A.J. Downing & his legacy
de Janet W. Foster, Teresa Harris
Alexander Jackson Downing is known as the "father" of the American architectural pattern book. Not an architect, nor a trained artist, Downing was an avid reader of British horticulture publications, some of which illustrated ideal houses for the country. Through the British publications, Downing saw both how books could transmit design ideas in words and pictures, and how modest houses with Romantic Revival design gestures could form the basis for an improved American housing for its middle classes, particularly in rural and small town settings. To further that end, he published three important works: A treatise on the theory and practice of landscape gardening (first issued in 1841); Cottage residences (first published 1842); and The architecture of country houses (first issued in 1852). Each ran to several editions, and remained in print for some thirty years. Earlier architectural design books showed buildings in stiff and barren elevation drawings, where in Downing's images, the house, landscape, and inhabitants become part of one happy, desirable image. This exhibition, originally mounted in Avery Library's Classics Reading Room to celebrate the 200th anniversary of his birth, showcases several editions of Downing's publications and those of his many successors. It offers a glimpse into the world of mid-19th century architectural publishing in the United States and reveals how Downing's distillation of design ideas came to influence American housing for half a century.
