Great Houses of the South - by Laurie Ossman (Hardcover)

About the Book

"The 'great house' of the South inhabits a place of the imagination as much as it does any particular geographic terrain. Margaret Mitchell's Tara from 'Gone with the Wind', though fictional, stands even now for many Americans as the epitome of the type, with its stately white-columned porticos, shady verandahs, and elegant interiors with graceful proportions. Yet the Southern great house is much more than this. From the bookish if slightly irregular Neoclassicism of Mount Vernon to the aristocratic European splendor of Biltmore, Great Houses of the South documents through vibrant new photography the many manifestations that this mythic, highly individualized architecture has taken while richly nuanced text narrates a great American story of tradition, aspiration and reinvention."--Front flap.

Book Synopsis

An exquisitely photographed collection of the great houses and mansions of the South.
In the tradition of Rizzoli's Historic Houses of the Hudson Valley and Great Houses of New England, Great Houses of the South features a stunning array of newly photographed homes that range over three centuries and are distinctive examples of the architecture of the region. While in popular imagination the "Southern Style" is embodied in the classic Southern plantation house with its Greek Revival detailing--its stately white columns, wide porch, and symmetrical shape--the houses themselves are much more various and engaging, as shown in this important volume. From stately Stanton Hall of Natchez, Mississippi, one of the most magnificent and palatial residences of antebellum America; to Longue Vue House and Gardens of New Orleans, the luxurious Classical Revival-style home of Edgar and Edith Stern; to the fabled Biltmore of Asheville, North Carolina, the opulent French Renaissance-inspired chateau and Gilded Age estate of George Washington Vanderbilt, this lavish volume is comprehensive in scope and a landmark work of enduring interest to homeowners, architects, architecture historians, and all those who love fine architecture.

About the Author

Laurie Ossman has served as the Deputy Director at Vizcaya Museum and Gardens in Miami. Her previous positions include Chief Curator at The Henry Morrison Flagler Museum in Palm Beach, Florida, and Curator and Restoration Project Manager at Ca d'Zan, The John & Mable Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota.

Steven Brooke is a fellow of the American Academy in Rome and winner of the A.I.A. National Institute Honor Award for photography. He is the photographer of Rizzoli's Aqua, Seaside Style, and Miami: Mediterranean Splendor and Deco Dreams.