Who Is Fredrick Law Olmsted? An Examination of This Visionary's Life, Work and Living Legacy

Description

This program will not be recorded.

Famed landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted has been called the most important historical figure that Americans know anything about. This course aims to change that by introducing the multifaceted life, career and legacy of Olmsted, who was not only a landscape architect but also a journalist, conservationist, farmer and public servant.

Five experts will lead us in examining the work of Olmsted and his firm, which, over 100 years, literally designed the American landscape. From Olmsted's birth in 1822 to his death in 1903, we will follow his fascinating life and career as he gathered experiences before finally settling down at age 43. We will travel to England with Olmsted on his influential visit to Birkenhead Park, learn more about his groundbreaking work as an undercover reporter for The New York Times, examine his design philosophy, and zero in on specific work at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition and the West.

We will also learn about the Olmsted firm, which operated for nearly 50 years after Olmsted's death. There, Olmsted's sons, John Charles Olmsted and Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., carried on their father's work and professionalized the field of landscape architecture. The brothers founded the American Society of Landscape Architects, which will mark its 125th anniversary in 2024.

Scholarship

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