Join the Greenwich Historical society in welcoming Phillip James Dodd, author of An American Renaissance: Beaux-Arts Architecture in New York, for a book discussion coinciding with the highly anticipated release of the new season of Julian Fellowes’ celebrated HBO series The Gilded Age. Phillip James Dodd’s book has been painstakingly researched and beautifully photographed over many years, and takes a close look at twenty of the finest examples of Beaux-Arts architecture in New York City that span this same time period. While showing public exteriors, its main focus is on the lavish interiors that are associated with the opulence of the Gilded Age – often providing a glimpse inside buildings not otherwise viewable to the public. While some of the buildings and monuments that are featured are world renowned landmarks recognizable and accessible to all; others are obscure buildings that history has forgotten.
Set amid the magnificent achievements of an American Renaissance, this is not just an architectural history book. It recounts not only the fascinating stories of some of New York’s most famous and significant Beaux-Arts landmarks, it also recalls the lives of those that commissioned, designed, and built them. These are some of the most acclaimed architects, artists and artisans of the day – Daniel Chester French, Cass Gilbert, Charles McKim, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Louis Comfort Tiffany, and Stanford White – and some of the most prominent millionaires in American history – Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick, Jay Gould, Otto Kahn, J.P. Morgan, and the ubiquitous Astor and Vanderbilt families. Name’s that – as Julian Fellowes notes in the Foreword – “still reek of money”.
Pre-order the book or purchase on the day of the event for signing!
Bio
Born and raised in the United Kingdom, Phillip James Dodd is an alumnus of the prestigious Prince of Wales’ Institute of Architecture in London. He moved to America more than twenty years ago, and after training with some of the most recognized classical architecture firms in the country founded his eponymous design firm Phillip James Dodd: Bespoke Residential Design LLC in 2015. Phillip’s designs can be found in New York, Greenwich, Palm Beach, and as far as away as Bangalore, India. In 2022 he was the recipient of the Elizabeth L. and John H. Schuler Architectural Award, and was named as one of the Top 50 Coastal Architects by Ocean Home magazine.
Phillip has a Masters in architecture from the University of Notre Dame, and an undergraduate Degree in Architecture from the Manchester School of Architecture. He is a Fellow Emeritus of The Institute of Classical Architecture & Art, and serves as a commissioner on The Town of Greenwich Historic District Commission. In 2013 Phillip was elected by his peers as an Honorary Fellow of the INTBAU College of Traditional Practitioners, an invited international body for practitioners in traditional architecture, under the auspices of H.R.H. The Prince of Wales.
With a rich academic and practice-based background, Phillip is recognized as an international authority on classical and traditional architecture. His designs are always specific to the property, and are rooted in a thorough understanding of the architectural history and details that create a unique Sense of Place. He has lectured extensively throughout the United States on the subject of classical, vernacular, and Beaux-Arts architecture.
In addition to his design work, Phillip is also the author of several best-selling books – The Art of Classical Details: Theory, Design & Craftsmanship (2013); An Ideal Collaboration (2015); The Classical American House (2017); and An American Renaissance: Beaux-Arts Architecture on New York City (2021). His most recent volume on the architecture of the Gilded Age includes a foreword by Julian Fellowes (the acclaimed creator of Downton Abbey and the HBO series The Gilded Age), and has been featured in Architectural Digest, The Associated Press, The New Criterion, Washington Post, and World of Interiors. He is also a contributing writer for several publications including Crayon, First Things, and Traditional Building.
