Patience and Fortitude: Heads Held High as the New York Public Library Turns 100

A message from our President, Paul Gunther

The nicknames for the two great lions guarding the terrace of this great Carrère and Hastings landmark (just around the corner from ICAA national headquarters) as it approaches its centennial recall two attributes of the Institute at its steady best, working as we do around the country to uphold our mission. They likewise recall the rigorous path required to learn and apply the classical tradition whether in design, urban plan, landscape, building crafts, and the fine arts. Little worth doing can be achieved without them especially when it comes to shaping a better-built future or advancing artistic excellence.

"Lion" (aka "Fortitude") by Edward Clark Potter, sculptor, Attilio Piccirilli, carver (Anne Day)

They’re also well-known symbolic beacons for the subject of the latest in our "Classical America Series in Art and Architecture"—The New York Public Library: The Architecture and Decoration of the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building—just coming out from our steadfast partner W.W. Norton & Co. It is a revised and updated edition of the seminal text of our scholar-in-residence and co-founder, Henry Hope Reed, first published thirty years ago and now including text by Francis Morrone and magnificent new photographs by the peerless Anne Day.

New York Public Library (Anne Day)

Thanks to our members and sponsors like you along with generous support from the Arthur Ross Foundation and Elizabeth and Patrick Gerschel this project has advanced assuredly during the last few years and the wait proves well worth it, as you shall soon discover.

We look forward to introducing the book, its rigorous content and related topics as the theme of our upcoming annual Fellow's Summer Lecture Series unfolding in the weeks ahead in the auditorium of the New York School of Interior Design. Find the schedule and generous donors at www.classicist.org. You can also place an order through our online Classicist BookShop or visit your local bookstore once it is in stock late this month.

The Classical America moniker lives in our namesake "Classical America Series in Art and Architecture," fine books both reprint and new, which in the opinion of the ICAA board and publications merit a place in the contemporary library of classical practice and appreciation.

Other "Series" books are in varying stage of development and design preparation—most imminently The Classical Primer, a long-awaited subject-by-subject introduction to the core principles and curriculum that define our architectural instruction—prove our commitment to the Classical America tradition of fine publications.  While we are exploring online opportunities at all times as the nimble modern organization that we are, our commitment to print will endure into the future for as long as we can foresee.

It is another example of what we can achieve together.

P.S. The 30th annual Arthur Ross Awards for Excellence in the Classical Tradition just took place on Monday, May 2 and proved the success the ICAA and the 2011 winners deserved.  Look for reports in the Fall issue of The Forum newsletter.