Europe but in Russia and North America. But for such a well-known figure, much of Robert Adam's art still remains poorly understood. This new study, based on papers given at a Georgian Group symposium in 2015, looks afresh at many aspects of the Adam brothers' oeuvre, such as interior planning, their use of colour, the influence of classical sources, their involvement in the art market, town planning and building speculation, and Robert Adam's late picturesque drawings and castle designs - all within the context of the Adam family background and their personal and working relationships. The Scottish architecture of Robert and James's older brother, John, is also assessed. There are essays by established Adam experts as well as contributions from a younger generation of historians and postdoctoral scholars, one of the book's aims being to stimulate further research on the Adams' contribution to British architecture, art and design.

One of the most celebrated books in architectural history, this volume consists of 106 illustrated plates that influenced generations of British and American architectural and furniture designs.

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A dandelion in the garden of an autocratic rose-fancier triumphs over the threat of extinction.

During the second half of the eighteenth century British architecture moved away from the dominant school of classicism in favour of a more creative freedom of expression. At the forefront of this change were architect brothers Robert and James Adam. Kondo’s work places them within the context of eighteenth-century intellectual thought.

THE Essay which gained the Architectural Association Essay Prize for the Session 1902-3, on "The Life, Work and Influence of Robert Adam and His Brothers," by Mr. John Swarbrick, after appearing in the pages of Architectural Association Notes, has been reprinted in pamphlet form, of which a copy has been sent to us. Though in general we should not devote a separate article to the review of a pamphlet, Mr. Swarbrick's careful and well-written monograph on the subject, for which he deserves all credit, affords an opportunity for a consideration of a career which formed an important chapter in the history of modern English architecture, and to which there is nothing analogous in the modern developments of Renaissance architecture in any other country. To weigh correctly the reputation enjoyed by the Brothers Adam, and to assign them their position among the architects of the XVIIIth century, is not, as Mr. Swarbrick confesses, an entirely easy matter. He has nevertheless attempted a short estimate of their influence, although the greater part of his essay is occupied with a comprehensive review of their work and career, compiled, as the appendix shows, from a great variety of sources. The task is difficult, it is further explained, in consequence of the diverse character of their undertakings. This, in a sense, is so. And it is perhaps only by considering their works as a whole, as the Adams themselves treated them, that we are likely to arrive at a result.... --The Builder, Volume 87

Excerpt from Robert Adam His Brothers: Their Lives, Work Influence on English Architecture, Decoration and Furniture Some years have elapsed since I was invited to become the author Of this book. Then I was filled with admiration for some Of the finest works Of the brothers; for long I had been generally familiar with their best known undertakings and with the collection of engravings of their work. Published in the eighteenth Century and at the beginning of the nineteenth, but these had hitherto failed to convey to me an adequate conception of their remarkable ability as designers. It was not until I saw the actual works. That have been preserved with care in many of the great houses Of this country, that I became able to properly appreciate the value Of their work. And to ascertain the true position of the brothers among the architects and art workers Of their day. In addition to visiting the works Of the brothers in London and the vicinity, I have familiarised myself with examples in the more distant parts Of the provinces, as well as in both Scotland and Ireland. I have also been able, whilst upon the Continent, to pay Visits to most of the places at which both Robert and James Adam Stayed, when engaged abroad upon study and research; and in these and Similar ways I have sought to do what in me lay to render this book more useful and of greater interest. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.