The Vanderbilts And The Gilded Age: Architectural Aspirations, 1879-1901

The Vanderbilts And The Gilded Age: Architectural Aspirations, 1879-1901

Product description From the Introduction by Louis Achincloss: The role the Vanderbilts played in the social life of New York City and of all the rural resorts and watering places to which the wealthy of that metropolis regularly retreated was at least comparable to that of the Medici in Florence. As patrons of the arts, the Vanderbilts certainly had their lapses, but what family, including their Tuscan counterpart, would not, in amassing so gargantuan a pile? Edith Wharton, their severest critic, wrote that they were entrenched in a sort of Thermopylae of bad taste, from which apparently no force on earth can dislodge them, but today art critics are becoming more aware of how many fine things were included in the Vanderbilt treasures. Perhaps their greatest fault in taste lay in their seeming inability to dispense with any of their artifacts, even in their largest houses. Beauty can be lost even in a clutter of beauty. The whole is not necessarily greater than its parts. Includes a geneological chart and many black and white photos and illustrations throughout. A fascinating look at the Vanderbilts of the Gilded Age. From Library Journal This loosely written and poorly edited survey of the 13 great houses built by the eight children of Cornelius Commodore Vanderbilts eldest son is part potted social history, part architectural history, and part personal biography. After an introductory chapter on the family antecedents, the book consists of a chapter on each of the houses--Biltmore, Shelburne, the Breakers, Marble House, and others less well known--that the third generation of wealth erected in what Mark Twain labeled the gilded age. The illustrations, many of the period, are fascinating, but the text is superficial in content and uncertain in tone. Typos, layout mistakes, and an absence of editing make this a bad book on a good topic. Not recommended. - Jack Perry Brown, Art Inst. of Chicago Libs. Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. Review As a gossipy... look at the lifestyle of the rich, The Vanderbilts... is less about architecture than social climbing. -- Ft. Lauderdale, FL Sun Sentinel, Aug 4, 1991 Its a handsome book... How this family amassed its wealth (and) used the money ... all make fascinating reading. -- Pittsburgh, PA Press , Aug 21, 1991 This is a magnificent book.... And the pictures!... They mirror an age - Gilded perhaps, but also papered with greenbacks. -- Mt. Airy, NC News, May 20, 1991