Editing Adam style

{{Short description|Neoclassical style of interior design and architecture}}
{{no footnotes|date=December 2017}}
[[File:Syon House 2.jpg|thumb|Grand [[Neoclassical architecture|Neoclassical]] interior by [[Robert Adam]], [[Syon House]], London]]
[[Image:Robert and James Adam. Details for Derby House in Grosvenor Square. Published 1777.jpg|thumb|Details for Derby House in [[Grosvenor Square]], an example of the Adam brothers' decorative designs]]
The '''Adam style''' (also called '''Adamesque''' or the '''Style of the Brothers Adam''') is an 18th-century [[neoclassicism|neoclassical]] style of [[interior design]] and architecture, as practised by Scottish architect [[William Adam (architect)|William Adam]] and his sons, of whom [[Robert Adam|Robert]] (1728–1792) and [[James Adam (architect)|James]] (1732–1794) were the most widely known.
 
The Adam brothers advocated an integrated style for architecture and interiors, with walls, ceilings, fireplaces, furniture, fixtures, fittings and carpets all being designed by the Adams as a single uniform scheme. Their style is commonly known under the mistaken plural "Adams style".

The ''Adam style'' found its niche from the late 1760s in upper-class and middle-class residences in 18th-century England, Scotland, Russia (where it was introduced by Scottish architect [[Charles Cameron (architect)|Charles Cameron]]), and post-[[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]] United States (where it became known as [[Federal style architecture|Federal style]] and took on a variation of its own). The style was superseded from around 1795 onwards by the [[Regency architecture|Regency style]] and the [[Empire style|French Empire style]].

==Background==

===Building boom===
During the 18th century there was much work for eager architects and designers, as Britain experienced a boom in the building of new houses, theatres, shops, offices and factories, with towns growing rapidly due to the onset of the [[Industrial Revolution]]. The emphasis was on modernisation, with regulations being introduced to clean up the nation's streets, promoting the re-paving of roads and pavements, improving drainage and street lighting, and better fireproofing of buildings with the widespread use of brick and stone. 
Speculative building was rife, with some developers focussing on high speed and low cost. Sometimes, newly built houses collapsed due to poor workmanship; whilst others continually shifted on their foundations, giving rise to the phrase "things that go bump in the night", as mysterious crashes, creaks and thuds were heard by their inhabitants late at night. 
[[History of London|London]] experienced major expansion, with the newly built West End, which included the elegant squares of [[Mayfair]]; areas of the East End of London were also developed, such as the new terraces in [[Spitalfields]]. The cities of [[Edinburgh]], [[History of Bristol|Bristol]] and [[History of Dublin|Dublin]] were all expanded and modernised. [[History of Birmingham|Birmingham]] was described in 1791 as being the "first manufacturing town in the world". [[History of Manchester|Manchester]] and [[History of Liverpool|Liverpool]] each saw their population triple between 1760 and 1800. New towns, like [[Bath, Somerset|Bath]], were constructed around natural spas. Old medieval cities and market towns, such as [[History of York|York]] and [[Chichester]], had their buildings re-fronted with brick or stucco, plus new sash windows, to give the impression of modernity, despite the underlying structures remaining medieval.

===Pattern books and style guides===
The Neoclassical style was all the vogue throughout the 18th century, and many style guides were published to advise builders how their finished properties should look. Influential guides included [https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/351155 Stephen] Riou's ''The Grecian Orders'' (1768), and [[Batty Langley]]'s ''A Sure Guide to Builders'' (1729), ''The Young Builder's Rudiments'' (1730 and 1734), ''Ancient Masonry'' (1736), ''The City and Country Builder's and Workman's Treasury of Designs'' (1740 and later editions), ''The Builder's Jewel'' (1741). Architects, designers, cabinet makers, stonemasons, and craftsmen published pattern books and style guides to advertise their ideas, thereby hoping to attract a lucrative clientele.

==The Adam style==
[[Image:Home House 05.jpg|thumb|260px|Interior of [[Home House]], designed by [[Robert Adam]] in 1777]]
The work of the Adam brothers set the style for domestic architecture and interiors for much of the latter half of the 18th century.

Robert and James Adam travelled in Italy and Dalmatia in the 1750s, observing the ruins of the classical world. On their return to Britain, they set themselves up with their older brother, [[John Adam (architect)|John]], as architects. Robert and James published a book entitled ''The Works in Architecture'' in instalments between 1773 and 1779. This book of engraved designs made the ''Adam'' repertory available throughout Europe. The Adam brothers aimed to simplify the [[rococo]] and [[baroque]] styles which had been fashionable in the preceding decades, to bring what they felt to be a lighter and more elegant feel to Georgian houses. ''The Works in Architecture'' illustrated the main buildings the Adam brothers had worked on and crucially documented the interiors, furniture and fittings, designed by the Adams. 
A parallel development of this phase of neoclassical design is the French [[Louis XVI style]].

The Adam style moved away from the strict mathematical proportions previously found in Georgian rooms, and introduced curved walls and domes, decorated with elaborate plasterwork and striking mixed colour schemes using newly affordable paints in pea green, sky blue, lemon, lilac, bright pink, and red-brown terracotta.

