Product Description
Newport, Rhode Island, is the classic New England summer resort. The setting for the film 'High Society', John F. Kennedy was married here and he and his predecessor Dwight Eisenhower ran 'Summer White Houses' from the City-by-the Sea. It continues to enchant residents and visitors alike with an unparalleled concentration of carefully preserved architecture. Shingle Style flourished in Newport and its Gilded Age environs during the 1880s. With asymmetrical wood frames and shingled stories set dramatically on stone foundations, these romantic homes were intended to blend with the surrounding landscape, while incorporating fantastical elements such as gables, brick and stone chimneys, bands of small-paned windows, turrets, columns and pediments. Interiors contained imaginative staircases, art glass windows, hand-crafted millwork and emphasized organized space and open floor plans for gracious living. Most importantly, nearly every room boasted large and freely spaced windows and doors that opened to porches strategically positioned to take full advantage of ocean views and cool summer breezes. Recently, American vernacular architecture has witnessed a renaissance, as impressive new Shingle Style homes are built alongside those that have presided along the rugged Rhode Island coastline for more than a century. Attention to detail is so exquisite that the latest interpretations are often mistaken for 19th century originals. The collection of 15 homes showcased in this book represents the best of Newport Shingle Style, Now and Then.
About the Author
Cheryl Hackett first became intrigued by the Shingle Style when she lived in the historic William Watts Sherman House while enrolled at Salve Regina University in Newport. Since graduation, she has worked as a freelance editor, writer and stylist for nearly two decades. Her articles about architecture, interior design and lifestyles have appeared in many national magazines including La Vie Claire, Victorian Homes, Romantic Homes, Classic American Homes and Coastal Living. Cheryl earned a B.A. and a M.A. from Salve Regina University. She returned to the university eight years ago as an adjunct professor, where her courses include Feature Article Writing, Editing for Publication and Writing for Public Relations. Cheryl was also selected to speak at the American Literature Association's national conferences held in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 2001 and 2003. Her topics focused on Gilded Age architecture and interior design. Kindra Clineff travels far and wide specializing in location photography for commercial and editorial clients. She regularly produces feature assignments for national magazines in the US, and her images have appeared in numerous books and calendars. When not chasing light, Kindra enjoys cultivating heirloom vegetables and attempts to tame the perennial garden of her seventeenth century home in Massachusetts. You can view more of her work at: www.kindraclineff.com. Richard Guy Wilson holds the Commonwealth Professor's Chair in Architecture at the University of Virginia, where he is also Chair of the Department of Architectural History. His specialty is the architecture, design and art of the 18th to 20th centuries both in American and abroad. A frequent lecturer for universities, museums and professional groups, Wilson has also published widely with articles and reviews to his credit. He is the author or joint author of 14 books that deal with American and modern architecture. Among the most recent include books on Thomas Jefferson's design of the University of Virginia, a contribution to the recent book on RM Schindler (2001), co-author of Richmond's Monument Avenue (2001), principle author and editor of the Society of Architectural Historians Book, Buildings of Virginia; Tidewater and Piedmont (2002), and The Colonial Revival House (2004).
