Clive Aslet on the American influence on English country life
Nothing seems more British than a house like Cliveden or Leeds Castle but what became known as the‘country house look’ was in fact codified by an American; the greatest of early 20th century gardens, Hidcote, was created by an American; and it was an American romance that caused Edward VIII to abdicate.
Clive Aslet discusses the varied destinies by which stupendously wealthy Americans ended up owning great houses and the transformations they wrought upon them.
Clive is Editor at Large of Country Life and author of many books including THE EXUBERANT CATALOGUE OF DREAMS and a novel THE BIRDCAGE.
Daniel E Sutherland in conversation with Claire Brainerd
He was of the most influential artists of his generation but the popular perception of Whistler is of a combative, eccentric and unrelenting publicity seeker, a man as renowned for his public feuds with Oscar Wilde and John Ruskin as for the iconic portrait of his mother.
Sutherland dispels this notion, uncovering an intense, introspective and complex man,plagued by self‑doubt and haunted by an endless pursuit of perfection in his painting and drawing.
Daniel E Sutherland is Distinguished Professor of History, University of Arkansas, recipient of over fifty awards, honours and grants, and author of WHISTLER A LIFE FOR ART’S SAKE.
Claire Brainerd is an art historian, author, hotelier and American living in Lincolnshire.
