- Julia Morgan, by Mark Anthony Wilson (Gibbs Smith Publishers, 213 pages) $34
TO say that Julia Morgan was a prodigious architect is like saying the Hearst Castle is a nice country retreat.
Both are gross understatements in consideration of what they represent to American architecture.
This petite woman of boundless energy had a career that spanned more than four decades and left more than 700 buildings as her legacy. Many of those buildings are now designated landmarks and can be found in California, Utah, Arizona, Missouri and Hawaii.
Morgan opened her independent architectural firm in 1904 and from that moment on proved she was as capable as any male architect. With her friend and mentor, Bernard Maybeck, she helped create the First Bay Tradition. This approach to architecture had its origins in the Arts and Crafts movement but embraced sustainability and environmentally sensitive design.
Author Mark Anthony Wilson chronicles her long career and provides the descriptions that accompany the many colour photographs.
As you go through the book and see page after page of stunning buildings she designed it is easy to be impressed by her productivity. The fact that she created all of these while making weekly trips to oversee the construction of the Hearst Castle, which she designed, makes her output remarkable.
Wilson describes Morgan's legacy as the elegance and sophistication of her work. He remarks on "the warm and intimate quality of her thoroughly livable interiors" and the "graceful strength of the structural elements of her largest buildings."
It is no wonder that Morgan is considered to be one of the top American architects in history.
