Tastemaker
Subtitle: Elizabeth Gordon, House Beautiful, and the postwar American home
By: Monica Penick
Published: 2017
Language: eng
Number of pages: 248
ISBN-13: 9780300221763
Copyright date: 2017
Subjects: Designs and plans; Periodical editors; Architecture; Domestic Architecture; Interior decoration; House beautiful; History; American periodicals
Description: A riveting and superbly illustrated account of the enigmatic House Beautiful editor's profound influence on mid-century American taste From 1941 to 1964, House Beautiful magazine's crusading editor-in-chief Elizabeth Gordon introduced and promoted her vision of "good design" and "better living" to an extensive middle-class American readership. Her innovative magazine-sponsored initiatives, including House Beautiful's Pace Setter House Program and the Climate Control Project, popularized a "livable" and decidedly American version of postwar modern architecture. Gordon's devotion to what she called the American Style attracted the attention of Frank Lloyd Wright, who became her ally and collaborator. Gordon's editorial programs reshaped ideas about American living and, by extension, what consumers bought, what designers made, and what manufacturers brought to market. This incisive assessment of Gordon's influence as an editor, critic, and arbiter of domestic taste reflects more broadly on the cultures of consumption and identity in postwar America. Nearly 200 images are featured, including work by Ezra Stoller, Maynard Parker, and Julius Shulman. This important book champions an often-neglected source--the consumer magazine--as a key tool for deepening our understanding of mid-century architecture and design.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 220-236) and index.
Table of contents: title: Beginnings; title: Good taste and better living; title: The postwar house; title: The pace setter house; title: Climate control; title: A new look; title: The American style; title: The threat to the next America; title: A new alliance; title: The next American house; title: A new regionalism; title: Which way, America?; title: American Shibui; title: Catalyst; title: Epilogue.