Main entry:

Penick, Monica, 1972- author.

Title & Author:

Tastemaker : Elizabeth Gordon, House Beautiful, and the postwar American home / Monica Penick.

Publication:

New Haven : Yale University Press, [2017]
©2017

Description:

xi, 248 pages : illustrations (some color) ; 29 cm

Notes:
Includes bibliographical references (pages 220-236) and index.
Beginnings -- Good taste and better living -- The postwar house -- The pace setter house -- Climate control -- A new look -- The American style -- The threat to the next America -- A new alliance -- The next American house -- A new regionalism -- Which way, America? -- American Shibui -- Catalyst -- Epilogue.
Dust jacket.

Summary:

A riveting and superbly illustrated account of the enigmatic House Beautiful editor's profound influence on mid-century American taste From 1941 to 1964, House Beautiful magazine's crusading editor-in-chief Elizabeth Gordon introduced and promoted her vision of "good design" and "better living" to an extensive middle-class American readership. Her innovative magazine-sponsored initiatives, including House Beautiful's Pace Setter House Program and the Climate Control Project, popularized a "livable" and decidedly American version of postwar modern architecture. Gordon's devotion to what she called the American Style attracted the attention of Frank Lloyd Wright, who became her ally and collaborator. Gordon's editorial programs reshaped ideas about American living and, by extension, what consumers bought, what designers made, and what manufacturers brought to market. This incisive assessment of Gordon's influence as an editor, critic, and arbiter of domestic taste reflects more broadly on the cultures of consumption and identity in postwar America. Nearly 200 images are featured, including work by Ezra Stoller, Maynard Parker, and Julius Shulman. This important book champions an often-neglected source--the consumer magazine--as a key tool for deepening our understanding of mid-century architecture and design.

ISBN:

9780300221763 (hardback)
0300221762 (hardback)

Subject:

Gordon, Elizabeth, 1906-2000.
Gordon, Elizabeth,
House beautiful.
Architecture, Domestic United States Designs and plans.
Architecture United States History 20th century Designs and plans.
Interior decoration United States History 20th century.
Architecture, Domestic United States 20th century.
Periodical editors United States.
American periodicals History.
Architecture domestique États-Unis Dessins et plans.
Architecture États-Unis Histoire 20e siècle Dessins et plans.
Décoration intérieure États-Unis Histoire 20e siècle.
Architecture domestique États-Unis 20e siècle.
Rédacteurs en chef États-Unis.
Périodiques américains Histoire.
Architecture History United States Designs and plans. 20th century.
Interior decoration History United States 20th century.
House and Home.
American periodicals.
Architecture.
Architecture, Domestic.
Interior decoration.
Periodical editors.
Architektur
Architekturzeitschrift
Bildung
Geschmack
Innenarchitektur
Architecture, Domestic United States History 20th century.
United States.
USA

Form/genre:

Architectural drawings.
History.

Holdings:

Location: Library main 295225
Call No.: BIB 241331
Status: Available