Product Description

George Washington Smith is a full-length monograph that surveys the work of the father of the Spanish-Colonial Revival style. Beginning with the building of his own house in Santa Barbara, Smith created his signature designs based on centuries-old Andalusian structures he saw while traveling through Europe. Enclosed courtyards, shady balconies, cool tiles, and bubbling fountains make up the Spanish-Colonial Revival style, and it was perfect for the warm Mediterranean-like Southern California climate.< br>

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #107161 in Books
• Published on: 2005-11-09
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 192 pages

From the Inside Flap
George Washington Smith: Architect of the Spanish-Colonial Revival surveys the work of the father of the Spanish Revival style in California. Beginning with the building of his own house in Montecito, Smith created his signature designs based on centuries-old Andalusian structures he had seen in his European travels. With enclosed courtyards, shady balconies, cool tiles, and bubbling fountains, the style was perfect for the warm Mediterranean-like West Coast climate. Author Patricia Gebhard's narrative works chronologically from Smith's birth through his death, describing each building as it is built and then the completion by Smith's assistants of his unfinished projects. Smith's work in the 1920s featured houses with massive white stucco walls, rolling red tile roofs, dark wrought-iron window grilles, and lush vegetation. The style has come to represent the essence of Southern California architecture. Smith also designed houses in Arizona, Texas, Colorado, New York, and in Northern California. Author Patricia Gebhard, long-time resident of Santa Barbara, took up the notes of her late husband, architectural historian David Gebhard, for a book he had intended to write about Smith. She continued researching the archives at the Architecture and Design Collection of the Art Museum at the University of California, Santa Barbara, which houses almost all of Smith's drawings and sketches, correspondence, and original photographs. The result is this groundbreaking volume that brings George Washington Smith and his work to a wide audience for the first time. Handsomely illustrated with color photographs and detailed drawings, the book also contains a complete catalog of Smith's work and an extensive bibliography. Patricia Gebhard grew up in Minneapolis and has lived in New York State, New Mexico and since 1961 Santa Barbara, California. She attended Oberlin College, Mills College and the University of Minnesota, having earned degrees in Art History and Library Science. She worked in the Reference Department of the University of California Library. She has traveled extensively in Europe and the Middle and Far East, including a year in Turkey. Ms. Gebhard has been writing for years, but until the publication of her mystery Motives for Murder, she has mainly published a book and articles on librarianship and in the field of architectural history and criticism. Her publications include a book on reference work, an essay on the furniture of R. M. Schindler for an exhibition catalog (UCSB Art Museum), and a book on the Santa Barbara County Courthouse coauthored with Kathryn Masson. Ms. Gebhard has two grown daughters, one a professional hunter-jumper rider and the other an environmentalist and mother of two children, a boy and a girl.

About the Author
Patricia Gebhard obtained degrees in Art History and Library Science from Oberlin College, Mills College, and the University of Minnesota. Her previous books include George Washington Smith: Architect of the Spanish Colonial Revival.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
George Washington Smith unquestionably stands out among the eclectic architects of the 1920s, particularly with his work in Mediterranean or Spanish imagery. He was certainly an innovator, but his buildings have survived as lasting testimonies of his artistry.
Smith was one of the first architects to derive inspiration in scale, proportion, massing, colors, and texture from the farmhouses of Andalusia in southern Spain. He continued to produce some of the finest examples of Spanish Revival architecture throughout the 1920s. In a letter to the editor of Town and Country magazine in 1926, Smith revealed his awareness of the effect of his taste on the Spanish Revival movement. He spoke of his own house of 1918 when he wrote, "This little house was practically the start of the Spanish Revival in Southern California [which] is now reaching up to San Francisco."1
Yet his historical significance does not account for the continuing appreciation of his work. Even though David Gebhard identified George Washington Smith as the founding father of the Spanish Revival and believed his name was synonymous with that architecture in Santa Barbara, he believed that Smith's acclaim had nothing to do with stylistic labels or his place in history. Describing one of Smith's houses, Gebhard said, "As even a casual glance reveals, we are confronted with the design of a highly refined artifact."2 Viewers immediately grasp and respond to an essential artistic quality when they see and experience Smith's buildings. By following his career as an architect and highlighting his most admirable work, this discussion hopes to identify the qualities of his work that set it apart and contribute to its aesthetic excellence.

Customer Reviews

This Book Fills An Empty Gap
Patricia Gebhard has done a superb job in carrying on the tradition of David Gebhard, her deceased husband, who was masterful at the collection of information on architecture and able to portray it to the reader in a very logical way. It is the most completely detailed book written yet on George Washington Smith, one of the most forward and original developers of the the Spanish Revival style that swept America in the 1920's and has enjoyed a rebirth in recent years. The illustrations are excellent throughout the book, both old and new ones. Anyone interested in this style of architecture, whether an architect, designer or any person interested in this style that has left such an important mark in American architecture, should buy and enjoy this book.

Architectural reference book
An interesting book from a historical and academic perspective. It is well written and illustrative photos are included. Good as a reference book for architectural style but not a book for those interested in interior decoration.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA STYLE
When one thinks of southern california architecture, spanish colonial revival style always comes to the forefront and George Washington Smith was at the apex of the style. This is a well researched and chronicled book on this singular architect. The images are crisp and well thought out. This style of architecture suits the mediteranian climate of southern califoria perfectly, it really is the perfect blend of style and setting. When someone asks me, where would you live if you could choose anywhere and i always answer, Santa Barbara, where spanish colonial revival florishs unabated and the sun shines year round. If you have any interest in great residental architecture or just appreciate wonderful books, then i cant imagine you being disappointed in this purchase. Highly recommended.