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Tastemaker: Elizabeth Gordon, House Beautiful, and the Postwar American Home

By (author) Monica Penick

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normal price: R 2 211.95

Price: R 1 989.95

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| book description |

A riveting and superbly illustrated account of the enigmaticÂ House BeautifulÂ editorâ€™s profound influence on mid-century American tasteÂ From 1941 to 1964, House Beautiful magazineâ€™s crusading editor-in-chief Elizabeth Gordon introduced and promoted her vision of â€œgood designâ€ and â€œbetter livingâ€ to an extensive middle-class American readership. Her innovative magazine-sponsored initiatives, including House Beautifulâ€™s Pace Setter House Program and the Climate Control Project, popularized a â€œlivableâ€ and decidedly American version of postwar modern architecture. Gordonâ€™s devotion to what she called the American Style attracted the attention of Frank Lloyd Wright, who became her ally and collaborator. Gordonâ€™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 ofÂ Gordonâ€™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 sourceâ€”the consumer magazineâ€”as a key tool for deepening our understanding of mid-century architecture and design.