Gothic Monticello: Thomas Jefferson's garden narratives -- 'Banditti Mania': the gothic haunting of Washington Allston -- 'Arranging the trap doors': the gothic revival castles of Alexander Jackson Davis -- Old dwellings tansmogrified: the homes of James Fenimore Cooper and Washington Irving -- Gothic castles in the landscape: Thomas Cole, Sir Walter Scott and the Hudson River School of Painting -- The theatrical spectacle of medieval revival: Edwin Forrest's Fonthill Castle -- Conclusion. 'Clap It Into a romance:' Nathaniel Hawthorne's gothic houses.
Summary:
"American Gothic Art and Architecture in the Age of Romantic Literature analyses the impact British Gothic novels and historical romances had on American art and architecture in the Romantic era. Key figures include Thomas Jefferson, Washington Allston, Alexander Jackson Davis, James Fenimore Cooper, Washington Irving, Thomas Cole, Edwin Forrest and Nathaniel Hawthorne. Hawthorne articulated the subject of this book when he wrote that he could understand Sir Walter Scott's romances better after viewing Scott's Gothic Revival house Abbotsford, and he understood the house better for having read the romances. This study investigates this symbiotic relationship between the arts and Gothic literature to reveal new interpretative possibilities." -- Publisher's description.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.