Frederick Law Olmsted, the father of landscape architecture, designed our first city parks, park systems, and model suburban communities. He promoted environmentalism and the subsequent creation of the national park system. Greatly influenced by his New England upbringing, Olmsted instilled in us a love of our American landscapes.
This talk begins with a brief overview of Olmsted’s early life here in New England and his numerous jobs before partnering with the architect Calvert Vaux to design Central Park. These various jobs were significant in that each of them taught him skills that served him well in his work as a landscape architect. The talk then turns to two of his New England works, the Emerald Necklace and Shelburne Farms, which display his fundamental design principles and techniques. Boston’s Park System reveals Olmsted’s sensitivity to the growing city and the need to “green” it through parkland and parkways. Shelburne Farms, one of his two contributions to the Country Place/Estate Era, presents additional design strategies while underscoring his fundamental design principle, “look to the genius of the place.” Through both works we can understand how the majestic scenery of New England shaped and then directed his work as a designer of great landscapes.
The talk is intended for a general audience but pays particular attention to the interests of gardeners and those interested in exploring these Olmsted sites with family and friends.
About the Presenter: Ann McEntee is a former Communications and Theatre professor. She left teaching to earn a Master of Landscape Architecture from the University of New Mexico. While living in Santa Fe, she earned her certification as a Master Gardener, and more recently, her Advanced Master Gardener certification.
Ann currently teaches architectural and landscape history for Keene State College’s Lifelong Learning program and works part-time as a landscape consultant.
Registration Required (*) — To register, please click here. This program is presented on Zoom.