Lot 7: STANFORD WHITE

Staircase in the French Quarter.

Watercolor and wash on cream laid paper. 334x264 mm; 13 1/2x10 3/8 inches. Ex-collection Lawrence White, Robert White and Davis Galleries according to a label on the frame back.

Born in New York City, White was an accomplished American architect. He entered the office of Gambrill and Richardson in Boston, at the time when H. H. Richardson was at the peak of his fame. With Richardson, White worked on the design for Trinity Church, Boston.

In 1879, after studying in Europe, he went into partnership with C. F. McKim and W. R. Mead; their firm would affect the course of American architecture. Among the buildings executed by the firm, those that are commonly ascribed as his individual accomplishments include the second Madison Square Garden, Madison Square Presbyterian Church, the New York Herald Building, Washington Arch, and the Century Club, all in New York City (only the latter two survive). White's passion and talent, evident in these buildings, focused on the decorative elements and the interior design and furnishings.

He was shot and killed in Madison Square Roof Garden by Harry K. Thaw due to his love affair with Thaw's wife, Evelyn Nesbit Thaw. After his death the firm continued to design buildings in his style that later were erroneously attributed to White himself, e.g., the Harvard Club, New York.