Robert Adam is perhaps the best known of all British architects, the only one whose name denotes both a style and an era. The new decorative language he introduced at Kedleston and Syon around 1760 put him at the forefront of dynamic changes taking place in 18th-century British architecture. His later claim that his practice with his brother James had effected 'a kind of revolution' in design was no idle boast. Their style dominated the later Georgian period and their influence was widespread, not only in Western Europe but in Russia and North America. But for such a well-known figure, much of Robert Adam's art still remains poorly understood. This new study, based on papers given at a Georgian Group symposium in 2015, looks afresh at many aspects of the Adam brothers' oeuvre, such as interior planning, their use of colour, the influence of classical sources, their involvement in the art market, town planning and building speculation, and Robert Adam's late picturesque drawings and castle designs - all within the context of the Adam family background and their personal and working relationships. The Scottish architecture of Robert and James's older brother, John, is also assessed. There are essays by established Adam experts as well as contributions from a younger generation of historians and postdoctoral scholars, one of the book's aims being to stimulate further research on the Adams' contribution to British architecture, art and design.

Robert and James Adam dominated British architecture for the second half of the 18th century. The key period in the development of the Adam style was their time as Grand Tourists in Italy - three years for Robert, four for James. As architects they studied and drew after the Antique, as Grand Tourists they formed a vast collection of paintings and drawings. It was this collection that was sold during the years 1765-1821. The drawings themselves were acquired by Sir John Soane in 1833 for his new Museum in Lincoln's Inn Fields, London. These drawings, together with the brothers' fascinating letters and James's journal, form a unique picture. This book gives an account of the brothers' aspirations and achievements in making their Grand Tours, tracing James's role as well as Robert's. The way in which they composed their architecture and even the manner in which they drew in watercolour and wash was the achievement of these years as Grand Tourists. AUTHOR: Professor Tait is an art historian with a particular interest in 18th-century architecture and landscape. He published a survey of the Soane Adam collection in 1996, Robert Adam, the Creative Mind. He is also the author of Robert Adam: drawings and imagination (1993). SELLING POINTS: *First of a planned series of five illustrated books on the works of the Adam brothers held at Sir John Soane's Museum (25 September 2008 to 14 February 2009), described by Robert Adam as 'the whole Soul, Body and Guts' of their architecture *The text by world-renowned art historian Professor Alan Tait accompanies the stunning reproduction of 1,000 or so drawings, including many that have never been published before *These drawings, together with the brothers' personal letters and James's journal make up a remarkable document for all those interested in 18th-century architecture and Italy 115 colour & 11 b/w illustrations

A joint biography of John Foster Dulles and Allen Dulles, who led the United States into an unseen war that decisively shaped today's world During the 1950s, when the Cold War was at its peak, two immensely powerful brothers led the United States into a series of foreign adventures whose effects are still shaking the world. John Foster Dulles was secretary of state while his brother, Allen Dulles, was director of the Central Intelligence Agency. In this book, Stephen Kinzer places their extraordinary lives against the background of American culture and history. He uses the framework of biography to ask: Why does the United States behave as it does in the world? The Brothers explores hidden forces that shape the national psyche, from religious piety to Western movies—many of which are about a noble gunman who cleans up a lawless town by killing bad guys. This is how the Dulles brothers saw themselves, and how many Americans still see their country's role in the world. Propelled by a quintessentially American set of fears and delusions, the Dulles brothers launched violent campaigns against foreign leaders they saw as threats to the United States. These campaigns helped push countries from Guatemala to the Congo into long spirals of violence, led the United States into the Vietnam War, and laid the foundation for decades of hostility between the United States and countries from Cuba to Iran. The story of the Dulles brothers is the story of America. It illuminates and helps explain the modern history of the United States and the world. A Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction Book of 2013

During the second half of the eighteenth century British architecture moved away from the dominant school of classicism in favour of a more creative freedom of expression. At the forefront of this change were architect brothers Robert and James Adam. Kondo’s work places them within the context of eighteenth-century intellectual thought.

"The central decades of the 18th century in Britain were crucial to the history of European taste and design. One of the period's most important campaigns of patronage and collecting was that of the 1st Duke and Duchess of Northumberland: Sir Hugh Smithson (1712-86) and Lady Elizabeth Seymour Percy (1716-76). This book examines four houses they refurbished in eclectic architectural styles--Stanwick Hall, Northumberland House, Syon House, and Alnwick Castle--alongside the innumerable objects they collected, their funerary monuments, and their persistent engagement in Georgian London's public sphere. Over the years, their commissions embraced or pioneered styles as varied as Palladianism, rococo, neoclassicism, and Gothic revival. In every instance, minute details contributed to large-scale projects expressing the Northumberlands' various aesthetic and cultural allegiances. Their development sheds light on the eclectic taste of Georgian Britain, the emergence of neoclassicism, and the cultures of the Grand Tour and the Enlightenment."--Jacket flap.

Details the architectural and decorative work executed from the designs of Robert Adams, and those in partnership with his brother James. The designs featured in this book are authenticated pieces and on display to the public.