Co-presented with the Royal Oak Foundation
Robert Adam was one of the greatest architects and designers in Georgian Britain. Adam introduced and popularized design based on ancient classical ornaments, including low relief plasterwork on ceilings and walls; carved and gilded classical motifs on furniture; and chimney pieces which incorporated classical masks, wreaths, and tributes. He created harmony between ceilings and walls by his use of distinctive colors such as pink, green, lilac, and straw. The designer’s genius also extended to his business—he enticed wealthy patrons into creating ambitious projects featuring vaulted ceilings, columns, apses, and niches. Adam’s work in British country houses resulted in social spaces that expressed the finest craftsmanship and highlighted the homeowner’s social status and fashionable taste. Architectural historian and author Jeremy Musson will illustrate country house interiors designed or remodeled by Robert Adam such as Kedleston Hall, Osterley Park, Croome Court, Compton Verny, Newby Hall, Syon House and Saltram. Discover Robert Adam’s lasting artistic legacy of elegant classicism.
Jeremy Musson, LLB Hons, M.Phil, FSA, is an architectural historian and heritage consultant. Born in London, he was educated at UCL and the Warburg Institute, and worked for the Victorian Society and the National Trust, before joining Country Life, in 1995, where he was Architectural Editor in 1998-2007. He continues to contribute articles to Country Life; he is the author of several books, and co-wrote and presented BBC 2’s The Curious House Guest series. A Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, and an affiliate lecturer of Cambridge University’s department of architecture, he is also chairman of the Historic Houses Foundation. As a heritage consultant since 2007, he has worked on major historic sites including St Paul’s Cathedral, Ickworth Park, Suffolk and Hardwick Hall, Derbyshire. He is currently working on a book about George Sitwell.