Fire Island Modernist: Horace Gifford and the Architecture of Seduction - Expanded Edition

As the 1960s became the "Sixties," architect Horace Gifford executed a remarkable series of beach houses that transformed the terrain and culture of New York’s Fire Island. Growing up on the beaches of Florida, Gifford forged a deep connection with coastal landscapes. Pairing this sensitivity with jazzy improvisations on modernist themes, he perfected a sustainable modernism in cedar and glass that was as attuned to natural landscapes as to our animal natures. Gifford’s serene 1960s pavilions provided refuge from a hostile world, while his exuberant post-Stonewall, pre-AIDS masterpieces orchestrated bacchanals of liberation.

Blending cultural and architectural history, Fire Island Modernist ponders a fascinating era through an overlooked architect whose life, work and colorful milieu trace the operatic arc of a lost generation and still resonate with artistic and historical import. First published in 2013 and long out of print, this iconic book returns in an expanded edition, including four new featured houses and a new afterword by Charles Renfro.

Author: Christopher Bascom Rawlins

9" x 12"

Hardcover

224 pages

Publisher: Metropolis

ISBN: 978-1881616993

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