Stanford White on Long Island

Museums at Stony Brook

Stony Brook, NY

516-751-0066

http://www.museumsatstonybrook.org

Stanford White on Long Island

The exhibition, Stanford White on Long Island, will be on display at The Museums at Stony Brook from July 4 through November 1, 1998, and will explore the fascinating architectural work and life of Stanford White (1853-1906) with a special emphasis on the Long Island projects he designed. Samuel G. White, great-grandson of Stanford White; Elizabeth White, Associate Publisher at Rizzoli International Publications (New York City); and The Museums' Chief Curator, William Ayres, are curators of the exhibition.

Stanford White, probably the best-known American architect of the late nineteenth century, was a partner in the famous architectural firm McKim, Mead and White, which was responsible for nearly 1,000 commissions, including Columbia University's Morningside Heights campus, New York's Pennsylvania Station, and the Boston Public Library. While the firm established an eminent contemporary reputation for building some of the most impressive institutional structures of the Gilded Age, the architects also made their mark in the more private world of domestic architecture.

The exhibition includes photographs, architectural plans and renderings, paintings, memorabilia and other artifacts that capture the scope of White's designs on Long Island. Some of his more notable projects include the Garden City Hotel, the clubhouse at the Shinnecock Hills Golf Club (Southampton), and a monument designed for the Revolutionary War hero Nathan Hale (Huntington), as well as a variety of houses in the Hamptons, the Gold Coast of Nassau County and the St. James area where White's wife's prominent family, the Smiths, resided. In addition, White's interests, social interactions, European travels, and extensive collections of classical art and furnishings are represented in the exhibition.

Accompanying the exhibition is the book The Houses of McKim, Mead & White written by Samuel White. It is illustrated with numerous photographs, including shots of the houses as they appear today, taken by noted architectural photographer Jonathan Wallen.

From top to bottom: Stanford White, circa 1885; Stanford White, c. 1902, Photo by Gertrude Kasebier; Wetherill House. (St. James, NY) 1894-1895, McKim, Mead & White (NYC) design. Photo by Jonathan Wallen; Entrance Hall Alterations, Box Hill. (St. James, NY) 1884-1906, Stanford White House: Box Hill, Rear view. (St. James, NY)1885-1902, Parrish House, Interior. (Southampton, NY) 1889, McKim, Mead & White (NYC) design. Photo by Jonathan Wallen

rev. 11/26/10

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