Stanford White (1853-1906), arguably the most celebrated American architect of his day, was the visionary genius of the illustrious architecture firm McKim, Mead & White. A defining figure of the Gilded Age, White lived an extravagant life, which ended prematurely in a sensational death. His celebrity as a result was such that perceptions of the man have to some degree distracted attention from an extraordinary body of work. Now, more than a century since his passing, the enduring quality of White's architectural legacy becomes ever more apparent as the circumstances of his life and death fade to the background. In acknowledgment of this legacy, Stanford White Architect comprehensively explores White's sumptuously rich oeuvre — from the residences he designed for himself and his wife, Bessie, both at Box Hill in Saint James, Long Island, and at Gramercy Park in New York; to the extraordinary and opulent houses he designed for others, such as Rosecliff in Newport, Rhode Island, and the Payne Whitney House in New York; to those works beyond the residential, including such masterpieces as Newport Casino Theatre in Rhode Island, the Century Association in New York, and the no longer standing Moorish fantasy cum pleasure pavilion Madison Square Garden. Stanford White Architect will serve for generations to come as a vivid testament to a resplendent life in architecture.
