Quattuor Lecture II: Dumbarton Oaks: The Garden as a Work of Art with Dr. Thaisa Way

The Lecture
This talk builds on the recent book, Garden as Art: Beatrix Farrand at Dumbarton Oaks to explore how Dumbarton Oaks as a place emerged and then how it was shaped into a work of art by Beatrix Farrand. This story engages with histories of land, of the profession of landscape architecture, and the critical contributions of gardens to the beauty of our world.

Thaisa Way FASLA, FAAR BS UC Berkeley, M’ArchH UVa, PhD Cornell University
Dr. Way is the Director of Garden & Landscape Studies at Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, a Harvard University research institution located in Washington DC. She is a scholar of landscape history, theory, and design, currently teaching at the Graduate School of Design, Harvard University and as Professor Emerita at the College of Built Environments, University of Washington. She was awarded the Rome Prize in Landscape Architecture at the American Academy in Rome in 2016. Dr. Way’s publications focus on questions of history, gender, and shaping the landscape. Her book, Unbounded Practices: Women, Landscape Architecture, and Early Twentieth Century Design (2009, University of Virginia Press) was awarded the J.B. Jackson Book Award. Her book From Modern Space to Urban Ecological Design: the Landscape Architecture of Richard Haag (UW Press 2015) explores post-industrial cities and the practice of landscape architecture. She co-edited a book with Ken Yocom, Ben Spencer, and Jeff Hou, Now Urbanism: The Future City is Here (Routledge 2014). River Cities/ City Rivers (Harvard Press 2018) is a collection of essays contributing to urban environmental history. Her latest book is GGN 1999-2018 (Timber Press, 2018). with a co-edited with Eric Avila (UCLA) volume on Segregation and Resistance in the American Landscapes forthcoming. Released in 2022 Garden As Art: Beatrix Farrand at Dumbarton Oaks, a collection of essays edited by Dr. Way with photography by Shar Coston-Hardy (Dumbarton Oaks 2022). Dr. Way is focused on a broad effort to challenge the canon of landscape architecture to engage with the inscriptions of race, gender, and class on the profession, practice, and pedagogy of the field.

The Event
The evening will begin with a reception at 6:00 PM with Dr. Way, an opportunity to purchase the book, Garden As Art: Beatrix Farrand at Dumbarton Oaks and for Dr. Way to sign the book. The lecture will conclude with a period of questions and answers.

This lecture is made possible by the generous support of Howard Design Studio.

Presented as part of the Bunny Mellon Curricula at the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art

The ICAA is very grateful to the Gerard B. Lambert Foundation for its generous support of this program.

Thank you to the Curricula's Lead Sponsor

Hollander Design Landscape Architects

Thank you to the Continuing Education & Public Programs Sponsor

Charlotte Moss

This event is hosted by an ICAA Chapter. Please check the Chapter website or contact the Chapter directly for the most up-to-date details including dates, times, and pricing.