Studio: international art (83.1922)

AMERICAN ARCHITECTURE

i

U.S. ARMY SUPPLY BASE, BROOKLYN
N.Y. CASS GILBERT, ARCHITECT

to the schools of Aberdeen in order that
the scholars, in their most receptive years,
may become acquainted with the quality
of genuine art, and, knowing the real, may
be able to avoid the meretricious. 0

AMERICAN ARCHITECTURE—THE
RECENT EXHIBITION IN LONDON.
BY T. P. BENNETT, F.R.I.B.A. 0

THE exhibition of American Architecture
held at the galleries of the Royal
Institute of British Architects in Conduit
Street a few weeks back, provided a
unique opportunity for the study of modern
American work. Probably it was the first
time that an occasion had been offered in
England for the comprehensive display of
illustrations of the principal buildings of
our neighbours across the Atlantic, and
from it one could see many things. 0

There were first the magnificent photo-
graphs by which the buildings were
represented. They were themselves works
of art, not merely from the technical point
of view (the technique being, however,
above reproach), but upon account of the
skill displayed in choosing the view-point
and placing the group on the paper.
These photographs were not mere records,
they gave full importance to the building,
yet included a sufficient amount of the
surroundings to indicate the setting. They
were not just bald representations of
masonry or brickwork such as a builder
might produce, but were essentially photo-
graphs for the lover of fine buildings.
The French are often successful with their
architectural photographs in this way, but
in England the art has yet to be developed,
although there are various indications that
English architectural photographers are
travelling in the right direction. 0

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