Background
Gowans, Alan was born on November 30, 1923 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Came to the United States, 1948.
(Discussing North American buildings, both formal and vern...)
Discussing North American buildings, both formal and vernacular, this book relates them to time and place, defining and identifying central characteristics, explaining social function and cultural expression. It integrates interior design and social and cultural history from the 17th century to the present. Alan Gowans is the author of "The Comfortable House" and "Images of American Living".
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0064332764/?tag=2022091-20
Gowans, Alan was born on November 30, 1923 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Came to the United States, 1948.
Bachelor, University Toronto, 1946. Master of Fine Arts, Princeton University, 1948. Doctor of Philosophy, Princeton University, 1950.
Doctor of Philosophy, Princeton University, 1950.
A charismatic teacher and prolific author, his academic specialty was North American architecture, frequently highlighting such unheralded structures as gas stations, restaurants, motels, bungalows and mail-order homes, and exploring their social, cultural and national significance. Perhaps his most influential work was Images of American Living. A partial list of the teaching and research institutions at which Gowans held teaching positions includes: Rutgers University, Middlebury College, Harvard University, University of Edinburgh, Stockholm University and Uppsala University.
A former president of the Society of Architectural Historians, he served as chairman of the art history department at the University of Delaware and as founding chairman of the Department of History in Art at the University of Victoria in Victoria, British Columbia.
From Victoria, he spearheaded an international and cross-cultural approach to the history of art, bringing notable scholars such as Siri Gunasinghe to the new university, and guest lecturers as varied as Immanuel Velikovsky, Boris Piotrovsky and Hans Wolfgang Müller. In 1988 he settled in Washington District of Columbia, archiving an extensive personal collection of architectural photographs, a unique resource now held in the The Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts archives containing over 10,000 images of vernacular architecture.
Gowans acted as a consultant for the Ken Burns/Lynn Novick Film Frank Lloyd Wright (1998). He continued to live a scholar"s life until his death in 2001.
(Discussing North American buildings, both formal and vern...)
Member Society of Architectural Historians (president 1970-1974, director 1974-1980). HOME & OFFICE (Mailing) Alan Gowans National Images of NAm Living 5242020 F St Northwest Washington, District of Columbia 20006-4234 M C.