Search results for ""Author John R. Tschirch""

he first book to focus on the urban development of Newport, Rhode Island, this is an extensively illustrated, multi-layered view of the city as both an urban entity and a cultural site of national significance. This is a richly illustrated portrait of Newport, Rhode Island as a work of urban art, from colonial times to the present, both documented and celebrated in the maps, paintings, photographs, poetry and prose of renowned artists and writers. As one of the most historically intact cities in North America, Newport has a cultural and architectural heritage of national significance. Each of the city's districts has its own distinct character with street plans and buildings revealing the political, religious, commercial and artistic forces that have shaped Newport through the ages. Stately Colonial squares and bustling wharves, picturesque Victorian villas and scenic drives, opulent Gilded Age palaces for the few and electric streetcars for the many, and preservation movements to honor the past and modernist schemes for a metropolis of the future all tell stories of urban beauty and controversy, of eras of lavish building, urban decay and extraordinary revival. AUTHOR: John R. Tschirch is the Newport Historical Society's architectural historian and visiting curator of Urban History, He is the author of Gods and Girls: Tales of Art, Seduction and Obsession (2019) and A Walking History of Bellevue Avenue, Newport, Rhode Island (Walking History of America) (2013). John is presently an instructor in design history for Rhode Island School of Design CE, which presented him with the 2010 Excellence in Teaching Award, and he is adjunct faculty in art history at Bristol Community College, where his students provide endless inspiration and amusement. He is also the creator and author of a monthly design history blog called John Stories: Confessions of the Globetrekking Architectural Historian, John Tschirch, featuring his photographs and commentary on historic places. 250 colour and b/w illustrations

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In 1789, Jedidiah Morse described Newport and its environs as the “Eden of America” in the First Geography of the United States. In the nineteenth century landscape architects such as Frederick Law Olmsted created dramatic gardens by the sea for his wealthy clients, and artists from John Frederick Kensett to Henry James and Thornton Wilder celebrated the city as a verdant paradise in painting, poetry, and prose. America’s Eden: Newport Landscapes through the Ages builds on the city’s iconic reputation as a centuries-old paradise, and establishes Newport as a cultural landscape of national significance. The comprehensive history from European settlement to the present day is illustrated by a treasure trove of rare period maps, paintings and photographs by prominent artists, and drawings and sketches by leading designers. Ten chapters discuss topography, geology, and climate; the history of the city from the early days of colonial New England, through the Gilded Age estates, to the 21st century. A chapter on Living Legends emphasises the importance of Newport’s historic trees. The book serves as a critical resource guide encompassing landscape architecture, fine art, tree and plant propagation, and the conservation of natural sites. A rich story of art, history, design and horticulture awaits readers among the gardens, gazebos and trees of Newport.

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