Areas
Emily T. Cooperman, ARCH Consultancy
John Dixon Hunt, Emeritus Professor, University of Pennsylvania
The picturesque often has a bad name these days. But its heighday in Europe (England in the first place) was complex and exciting and helped to shape both designed sites and the reception of them. After a very brief reminder of what those original ideas and moves were, the American translation of these is addressed. This paper will trace the essential elements of the ways in which the picturesque as a means of representing, understanding, and shaping the American landscape informed both design and creation of public and private places by early professional practitioners.