Masters of their Craft: The Art, Architecture and Garden Design of the Nesfields

"In this informative and charming volume, Shirley Evans explores the lives of two of the most prominent designers of the nineteenth century; designers who have left their distinctive mark on buildings and gardens throughout the British Isles. William Andrews Nesfield and Eden Nesfield, father and son, were infatuated with the beauty and romance of the past, and both played an important role in the nineteeth-century revivals of the Jacobean, Renaissance and Gothic styles.The Nesfields produced horticultural and architectural designs for wealthy and influential landowners, later winning important public commissions at Kew Gardens and the Prince Consort's Kensington museum complex. Shirley Evans considers the education of both men and the evolution of their aesthetic sensibilities in detail. William Andrews Nesfield's early life in Durham, military training and travels in Canada and Europe fed his fascination with Renaissance proportion and the pre-Revolutionary French parterre-de-broderie, a design of intricate and highly artificial bedding that was to become his signature.His son flourished in the artistic milieu in which he was raised, but his main passion was for Gothic detailing.Both were highly accomplished painters, and Nesfield Senior's watercolours were lauded by John Ruskin.This illustrated volume will be of great interest to enthusiasts of the remarkable work of the Nesfields in particular, or of Victorian design in general."

Table of Contents:
1. Early Days2. Into the Army3. Medieval Influences4. Planting the Picturesque5. Marriage and a Start in Landscape Gardening6. Concerning the Landscape7. The Return to Formality8. The Parterre-de-Broderie9. Painted Gardens10. Two Public Commissions11. Enter William Eden12. Breaking Free13. A Few More Commissions14. 30 Argyll Street15. Two More Public Commissions16. The End of an Era

About the Author :
Dr Shirley Rose Evans taught form many years in Shropshire but now lives in Cornwall. The Nesfields have been the subject of her research for many years and she has written and spoken extensively on them. Dr Evans has also been involved in conservation and restoration projects of prominent gardens including those of Alnwick Castle, Northumberland Regents Park in London, working closely with The Royal Parks agency.

Review :
At last we have a definitive study of the most influential landscape gardener of the Victorian period. Shirley Evans's brilliant monograph combines meticulous scholarship with analytical site investigation to establish Nesfield as a practitioner of rare innovation. Professor Timothy Mowl FSA, Professorial Research Fellow in History of Architecture & Designed Landscapes, Humanities Research Institute, University of Buckingham Shirley Rose Evans' long-awaited study of the Nesfields launches them into the limelight at last; her warm-hearted and colourful family saga of war and peace, of dutiful soldiering unleashed into passions for watercolours, decorative gardening and architecture reveals the humanity of these Victorian taste-makers. Jane Brown, author of 'The Pursuit of Paradise, Lancelot 'Capability' Brown 1716-83: The Omnipotent Magician' and 'A history of the Garden at Buckingham Palace' "[...] this is a significant study of the Nesfields. It is an informative, well-illustrated volume with ... family tress, list of commissions, an excellent bibliography and a glossary of words and terms used in the book." Clare Greener, Devon Gardens Trust Newsletter, No.94, (2014) "...the beautiful drawings and watercolours, and the detailed planting lists, contribute hugely to making this an invaluable contribution to any study of mid-nineteenth century landscaping and to an understanding of the contemporary reasons for the decline in popularity of Lancelot Brown." Judith Christie, Cambridgeshire Gardens Trust Newsletter, No. 37, October 2014 William Andrews (W.A.) and William Eden Nesfieldb (W.E.), landscape architect and architect, have waited a long time for a monograph, but now Shirley Rose Evans has done them justice in a book that not only details their artistic accomplishments, but is full of insight into their age". Clive Aslet , in "Country Life", January 28, 2015 "Nesfield's relationship with other designers and theorists in the early 19th century is succinctly discussed, together with the Aesthetics that under pinned the painting of his parterres with gravels as well as plants.[...] Nesfield's two sons make many appearances in the book and usefully, William Eden Nesfield's architectural commisions are listed." David whitehead, Hereford and Worcester Gardens Trust Newsletter, January 2015