Frederic Church's Olana on the Hudson: Art, Landscape, Architecture

Very good reference book on Olana. Beautiful photography, also.

For me personally, would have preferred more interior photos, less landscape

Olana has been under the radar for a long time. If one takes an architectural history course, Olana will never be mentioned and neither will Frederic Church nor Calvert Vaux (although Church will be mentioned in American art history and Vaux will be featured in landscape architectural history). At that point in time in world architectural history, one will learn about improvements in glass making and iron, leading to innovations in train stations in Paris, France and with the addition of the elevator, the forthcoming skyscrapers in Chicago. It will not be until 30 years later with the residential projects of Frank Lloyd Wright and sixty years later with the German Bauhaus architects, that residential architecture is considered noteworthy. But great design can come from unexpected places, and often does. In some respects, the design is somewhat post-modern before modern era even appeared. Olana is way ahead in design for its time, forecasting a future and possibilities that would not occur for another 100 years.Frederic Church's house reminds me in some ways with Sir John Soane's townhouse in London, UK. Both Church and Soane filled their houses with memories of their travels, challenging the tastes of the times. As a professor, I relate to the style of both Church and Soane, with artifacts, paintings, rugs, wall hangings filling the halls and walls of many rooms (nothing of great value, they are just precious memories). Church even had a Buddhist statue featured (page 168 --I have 3 from China all facing traditionally and respectfully south and in another hallway a French Tour de France miniature toy Peloton-- so the items are not expensive, but invoke great memories and experiences), and I believe I understand what he is thinking-- visiting Olana, one will have a greater understanding for one of America's greatest painters and his connections to places like Persia. Unfortunately for me, I cannot travel to Persia (Iran), but I have had several Iranian students, that is a close as I will get to Frederic's experiences. Others have called the house a novelty, but I consider the project to be an icon of what can be accomplished when art, architecture, and landscape are blended together. The collaboration of Church and Vaux resulted in a beautiful statement. The one thing that seemed to be missing was a conceptual design statement imbedded in the landscape in the same manner that landscapes such as at Stowe and Stourhead in the UK express. Thus the landscape is missing an intellectual statement; while the architecture is full of architectural intrigue and musings. It would have been easy to do, such as borrowing a statement about the four rivers of life as found in Persia (Persian motifs being much of the inspiration for the house), utilizing the Hudson River as part of the design and adding a Japanese styled dry falls and dry river along the slope inspired by Niagara Falls and the gorge (a subject of Church's paintings). But that level of intellectual engagement never fully happened in the landscape; instead it is simply a wonderful setting to view the environment.It often takes 100 years or more before the dust settles and the best to the worst are sorted by the public and experts. Olana is on the rise. Design students should make a pilgrimage to Olana, just as they do to Villa Savoye north of Paris, or to Sagrada Familla in Barcelona, or Falling Water outside of Pittsburgh, and the Robie House in Chicago. Olana is a world treasure.The books is an excellent introduction to Olana, but it is missing measured floor plans and elevations. There are many great pictures in the book (a beautiful presentation), but sometimes it is like looking at an elephant with a hand lens, but never showing the elephant and relating where the hand lens was exploring. The next time I am near New York City, Olana is the pilgrimage destination. For those interested in American art and design and desire to learn something new, this publication is a great addition to the library. We are all lucky that there were people smart enough to know what to do in the 1960s to save this treasure. And now those concerned have produced this excellent publication. The publication may change your perception of the possibilities in design.