Customer Reviews

Beatrix Farrand: Private Gardens, Public Landscapes

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Judith Tankard's 'Beatrix Farrand, PRIVATE GARDENS, PUBLIC LANDSCAPES' is beautifully researched and elegantly written using many original sources quoted directly. A standout feature is the extensive use of Farrand's landscape drawings and architectural details which communicate far more detail than the photographs alone could ever do. The use of many historic images of Farrand's projects is welcome alongside contemporary views presumably shot for the book.
There is a nice layering of landscape design plus plenty of horticultural detail, in addition to the social history of the cultural milieu Farrand operated in - wealthy, white, anglocentric. Judith Tankard's book sets a high standard as a biography and monograph, and Monacelli Press as usual produce a lavish product.
It's always possible to have too much of a good thing, and by the end I did feel as if I had eaten a few too many soft-center, after dinner chocolates, and found myself longing for the cool restraint of the Modern Movement!