The Ladies’ Village Improvement Society
31st Annual Landmarks Luncheon
LOST MODERN: Mid-Century Architectural Treasures of East Hampton
When you think of the phrases “architectural landmark” or “historic preservation” here on the South Fork, you probably think of the 19th-century beach cottages and Colonial saltboxes that make our most quintessential streetscapes look like picture postcards. But the Modernist architecture of the Postwar period is also of great historic value, and — particularly at this very moment — urgently in need of safeguarding.
Shingle Style summer mansions, Victorians, and Queen Annes line the lanes of East Hampton’s historic districts, making us, famously, the most beautiful village in America. Possibly the most architecturally significant architectural idiom of our region, however, dates from the era of experimentation that ran from approximately 1946 to 1974, when architects like Peter Blake, George Nelson, Andrew Geller, and Gordon Bunshaft followed the avant-garde lead of artists like Robert Motherwell and Jackson Pollock, designing small, often whimsical beach-house pavilions with flat roofs and floor-to-ceiling glass on the ocean dunes, bays, and inlets of eastern Long Island.
Sadly, some of the most important early modern houses of the period have been torn down here in recent years, houses by the likes of Philp Johnson, Pierre Chareau, Peter Blake, Norman Jaffe, and, most recently, the iconic Spaeth House by George Nelson and Gordon Chadwick (1956). Many more are threatened with imminent demolition.
The keynote speaker at this year’s annual Landmarks Luncheon will be Alastair Gordon, a critic, curator, cultural historian, and author of several books, including Long Island Modern: The First Generation of Modernist Architecture on Long Island, 1925-1960. Gordon will illuminate the story of East Hampton’s pioneering Postwar architects and shine a light on the important modernist houses that survive, rare gems that should — and can still — be saved.
The lecture will be followed by a leisurely lunch in the gorgeous oceanfront setting of the Maidstone Club, on Old Beach Lane. Proceeds will fund future preservation projects under the aegis of the Landmarks Committee of the L.V.I.S., which for more than 50 years has helped maintain East Hampton’s heritage and supported historic-preservation efforts within the town, notably as a driving force behind the creation of the East Hampton Village Historic Districts.
Speaker: Alastair Gordon
For some 20 years, Gordon wrote for The New York Times on topics in art, architecture, and the environment. In 2008, he became Contributing Editor on design for WSJ, the Wall Street Journal Magazine, as well as launching and producing the popular “Wall-to-Wall” design blog on the Journal’s web site. Gordon’s essays have been published in many other publications, including Architectural Digest, Vanity Fair, Le Monde, Architectural Record, New York Observer, House & Garden and Dwell. From 2014 to 2019 he was the architecture/design critic for the Miami Herald, and in 2020 launched the Poetics of Place (POP) podcast series.
In addition to his critical journalism, Gordon has published more than 28 books on art, architecture and environment, including such critically acclaimed titles as Weekend Utopia, Naked Airport, Spaced Out, Theater of Shopping, Arquitectonica, Romantic Modernist, and Wandering Forms.
In 2016, he launched a critical-writing program at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design and he has taught and lectured at many other institutions. Earlier in his career, Gordon was General Editor of The Princeton Papers on Architecture and served as the Robert Lehman Curator at the Parrish Art Museum in Southampton, N.Y. He has received numerous prizes for his critical journalism and received a special citation for ‘Excellence in Criticism’ from the American Institute of Architects. Alastair is Co-Founder and Editorial Director of Gordon de Vries Studio, an imprint that specializes in books about the human environment.
The Landmarks Luncheon is SOLD OUT- Call LVIS office at 631-324-1220, ext 2 to get on list for last minute tickets
Or you can still contribute by becoming a sponsor.
Sponsorship
Help raise awareness and appreciation of East Hampton landmarks within the community, and support local historic preservation projects. We could not hold our annual luncheon and work for landmarks preservation without the generosity of people like you.
Click here for more information.
The LVIS is a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation, and contributions are deductible to the extent allowed by law.
Many thanks to our Sponsors.
HONORED GUEST
SUPPORTER
Brenda Howard
PATRON
FRIENDS
Bates Masi Architects
Peter Turino