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Title: Greene & Greene: Masterworks by Bruce Smith, Alexander Vertikoff ISBN: 0-8118-1878-0 Publisher: Chronicle Books Pub. Date: October, 1998 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $40.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 5 (7 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Greene Giants!
Comment: This is my first introduction to Greene & Greene's work. If you have never seen it before, think of Frank Lloyd Wright's work, except everything is allot more rounded, and comfortable looking, except for the exteriors. I would say though that Frank Lloyd Wright was a better architect, but he could have gotten Greene & Greene to make his homes interiors allot more homey looking, and less dated. If your a fan of Wright's or the Art's & Crafts movement buy the book.
Rating: 5
Summary: A magnificent introduction to two great architects
Comment: The Greene brothers were architects who designed in the Arts and Crafts style. Like Frank Lloyd Wright, their style was so distinctive that they are not considered as examples of a type, but as architects whose style stands by itself. Unlike Frank Lloyd Wright, the Greene brothers' practice was almost completely limited to personal residences. This has probably limited the reach of their reputation. Outside of the Gamble house, which has been made into a museum, the work of the Greene brothers is generally not accessible to the public. All but one of their houses was in California, most of them in Pasadena. One wonders how well known Wright would be had he never designed the Guggenheim, or the Marin County Civic Center, or if he had never ventured outside of Chicago.
This book addresses the problem by taking us inside twenty-five examples of Greene and Greene's work. The text is accompanied by the breathtaking photography of Alexander Vertikoff. I own a large collection of books on the architecture of this period, and those illustrated by Vertikoff stand in a class by themselves. His photos are magnificent, doing justice to the material he portrays. I doubt if there is a finer photographer working in this field today.
With photos like these, it would have been easy to turn this volume into nothing more than a glorious picture book. Instead, Bruce Smith provides an engaging story of the careers of the two architects. The best writing is found in an extensive introduction, where the author discusses the Greene and Greene style in general terms. One can see at a glance how the style starts with Arts and Crafts. Indeed, there is a wealth of Stickley furniture in many of the houses. It is equally obvious how the two went beyond the plain craftsman designs so common further east. The Japanese influence was much stronger here, and the craftsmanship in the wood joinery was much more refined. There is more woodworking than carpentry here. The woods included Burmese teak, Honduras mahogany, Port Orford cedar, oak, maple and redwood. In some cases, the brothers were able to design furniture, landscaping and gardens to go with the architecture.
For the remainder of the book, we get a tour through twenty-five houses designed by Greene and Greene. Each house is presented in the order of its design and construction, with a history of the entire house to the present day. In some cases, this includes restoration after some abuse. Some of these houses were created on a budget; others were done with no apparent limits on the imagination of the architects. All are works of art, created as a labor of love by all concerned. For anyone unfamiliar with the work of Greene and Greene, this is an excellent introduction. For those who are already captivated, this book is a must, if only for those magnificent pictures.
Rating: 5
Summary: Greene with Envy
Comment: As an aspiring woodworker with apparently very little natural talent, I can only view Greene & Greene's work with a mixture of awe and jealousy. While I find much of what Wright has done to be at times inaccessible and dated (primarily because so many others have attempted to copy or incorporate his style into theirs - and failed miserably by the way), the Greene's work is absolutely gorgeous, and would fit in with many current styles.....But then again you all know that. The question is why buy this particular book?
If you are looking for wonderful, full-page color photographs this is it. The first 50 pages are devoted to the G&G style; there is a page or two devoted to Materials, Joinery, Lighting etc. Descriptions are quite brief, and include a couple of pics.
The next 170 pages are devoted to 25 different houses with narration about the original design process, the ensuing history, and the current state. Again tons of color pics, and lots of shots of the furniture they designed to go with the particular house.
If you are looking for an in-depth discussion, check out Randall Makinson's "Architecture as a Fine Art/Furniture and Related Designs. These two books (now available in one edition) cover the G&G history in detail, but have less photos (many in black and white). They do have many front on center views of the furniture (as well as early drawings) so if you are interested in building their furniture, these books make a suitable companion to the one being reviewed.
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Title: Greene & Greene: Architecture As a Fine Art: Furniture and Related Desighs by Randell L. Makinson, Marvin Rand ISBN: 1586851055 Publisher: Gibbs Smith Publisher Pub. Date: November, 2001 List Price(USD): $39.95 |
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Title: Greene & Greene: The Blacker House by Randell L. Makinson, Thomas A. Heinz, Brad Pitt ISBN: 0879059494 Publisher: Gibbs Smith Publisher Pub. Date: July, 2000 List Price(USD): $49.95 |
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Title: In the Arts & Crafts Style by Barbara Mayer, Rob Gray, Elaine Hirschl Ellis ISBN: 0811802027 Publisher: Chronicle Books Pub. Date: November, 1992 List Price(USD): $40.00 |
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Title: Greene & Greene: The Passion and the Legacy by Randell L. Makinson ISBN: 158685187X Publisher: Gibbs Smith Publisher Pub. Date: October, 2002 List Price(USD): $34.95 |
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Title: Inside the Bungalow: America's Arts & Crafts Interior by Paul Duchscherer, Douglas Keister ISBN: 067087373X Publisher: Penguin Studio Pub. Date: November, 1997 List Price(USD): $32.50 |
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