Abstract
The study of Victorian architecture has traditionally been marked by a reductive view of the relationship between style and patronage, based on the assumption that the power of the landed aristocracy was on the wane and, with it, established canons of good taste. This essay uses the case of E.B. Lamb, a controversial architect generally linked by scholars with nouveau riche patronage, to question these assumptions. Lamb's dependence on the old aristocracy is demonstrated and the mechanisms of aristocratic patronage investigated, with particular attention to family structure, social position, and the economic and political significance of the landed estate. Finally, a less deterministic relationship between patronage and architecture is proposed.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Edward Kaufman
Edward Kaufman has published articles on Victorian architecture and theory in the Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians and The Ruskin Polygon (1982). An article on the history of architectural museums is forthcoming. He is currently preparing a book on the work of E.B. Lamb as well as co-curating the inaugural exhibition of the Canadian Centre for Architecture in Montreal. [Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027]