Artists such as [[Angelica Kauffman]] and [[Antonio Zucchi]] were employed to paint classical figurative scenes within cartouches set into the interior walls and ceilings.

The Adam's main rivals were [[James Wyatt]], whose many designs for furniture were less known outside the wide circle of his patrons, because he never published a book of engravings; and Sir [[William Chambers (architect)|William Chambers]], who designed fewer furnishings for his interiors, preferring to work with such able cabinet-makers as [[John Linnell 18th C Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer|John Linnell]], [[Thomas Chippendale]], and [[Ince and Mayhew]]. So many able designers were working in this style in London from circa 1770 that the style is currently more usually termed ''Early Neoclassical''.

[[Image:AdamOsterleyPark.jpg|thumb|right|240px|Robert Adam's design for the Etruscan Dressing Room, [[Osterley Park]], 1773–74; the painted ornaments on the walls and ceilings are the work of Pietro Maria Borgnis, working for Adam.]] 
It was typical of ''Adam style'' to combine decorative [[Gothic Revival|neo-Gothic]] details into the classical framework. So-called "Egyptian" and "Etruscan" design motifs were minor features.

The ''Adam style'' is identified with:
* Classical [[Roman architecture|Roman]] decorative motifs, such as framed medallions, vases, urns and tripods, [[Arabesque (European art)|arabesque]] vine scrolls, [[sphinx]]es, [[griffin]]s, and dancing nymphs
* Flat grotesque panels
* Pilasters
* Painted ornaments, such as swags and ribbons
* Complex pastel colour schemes

The Adam style was superseded from around 1795 onwards by the simpler Regency style in Britain; and the French Empire style in France and Russia, which was a more imperial and self-consciously archeological style, connected with the [[First French Empire]].

==Influences==
The Adam style was strongly influenced by:
* Frescoes and wall paintings found in the newly excavated Roman cities of [[Pompeii]] and [[Herculaneum]]
* [[Pottery of ancient Greece|Greek black and red-figure painted vases]], which were being excavated and collected in large numbers from Etruscan tombs in Italy, and then thought to be Etruscan.
* Classical [[Greek architecture]], which was known in Britain through publications such as James Stuart and Nicholas Revett's book ''The Antiquities of Athens'' published in 1762.

==Revival==
[[File:Judges' Lodgings 2014 GLAM 1900 Cane seat settee 2722.JPG|thumb|A piece by [[Gillows of Lancaster and London|Gillows]] made in 1900 from a century-old measured drawing]]
Interest in the Adam style was revived in the late [[Victorian era|Victorian]] and [[Edwardian era|Edwardian]] eras, initiated by a spectacular marquetry cabinet by [[Wright & Mansfield]] exhibited at the [[Paris Exposition of 1867]]. Reproduction furniture in the general "Regency Revival" style, to which the Adam revival was closely linked, was very popular with the expanding middle classes from circa 1880 to 1920. They were attracted to the light and elegant designs, as a contrast to the heavier and more cluttered interiors which had dominated their homes during the second half of the 19th century. The revival competed with the [[Arts and Crafts Movement|Arts and Crafts]] style, which continued to be popular in Britain up to the 1930s. The Adam and Regency revivals, however, lost mainstream momentum after [[World War I]], being replaced by [[Art Deco]] in popular taste.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Sleepingnymph.jpg|Painting by [[Angelica Kauffman]], typical of those she painted for the interiors designed by the Adam brothers
File:Osterley Park Interior.jpg|Interior of [[Osterley Park]], designed by [[Robert Adam]] in 1761
File:Home House 03.jpg|Stairwell within [[Home House]], designed by [[Robert Adam]] in 1777
File:AdamBrothersHallatSyon1778.jpg|A design for the hall at [[Syon House]] by Robert and James Adam, 1778
File:AdamBrothersCountessofDerbysDressingroomEtruscanTaste1777.jpg|Design by the Adam brothers for a ceiling in Derby House, 1778
File:Piano style Adam fabriqué par le facteur de pianos français Erard. Restauré par Marion Lainé en 2024.jpg|Piano style Adam, fabriqué en 1903 par le facteur de pianos français [[Erard (company)]]. Restauré en 2024 par [http://www.piano-savoie.com Marion Lainé]
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[List of architectural styles]]
*[[George Hepplewhite]]
*[[Thomas Sheraton]]

==References==
* Eileen Harris, ''The Furniture of Robert Adam''

==Bibliography==
*Spencer-Churchill, Henrietta (1997) ''Classic Georgian Style'', Collins & Brown, {{ISBN|1-85585-428-7}}.
*Harris, Eileen (2001) ''The Genius of Robert Adam: His Interiors'' {{ISBN|0-300-08129-4}}.
*Parissien, Steven (1992) ''Adam Style'', Phaidon, {{ISBN|0-7148-2727-4}}.

== External links ==
* {{commons category-inline}}

{{revivals}}
{{Architecture in the United States}}

[[Category:Architectural styles]]
[[Category:Neoclassical architecture|*]]
[[Category:Architecture in Scotland]]
[[Category:Interior design]]
[[Category:Scottish design]]
[[Category:18th century in Scotland]]
[[Category:18th century in the Russian Empire]]
[[Category:18th century in the United States]]
[[Category:18th century in England]]
[[Category:18th-century architectural styles]]