The first in-depth publication of drawings that reveal the creative genius of H. H. Richardson, the greatest American architect of the nineteenth century
The trove of 4,000 drawings, preserved since Richardson’s death, have been largely unpublished, until now. This new book encompasses masterpieces such as Trinity Church in Boston, MA― voted the “most beautiful building in America” in 1885― the Allegheny County Courthouse and Jail in Pittsburgh, PA; the Ames Gate Lodge in Easton, MA; the Glessner House and the Marshall Field Wholesale Store in Chicago, IL; and many more.
The book makes a major contribution to Richardson scholarship through its presentation of unpublished sketches, renderings, and plans of more than 50 projects, including city and country houses, churches, libraries, railroad stations, and municipal buildings. Its companion text includes an essay surveying the life and career of Richardson by James F. O’Gorman, the leading scholar of his work, which provides context to the drawings, together with additional essays that discuss the organization of Richardson’s studio in Brookline, MA, and his personal approach to a wide network of clients as well as an overview of the Richardson archive at Harvard.
With its curated selection of 450 drawings, meticulously reproduced to reveal the design process and hand of the architect, this book is a revelatory exploration of Richardson’s work, work that set American architecture on a new course and exerted a global influence on the birth of modernism.
Henry Hobson Richardson: Drawings from the Collection of Houghton Library was selected for the Classical America Series in Architecture by the Institute of Classical Architecture and Art
Jay Wickersham is an architect, lawyer, and architectural historian and a former professor in practice at the Harvard Graduate School of Design.
Chris Milford is a partner in the architectural firm of Milford & Ford Associates, specializing in historic preservation and restoration.
Hope Mayo is the former Philip Hofer Curator of Printing and Graphic Arts at Houghton Library.
James F. O’Gorman is the author of Living Architecture: A Biography of H. H. Richardson, among many publications on the architect’s work.
Thomas Hyry is director of the Houghton Library at Harvard University.
