DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.67683#0552
378
AMERICA
building; and even after clay pits and quarries began to supply
brick and stone, wood still was used for pillars, porches, cornices,
panels, and carvings both on the exterior and interior. The forms
worked out in stone by the English architects were translated
in the colonies into wood and hence became more slender and
delicate.
The New England domestic architecture of the eighteenth
century is represented by the Peirce-Nichols House (Pl. 151 a).
There is an atmosphere of dignity and well-being about the
house that is reserved and even severe. The fagade is designed
with a feeling for regularity and balance, and is framed by great
fluted pilasters that finish the corners, and by the overshadowing
cornice with its balustrade. The pedimented porch holds the
center of interest. The carvings of the pilasters, cornices, and
portal are classical and show both skill and restraint. This detail
takes us back to England, which at this time was experiencing
the Adam phase of the classical revival.
On the interiors of these colonial houses (Pl. 151c) the wood-
work — paneling, fireplaces, and stairways — is an important
element of interior design. There was an abundance of pine
especially adaptable for carving because it was rather soft and
fine-grained and at the same time durable. It was painted some-
times gray, but usually white. The work of Samuel McIntire, one
of the best known carvers, reflects that of Robert Adam (Pl. 140 b)
in the delicacy of its low-relief carvings. But the ceilings are plain
and the general effect is much less stately and more plainly domes-
tic than the English prototype.
In the southern colonies a somewhat different type of building
is found, as typified by Woodlands (Pl. 15 i b). The general im-
pression is one of dignity and stateliness, like that of the Peirce-
Nichols House, but more genial. The southern colonists were
not as austere as the New Englanders. Life was more luxurious
and gay. The warmth of hospitality and welcome is felt in
the two-story pedimented portico with its lofty columns. The
strict regularity is broken by the circular bays on the sides and
by the great arched window of the ground story, Palladian in its
design. Most of the houses of the period were placed with careful
regard for natural surroundings. Trees, hedges, spacious lawns,
and gardens contributed to the qualities of the building itself.
The national feeling that inspired the country because of the
War of Independence became an incentive for breaking from
England artistically as well as politically. Very influential in
this movement was Thomas Jefferson, himself a designer and
AMERICA
building; and even after clay pits and quarries began to supply
brick and stone, wood still was used for pillars, porches, cornices,
panels, and carvings both on the exterior and interior. The forms
worked out in stone by the English architects were translated
in the colonies into wood and hence became more slender and
delicate.
The New England domestic architecture of the eighteenth
century is represented by the Peirce-Nichols House (Pl. 151 a).
There is an atmosphere of dignity and well-being about the
house that is reserved and even severe. The fagade is designed
with a feeling for regularity and balance, and is framed by great
fluted pilasters that finish the corners, and by the overshadowing
cornice with its balustrade. The pedimented porch holds the
center of interest. The carvings of the pilasters, cornices, and
portal are classical and show both skill and restraint. This detail
takes us back to England, which at this time was experiencing
the Adam phase of the classical revival.
On the interiors of these colonial houses (Pl. 151c) the wood-
work — paneling, fireplaces, and stairways — is an important
element of interior design. There was an abundance of pine
especially adaptable for carving because it was rather soft and
fine-grained and at the same time durable. It was painted some-
times gray, but usually white. The work of Samuel McIntire, one
of the best known carvers, reflects that of Robert Adam (Pl. 140 b)
in the delicacy of its low-relief carvings. But the ceilings are plain
and the general effect is much less stately and more plainly domes-
tic than the English prototype.
In the southern colonies a somewhat different type of building
is found, as typified by Woodlands (Pl. 15 i b). The general im-
pression is one of dignity and stateliness, like that of the Peirce-
Nichols House, but more genial. The southern colonists were
not as austere as the New Englanders. Life was more luxurious
and gay. The warmth of hospitality and welcome is felt in
the two-story pedimented portico with its lofty columns. The
strict regularity is broken by the circular bays on the sides and
by the great arched window of the ground story, Palladian in its
design. Most of the houses of the period were placed with careful
regard for natural surroundings. Trees, hedges, spacious lawns,
and gardens contributed to the qualities of the building itself.
The national feeling that inspired the country because of the
War of Independence became an incentive for breaking from
England artistically as well as politically. Very influential in
this movement was Thomas Jefferson, himself a designer and