SUMMER ON THE LAWN / THE ARCHITECTURE & THE DECORATIVE ARTS SEMINAR

COLONIAL ARCHITECTURE AND DECORATION IN THE JEFFERSONIAN ERA

University of Virginia, Charlottesville

June 30- July 4, 2010

 

“…architecture is my delight, and putting up, and pulling down, one of my favourite amusements."

- (attributed to) Thomas Jefferson

Join University of Virginia faculty and special lecturers from Monticello, Ash Lawn, Montpelier, and more to explore  the “tangible” history of Thomas Jefferson and his neighbors as we discuss and visit some of the many buildings of the Jeffersonian era found in the beautiful foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, in and around Charlottesville. 

 

From private homes to public buildings like Jefferson’s beloved University of Virginia, we will explore the shift from a Georgian heritage to Classical Revival and the influence of Palladio.  We will see how design, furnishing and decoration reflected sentiments of Jefferson and his friends, including their political and philosophical ideals, personal  tastes, wealth, status, and values.  From building to artifact, join us to hear exciting lectures, visit public and private homes, and view and touch the artifacts that helped create an American architectural tradition.

 

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

• The option to live on the Lawn of the University of Virginia in the rooms Jefferson designed.
• Visit private homes and hear from residents and experts about their efforts to restore exteriors and interiors.
• Enjoy receptions and dinners in Jeffersonian buildings and Grounds and other colonial settings.
• Make a private after-hours visit to Thomas Jefferson's mountaintop plantation, Monticello (1768-1796; 1796-1809), and enjoy a guided tour that will allow you to explore areas not normally open to the public.   
• Tour the Academical Village, the heart of the Jefferson-designed University of Virginia (1817-1926), with a special visit to the Rotunda.
• View Thomas Jefferson’s architectural drawings in a special visit to the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library at the University of Virginia.
• Experience rare and intensive access to a faculty of world-class architectural historians and other experts at both formal lectures and in informal settings such as receptions and meals.
• Walk through restored gardens and learn about Jefferson’s agricultural and viticultural passions and learn about the role of food and wine in Jeffersonian colonial culture
• Settle into the Summer on the Lawn tradition of relaxing informal evening discussions as the shadows steal quietly across the beautiful Lawn.
• And much more...

 

PROGRAM LOCATION

This Architecture & Decorative Arts Seminar takes place on the historic Grounds of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia.  Founded in 1819, the University of Virginia is the product of the vision and determination of Thomas Jefferson.  The core of the University is the Jefferson-designed Academical Village, which reflects three of Jefferson’s strongest interests--education, architecture, and gardening.  The Academical Village, with its ranges, terraced lawn, student rooms, faculty pavilions, colonnade walkways and the famed Rotunda, has been proclaimed the most significant architectural achievement of the nation’s first 200 years.

 

Rich in history, architectural treasures, and natural beauty, Charlottesville is nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, 120 miles southwest of Washington, DC, and 70 miles west of Richmond.  Charlottesville (airport code CHO) has extensive air service provided by US Airways, United, Delta, and Northwest.  The Charlottesville/Albemarle Airport website offers schedules and booking for flights, hotels, and rental cars.  Ground transportation is provided by Amtrak and Greyhound. 

 

Before you arrive, you will be sent useful program materials and information about the University of Virginia and Charlottesville to help guide you here and prepare you for the seminar.

 

For more information on Charlottesville and Albemarle County, visit the Charlottesville and Albemarle Convention & Visitors Bureau’s website.

 

FACULTY

Louis Nelson, Associate Professor and Chair, Department of Architectural History, School of Architecture, University of Virginia,  teaches courses in American architecture specializing in colonial and early national architecture, vernacular architecture, and theories and methods of sacred space. The majority of his work focuses on the early American South and the Greater Caribbean. Nelson is interested in the close examination of evidence both material and textual  as a means of examining the ways architecture shapes the human experience. Nelson’s prominence in the field is reflected in his recent selection as a senior co-editor of Buildings and Landscapes, a leading scholarly venue for research in the field since 1982.

The Beauty of Holiness, his most recent book, examines the ways Anglican churches in colonial South Carolina - the nexus of many social landscapes - express regional identity, social politics, and divergent theologies of the sacred. His interest in the colonial South has led him to conduct fieldwork in Jamaica and the Leeward Islands, research which has resulted in some of the first systematic recording of eighteenth and nineteenth-century English architecture in the Caribbean.  His commitment to the value of the object as evidence and the necessity for first-hand examination of the built environment has resulted in numerous trips with graduate students across the American South and the Caribbean. He also directs the UVA Falmouth Field School in Historic Preservation, a month-long program held each summer in the coastal town of Falmouth, Jamaica. While his interest in the Caribbean began in colonial Anglican churches, his most recent work has focused on post-Emancipation domestic architecture. Working together with archaeologists, Nelson is interested using buildings to explore Afro-Caribbean culture through the transition from slavery to freedom.

As a result of his work on early American churches, Nelson has also become leading voice in the interpretation of American sacred spaces. He has recently published an edited collection of essays, American Sanctuary: Understanding Sacred Spaces (Indiana, 2006) and a state-of-the-field essay on sacred space in Religious Studies Review.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND

The Architecture & Decorative Arts Seminar is lovers of architecture, decorative arts, design, interiors, landscape and garden, and of course, history.  It is perfect for those with great knowledge and those wanting to gain more.  Teachers, students, friends, multigenerational family pairings….this is an experience for anyone who seeks out unique travel and learning opportunities that provide intellectual stimulation in a warm, congenial, and truly beautiful environment.

 

Part of an educational travel tradition with a long history of exceptional participant satisfaction, this seminar offers unsurpassed value, rich content, and memorable experiences.

Please e-mail us if you would like to be added to our inquiry list and be among the first to receive the most up to date information on this program.