Fletcher Steele (1924)
Introduction by Robin Karson
Published by University of Massachusetts Press in association with LALH
Cloth $20.00
Forthcoming
To order: University of Massachusetts Press,
tel. 800-537-5487, fax 410-516-6998
Fletcher Steele (1885–1971) published Design in the Little Garden in 1924, at the peak of his career. Steele’s engaging, amusing, and insightful book strikes a contemporary note, prophesying many of the functional concerns that would guide landscape design for much of the twentieth century. “It would not be surprising in this upside-down modern world if the next important step in garden design should be developed in cities and spread to the country,” Steele wrote. “Certainly one finds in the heart of New York more active interest in yards that are thoroughly secluded, more an integral part of the house design and more intensively used, than in our countryside.”
In spirited prose, Steele continues to champion these principles, addressing the individual features of the small garden and then taking the reader through an imaginary house-buying adventure that focuses on three identical houses with three very different landscape treatments. By 1924 Steele had been through this process with many clients, and one senses the sureness and confidence that guided it in his own practice.
A new introduction by Robin Karson, author of Fletcher Steele, Landscape Architect, analyzes Steele’s ideas in the context of his built work as well as the larger theme of functionalism in landscape design. Her essay is illustrated with photographs by Steele, supplemented with contemporary images of his gardens. |
