Sketching historic sites provides participants with practical knowledge of tradition as manifest in the architecture The Crane Estate has many sites worthy of study. "The Great House" on Castle Hill, was designed by architect David Adler of Chicago. The fifty-nine-room mansion includes a main facade in the 17th-century Stuart style, a library with Grinling Gibbons carvings imported from an English country manor (Cassiobury House), parquet wood flooring, and paneled interior rooms from an 18th-century townhouse at 75 Dean Street in London. Adler's sister Frances Elkins collaborated with him on the interior of the Great House. The rear aspect of the house, with its octagonal towers and inset roundels, was modeled on Ham House in England. Completed in 1928, this splendid mansion stands amid the Olmsted Brothers' landscaping. A pair of immense seated griffin statues by renowned sculptor Paul Manship grace the entrance to the north terrace overlooking the sea.

Participants follow in the great tradition of architects and artists who have learned from drawing in situ. One may take a thousand photos of a subject and may not know it... but if one spends some time drawing the same object ... you will have it in your mind forever. To draw is to see. The program focuses on the enduring vitality and continuity of the classical tradition through the means of observational and analytical drawing. The morning session will be spent drawing the exterior of the house with special attention to the architectural details. The afternoon will be spent sketching the grounds of the estate.

COURSE FORMAT: Course instruction will begin with a tour of the interior and a brief lecture on plein air drawing. The majority of class time will involve sketching the architecture and landscape of the Crane Estate. Guidance will be provided by the instructor.

COURSE PREREQUISITES: None required. Course content is suitable for those with limited exposure to drawing in situ or for the more seasoned artist.

MATERIALS: Drawing tools of choice ... but the Instructor suggests a small sketchbook (either white or toned pages), pencils, pens, erasers and a sharpener. Colored pencils in white, sepia, yellow ochre and burnt siena, blue is suggested if you are drawing on toned paper. A portable stool would be helpful.

Instructor: David Pearson

Mr. Pearson’s former work as Senior Designer at Fairfax and Sammons focused on the urban form at many scales and venues. This range included a large urban and architectural design in Charleston, South Carolina to a small infill project in Newport, Rhode Island. He is very committed to the importance of the particularity of place when designing. Validation of this commitment was recognized in his recent work on The Richard Driehaus Architectural Competition “Urban Rejuvenation of Olite Spain” which won an Honorable Mention.

Mr. Pearson has instructed numerous urban sketching tours for the Institute of Classical Architecture and Art and the American Society of Landscape Architects. His most recent tours were in The Berkshires and Newport, Rhode Island for the New England ICAA Chapter. As a former Associate with Robert A.M. Stern Architects he worked on the design of a broad range of projects for cultural, institutional, and residential clients. Mr. Pearson worked on the Commonwealth of Virginia General Assembly Building in Richmond and the Georgia Judicial Complex in Atlanta. He previously worked on the LEED Gold Immanuel Chapel for the Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria, Virginia; Audley Square House, a top-end residential building in the Mayfair district of London; a mixed-use development comprising a 32- story apartment tower, townhouses, and a meetinghouse for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; a mixed-use development in Charleston, South Carolina; and a supportive housing building for a non-profit organization in Brooklyn, New York. Mr. Pearson’s work in China for RAMSA included residential developments in Hong Kong, Tianjin, Beijing, Jinjiang, and Xiamen; the conversion of an existing building into a hotel in Hong Kong; and a private residence in Ningbo.

Prior to joining Robert A.M. Stern Architects, Mr. Pearson worked with Veranda Partners of Orlando, Florida, as Vice President of Architecture and Design focusing on mixed use developments.; and with Erickson Associates of Naples, Florida, as a principal. From 1991 to 2004 he was a principal at David Pearson Design of New York City and Orlando and Assistant Resident Designer at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Mr. Pearson also served as an instructor at the Georgia Institute of Technology’s School of Architecture while earning his graduate degrees. Mr. Pearson’s work has been published in Florida Design Magazine, Food Arts Magazine, The Classicist, Bar Excellence: Designs for Pubs and Clubs (Glen Cove, New York: PBC International, 1999), and World Space Design 09 (Tokyo: NIC Ltd., 1992). Mr. Pearson is a graduate of Rollins College (B.A., Theatre Design and Studio Art), and the Georgia Institute of Technology (M.S.in Classical Design,2008, Architecture; M. Arch., 2011), where he was an Arthur Ross Scholar. He was selected as a Visiting Artist to the American Academy in Rome in 2008 and 2011. Mr. Pearson is a member of the Institute of Classical Architecture and Art New England Chapter.