Robert Adams

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1760 Adam Large Original Antique Print of Admiralty Screen, Whitehall London

1760 Adam Large Original Antique Print of Admiralty Screen, Whitehall London

  • Title Plan and elevation of the new screen or gateway, before the front of the Admiralty...Robert Adams
  • Ref #:  40450
  • Size: 27 1/2in x 21in (700mm x 535mm)
  • Date : 1760
  • Condition: (A+) Fine Condition

Description:
This large original antique print a view & plan of what is known as the Admiralty Screen to the Admiralty Buildings in Whitehall, London, designed by the eminent 18th century Scottish architect Robert Adam was engraved by Fredrick Patton in 1760 - the date is engraved on the plan - and sold by A. Miller in the Strand 1761 Price 2 shillings 6 pence.

General Description:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy & stable
Paper color: - White
Age of map color: - 
Colors used: - 
General color appearance: - 
Paper size: - 27 1/2in x 21in (700mm x 535mm)
Plate size: - 25in x 16in (635mm x 635mm)
Margins: - Min 1in (25mm)

Imperfections:
Margins: - Small repairs to margin edges
Plate area: - Light vertical fold
Verso: - None

Background: 
The Admiralty complex lies between Whitehall, Horse Guards Parade and The Mall and includes five inter-connected buildings. Since the Admiralty no longer exists as a department, these buildings are now used by separate government departments:
The oldest building was long known simply as The Admiralty; it is now known officially as the Ripley Building, a three storey U-shaped brick building designed by Thomas Ripley and completed in 1726. Alexander Pope implied the architecture is rather dull, lacking either the vigour of the baroque style, fading from fashion at the time, or the austere grandeur of the Palladian style just coming into vogue. It is mainly notable for being perhaps the first purpose-built office building in Great Britain. It contained the Admiralty board room, which is still used by the Admiralty, other state rooms, offices and apartments for the Lords of the Admiralty. Robert Adam designed the screen, which was added to the entrance front in 1788. The Ripley Building is currently occupied by the Department for International Development.

Adam, Robert (1728-1792) An important Scottish architect, born in Kirkaldy, son of the Edinburgh architect William Adam. His three brothers also worked in the architectural profession, and James and William Adam joined Robert Adam in the London-based family practice (the eldest brother, John Adam, like his father, was a Palladian architect and was based in Scotland). Robert Adam studied at Edinburgh University, and then set off on the Grand Tour in 1754, travelling through France and Italy, and returning after 4 years well versed in classical and Italian Renaissance architecture. His own work was mainly Classical, in a lighter style than the Palladians, and some Gothic castles. He became one of the two most important architects of the latter part of the 18th Century - the other being William Chambers.
In London, the Adams Brothers designed the Adelphi scheme (1768-1772), built in Westminster and based on a Thames-side terrace with a parallel row closer to the Strand, with a ladder of side streets between. It was largely demolished in the 1930s. A few remain, in John Adam Street, Robert Street and so forth, among which is the Royal Society of Arts, with an elegant Ionic frontage. The south and east sides of Fitzroy Square are also theirs.A few of Robert Adam's town houses remain, including 20 Portman Square, 20 St James's Square, and Chandos House in Queen Anne Street. The majority of his work was on large country houses, usually altering existing ones rather than starting from scratch, and partly for this reason, he is particularly known today for his opulent interiors rather than exteriors. Around London we may mention Kenwood House, home of the Iveagh Collection of paintings, Osterley Park, and Syon House (near Kew). An early work of his is the facade for the Admiralty in Whitehall.
Among artists employed by Adam to decorate his interiors are the painter Angelica Kauffman, the sculptor John Flaxman, and the Italian painters Antonio Zucchi and Giovanni Cipriani. (Ref: M&B; Tooley)

 

$475.00 USD
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