Sir John Soane Architect

"First published on the occasion of the exhibition ... Royal Academy of Arts, London, 11 September-3 December 1999"--Title page verso.

Through examinations of internationally-renowned architects, Bradbury demonstrates that Sir John Soane’s influence has been truly international in the pre-modern era, reaching throughout the British Isles and beyond to North America and even colonial Australia. Through his inclusion of select, detailed case studies, Bradbury contends that Soane’s is a continuing, not negated, legacy in architecture.

"Sir John Soane (1753-1837) has come to be regarded as one of the great architects of late 18th and early 19th century Europe, and contemporary architects and designers are becoming increasingly influenced by the subtleties of the unique 'Soane style'. Dorothy Stroud's classic book, which is appearing in paperback for the first time, in an updated second edition, is the culmination of a lifetime's research. It brings together all the threads in her previous writings on Soane, combining a concise biography of the architect with a comprehensive and fully illustrated survey of his works. After studying in Italy, Soane built up a considerable private practice and a reputation that secured his appointment in 1788 as architect to the Bank of England, where over a period of forty-five years he designed a vast complex of courts and offices. With his appointment to the Office of Works in 1815, he became responsible for public buildings in Whitehall and Westminster, which entailed the designing of a Royal entrance and gallery in the House of Lords, new Law Courts, Privy Council Offices and a State Paper Office. As professor of architecture at the Royal Academy from 1806, he was to play a leading role in the improvement of architectural education in Britain; and he was active in the founding of what is now the Royal Institute of British Architects. Although much of his work was thoughtlessly destroyed towards the end of the 19th century, a substantial number of buildings and parts of buildings survive, especially outside London, as a testimony to his genius" -- Amazon.

Sir John Soane?s Influence on Architecture from 1791: A Continuing Legacy is the first in-depth study of this eighteenth-century British architect?s impact on the work of others, extending globally and still indeed the case over 200 years later. Author Oliver Bradbury presents a compelling argument that the influence of Soane (1753-1837) has persevered through the centuries, rather than waning around the time of his death. Through examinations of internationally-renowned architects from Benjamin Henry Latrobe to Philip Johnson, as well as a number of not so well known Soanean disciples, Bradbury posits that Soane is perhaps second only to Palladio in terms of the longevity of his influence on architecture through the course of more than two centuries, from the early 1790s to today, concluding with the recent return to pure revivalism. Previous investigations have been limited to focusing on Soane?s late-Georgian and then post-modern influence; this is the first in-depth study of his impact over the course of two centuries. Through this survey, Bradbury demonstrates that Soane?s influence has been truly international in the pre-modern era, reaching throughout the British Isles and beyond to North America and even colonial Australia. Through his inclusion of select, detailed case studies, Bradbury contends that Soane?s is a continuing, not negated, legacy in architecture.

Sir John Soane (1753-1837), the son of a bricklayer, rose to become one of England's greatest architects as well a remarkably astute collector of objects and works of art. His house, in Lincoln's Inn Fields in London, was bequeathed to the British nation by a private Act of Parliament in 1833 for the benefit of "Amateurs and Students of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture", and the building itself and the collections within now comprise a unique, and extremely popular, public museum. Soane was at the very center of artistic activity in late Georgian England, and his collections reveal the intellectual preoccupations of his day. Amassed over his long lifetime during his travels and from his friends and professional contacts, they include paintings by Hogarth and Turner; Greek, Roman, and Egyptian antiquities; Chinese ceramics; and a vast number of drawings, clocks, models, furniture, gems, jewelry, manuscripts, and other objets d'art that reveal the breadth of Soane's tastes and interests. This handsome book focuses on more than 120 works from Soane's collections, ranging from paintings and sculpture to a watch given by Queen Anne to Sir Christopher Wren. Peter Thornton, Curator of Sir John Soane's Museum, and his research assistant, Helen Dorey, have written lively commentaries to the 130 illustrations, 99 in full color, providing information about the objects themselves and their history, and at the same time shedding light on Soane's life, character, and cultural pursuits. Soane prepared his museum personally, spending huge sums of money and gathering items for their intrinsic value, their appearance, or their associations. His goal was to create a poetic setting, using architectureto evoke the spirit of antiquity. For this reason he arranged his collections not didactically by periods or cultures, but rather mingled together, offering a springboard for the imagination. Sir John Soane: The Architect as Collector is the first book to focus purely on the collections of this working architect, who acquired his treasures as an anthology of antique architecture and decoration and whose hope was that future generations would find in them a source of reference and inspiration.

First published in 1999, this volume examines Sir John Soane (1753-1837) who was one of Britain’s most inventive architects. His achievements include the Bank of England and the world’s first picture gallery at Dulwich, buildings of international importance. His country estate work, inspired by classical antiquity, ranges in scale from the remodelling of existing country houses, such as Wimpole Hall in Cambridgeshire and Aynhoe Park in Northamptonshire, to simple outbuildings. Here we see the emergence of the key themes of his style and the results of his precise attention to proportion, design detail, and light and shade. These are among Soane’s finest works. Making full use of the Soane Museum and country house archives, Ptolemy Dean here examines ten country house projects, reconstructing the creative transactions between client and architect, architect and skilled craftsman. It is impossible to understand Soane’s intentions without the drawings, sketches and letters which enable us to trace the process of design. With the author’s own drawings in watercolour to illustrate Soane’s use of light and space, and beautiful photographs by Martin Charles, Sir John Soane and the Country Estate offers an enthralling insight into the work of a great architect. An illustrated inventory, the first fully researched guide to Soane’s country house practice, details an architectural legacy that has rarely been matched.

A fully documented study of the architect Sir John Soane, with the text of his principal lectures.