A.J. Downing & His Legacy

Over half a century after Downing’s death, the Romantic Revival buildings in Gothic and Italianate styles were disparaged as “old fashioned.” New designs, stripped of applied ornament, became the popular form for domestic architecture. One of the leaders within this Arts and Crafts Movement in the United States was Gustav Stickley (1858-1942). As editor of The craftsman, Stickley was in many ways the spiritual heir to Downing. Like Downing, Stickley was not an architect, but he published the designs of others in his magazine. He helped promoted a new design sensibility, relying on the power of moral persuasion and the effective use of images. Where Downing had the picturesque cottage as his signature building, Stickley had the bungalow. Stickley wrote passionately about the need for integrating landscape and dwelling, just as Downing had, although the manifestation of this philosophy appeared quite different aesthetically.