Background & Current
Situation
Towards the end of 2006, Sir John Soane’s
Museum in London will complete a $3 million restoration
programme and open its new Education Centre in
No. 14 Lincoln’s Inn Fields – a house
designed by Soane but never forming part of the
original bequest of Numbers 12 and 13. The
additional spaces thus available to the Museum
will allow, for the first time ever, the creation
of a Robert Adam Study Centre.
The Robert Adam Study Centre will house the unique
collection of some 9,000 architectural drawings
by Robert Adam, acquired by Soane in 1833. This
collection, which is of inestimable value, contains
examples of the full range of the Adam brothers’ work;
from initial sketches of ideas through to magnificent
full colour designs for clients to admire. As
a collection of Adam’s work and the ‘Adam
Style’ that proved so popular in Europe and
in the US, it is without parallel and of considerable
international importance to scholars, researchers,
students, collectors and enthusiasts.
The drawings are currently kept in stable but rather
cramped conditions inside an old Soane wardrobe
within the existing library of the Museum. Only
four reader spaces are currently available for
scholars and researchers to use, which is often
insufficient to meet demand. The drawings themselves
need to be conserved and re-housed in an appropriate
manner and the Museum wishes to create a study
centre that is worthy of the treasures it will
contain and provide much needed additional reader
space that will allow easier access to the collection. |
Furniture
and Cabinetwork
The Museum has commissioned
two of England’s
finest young cabinet makers – Senior and
Carmichael – to create the furniture and
fittings for the Robert Adam Study Centre. Senior
and Carmichael, who learned their craft alongside
the renowned furniture maker Lord David Linley,
have produced some exquisite designs for the
cabinets and furniture required. |
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The
prime timber is to be solid American Black
Walnut, which is non-acidic and ideal for
the storage of organic materials such as
paper. The Black Walnut is sourced
directly from an established lumber yard
in Virginia. This family firm, now
in its fourth generation, have been exporting
timber to England for over 250 years from
trees grown in the foothills of the Blue
Ridge Mountains, on land which was once part
of the estate of Thomas Jefferson. The
furniture will be given a traditional French
polish and cabinet doors would be fitted
with toughened UV filtered glass to prevent
damage from the harmful rays of the sun. The
cabinets will be naturally ventilated and
exposed to the natural atmosphere within
the Study Centre, which will be operated
as a dirt and dust-free environment.
The quality of materials and craftsmanship
will be of the highest order and worthy of
Sir John Soane’s own designs for the
cabinets he had built to contain his own
drawings collection and which continue to
be used today, almost 200 years later. For
more information about the work or Senior
and Carmichael please visit their website
at www.seniorandcarmichael.co.uk |
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| Museum Director
Tim Knox (left) in the studio of Senior & Carmichael,
which is creating cabinets for the Museum’s
new Robert Adam Study Centre. |
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| Design for houses and shops leading onto
the South Bridge, Edinburgh | Designed by Robert
Adam | 1785-6 | Drawn by Adam’s office
| Adam vol. 34(1) |
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| River
façade of
the Adelphi development | Designed by Robert
Adam | c.1768 | Drawn by Adam’s
office | Adam vol. 32(10) |
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| Promotional drawing of
a design for the Drawing Room ceiling,
No. 7 Adam Street, The Adelphi, London
| Designed by Robert Adam | 1769 | Drawn
by Adam’s office | Adam vol. 13(7) |
Design for the ceiling
of the Back Drawing Room of David Garrick’s
house, 5 Royal Terrace, The Adelphi,
London | Designed by Robert Adam | 1771
Drawn by Adam’s office | Adam vol.
13(31) |
Promotional drawing of
a design for the Drawing Room ceiling,
No. 8 Adam Street, The Adelphi, London
| Designed by Robert Adam 1769 | Drawn
by Adam’s office | Adam vol. 13(8) |
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| Elevation of
Houses in Mansfield Street, London |
Designed by Robert Adam | 1770-2 | Drawn
by Soane’s Office | SM 18/2/14 |
Design for
Watch Boxes for the Adelphi, London |
Designed by Robert Adam | 1774 | Drawn
by Robert Adam | Adam. vol. 21(118) |
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Perspective of a proposed development
for Bath | Designed by Robert Adam | c.1777
| Drawn by Adam’s office | Adam vol.38
(1) |
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Opportunities
to Sponsor items within the Robert Adam Study
Centre
The overall cost of fitting
out the Robert Adam Study Centre is $242,500. Sir
John Soane’s
Museum is offering individuals the opportunity
to sponsor items within the Robert Adam Study
Centre. The name of each donor will be
prominently recorded on a special plaque designed
by Senior & Carmichael that will be fixed
permanently within the Robert Adam Study Centre.
A roster of opportunities, images and further
detailed information about the Robert Adam Study
Centre and its furniture or Sir John Soane’s
Museum are available by request.
Sir John Soane’s Museum
Foundation is a 501(c)3 organization
and gifts are tax deductible to the full extent allowed by US law |
| (3 July 1728 - 3 March 1792) was a Scottish architect, interior designer and furniture designer, born in Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland. He is considered by many to be the greatest architect of the late 18th century, a leader of the neo-classical revival in and Scotland from around 1760 until his death. Sir William Chambers was the leading British official architect of the era, but Adam received many important commissions from private clients and had a more lasting stylistic influence.
Robert Adam was the second son of William Adam (1684-1748) of Maryburgh, Fife, a stonemason and architect of some note. His younger brother and business partner James Adam was also an architect of some note, but was overshadowed by Robert, and two further Adam brothers followed the family profession, but without achieving lasting fame. |
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