Description
The book focuses on White's known commissions in England and sheds further light on the work of other designers such as Brown and Repton, who worked on many of the same sites. White set up as an independent designer in 1765, having worked for Brown from 1759, and his style developed over the next thirty years. Never merely a 'follower of Brown', as he is often erroneously described, his designs for plantations in particular were much admired and influenced the later, more informal styles of the picturesque movement.
The improvement plans he produced for his clients demonstrate his surveying and artistic skills. These plans were working documents but at the same time works of art in their own right. Over 60 of his beautifully-executed coloured plans survive, which is a testament to the value his clients placed on them. This book makes available for the first time over 90% of the known plans and surveys by White for England. Also included are plans by White's contemporaries, together with later maps, estate surveys and contemporary illustrations to understand which parts of improvement plans were implemented.
About the Author
Dr. Deborah Turnbull completed her PhD on Thomas White at the University of Hull in 1990. Now retired, she has lectured on garden and art history and continues research on the historic designed landscape. She is the co-author with Dr. David Neave of Landscaped Parks and Gardens of East Yorkshire (Georgian Society for East Yorkshire, 1992). Louise Wickham, a former business manager and consultant, has a MA in Garden History and now leads the Research and Recording group for the Yorkshire Gardens Trust, which looks at historic designed landscapes. She is the author of Gardens in History: A Political Perspective (Windgather Press, 2012).
Reviews
This is an introduction to White's work built on exhaustive research ... There is much insight here on White and on the way in which landscape designers were commissioned and operated that is rare in writing on this period ... Despite his successful and prolific career White has not been the primary subject of attention until now. In this book Turnbull and Wickham have filled the gap and provided researchers with a thorough survey of his work and career. * Studies in the History of Gardens & Designed Lands *
Over 60 of his beautifully executed coloured plans survive, which is a testament to the value his clients placed on them. This book makes available for the first time over 90% of the known plans and surveys by White for England. * Yorkshire Gardens Trust *
Book Information
ISBN 9781914427008
Author Deborah Turnbull
Format Paperback
Page Count 272
Imprint Oxbow Books
Publisher Oxbow Books