Italian Gardens: Then and Now

The Friends of the East Kingston Public Library has received a grant from the New Hampshire Humanities Council to present Italian Gardens:  Then and Now which  will be presented by James B. Atkinson on Thursday, June 14, 2012, 7:00 PM at the East Kingston Public Library, 47 Maplevale Road, East Kingston, NH 03827.

″The garden is a home's most important room.″ Cornish resident Charles A. Platt (1861-1933), architect, artist, and landscape designer, practiced what he preached. A jump ahead of Edith Wharton and Maxfield Parrish in admiration of these gardens, Platt photographed and applied Italian design principles for villas and gardens so that Americans could follow them. A PowerPoint presentation describes and illustrates Italian gardens as Platt photographed them in 1894. Rephotographed in a pilgrimage a century later, we'll explore what these gardens look like today, from the same vantage point, and discuss the history of designed spaces.  Atkinson traveled to Italy to photograph Platt's gardens a century after their original design in 1894. His interest in the Italian Renaissance turned his attention to the art and literature of the American Renaissance in late 19th and early 20th century Cornish, New Hampshire.

The New Hampshire Humanities Council nurtures the joy of learning and inspired community engagement by brining life-enhancing ideas from the humanities to the people of New Hampshire.  The connect people with ideas.   Learn more about the council and its work at www.nhhc.org.  

This program is free and open to the public.