European Architecture 1750-1890 (Oxford History of Art)

by Barry Bergdoll

Robert Adam (1728-92) Trained in Scotland, where his father William Adam was leading architect until his death in 1748, Robert and his brother James opened an office in London after 1758 which became one of the most influential and innovative practices of the century. Their output was prodigious, including major country houses with their parks (e.g. Harewood House, 1759-71, Osterley Park, 1765-8o, Newby Hall, 1767-8o), castellated houses in Scotland (Culzean, 1777-92), city houses on all scales from mansions (Derby House, London, 1773-74) to terrace-house developments (Portland Place), churches (Mistley, Essex, 1776 ), and town planning (Pulteney Bridge, Bath, 1769-74, Charlotte Square, Edinburgh, 1791-1807). Their greatest influence was in interiors, both for innovative planning techniques and delicate and colourful decorative vocabulary synthesized from an eclectic range of Classical sources and used to create a harmony of surfaces from wall paintings and stuccoing to ceilings, carpets, and furnishings. Their style was widely emulated on both sides of the Atlantic. Nearly 9,600 drawings by the Adam brothers were acquired by John Soane, who counted them among the great figures of an emerging modern British tradition.