By Victor Davis Hanson, 4

June 2018 02 02 02 02 02 September November

42 64692 74820 64692 74820 64692 74820 A monthly 64692 74820 review edited by 64692 74820 Roger Kimball January March May Notes & Comments, 1 The good populism by Victor Davis Hanson, 4

11 09 05 Founding philosophy03 by Michael01 Anton, 8 > > > Walter Pater in> Arcadia by Paul Dean> , 18 The future of architectural classicism by Clive Aslet, 23 New poems by A. E. Stallings, Rachel Hadas & Jericho Brown, 29 Letter from Bournemouth by Anthony Daniels, 32; Reﬂections by Genevieve Wheeler Brown, 35; Reconsiderations by Nigel Spivey, 38; Theater by Kyle Smith, 41; Art by Karen Wilkin, Andrew L. Shea, Dominic Green & James Panero, 45; Music by Jay Nordlinger, 56; The media by James Bowman, 60; Verse chronicle by William Logan, 64; Books: Conrad Black Donald J. Trump reviewed by James Piereson, 72; Nicholas Frankel Oscar Wilde & Laura Lee Oscar’s ghost reviewed by Carl Rollyson, 77; Bruce Kennett W. A . D w i g g i n s reviewed by Carl W. Scarbrough,

02 02 02 79; Andre 02 Dubus We don’t live here anymore02 & The winter father reviewed by December 42 64692 74820 64692 74820 64692 74820 64692 74820 64692 74820 Finnegan Schick, 80; Hendrik MeijerFebruary Arthur Vandenberg reviewed by Richard October

TillinghastApril , 82; Dale Allen Gyure Minoru Yamasaki reviewed by Francis Morrone, June 84; Notebook by Marco Grassi, 87; Index, 91 Volume 36, Number 10, $7.75 / £7.50 12 10 06 04 02 > > > > > Reﬂections American treasures by Genevieve Wheeler Brown

If the men of America have seen fit to allow the The decades immediately following the home of its most respected hero go to ruin, why can’t founding of the Mount Vernon Ladies’ As- the women of America band together to save it? sociation saw the proliferation of organized —Louisa Bird Cunningham to her daughter advocacy groups—mostly led by women— Ann Pamela Cunningham, 1853 who aimed to reclaim historic buildings and sites. Visit any historic property in the United These incendiary words, penned by Louisa States, and more than likely you will discover Bird Cunningham on seeing the deteriorating that women were responsible for its preserva- remains of Mount Vernon, George Washing- tion—a striking legacy. ton’s home in the Virginia countryside, speak What exactly drew women to historic pres- to the impassioned response that historic prop- ervation? Barred from voting and discouraged erty can elicit. Quickly rising to her mother’s from higher learning or positions in politics challenge, Ann Pamela Cunningham not only and finance, many women sought a part in launched the first national campaign to save this shaping the American experience. Preservation iconic property, but also founded America’s first provided an organic role within institutional historic preservation organization, the Mount confines. This wave of female-led preservation Vernon Ladies’ Association, in 1853. Unwit- was characterized by the founding of numer- tingly, she had ushered in the beginning of ous women’s groups of various sizes, origins, the American historic preservation movement. and purposes. Perhaps the most famous is the Perhaps it is assumed that symbols of our Daughters of the American Revolution (dar). national identity such as Mount Vernon have Founded in 1890, the dar initiated national always been protected. Last year, over a million campaigns to save such patriotic shrines as visitors made the pilgrimage to Washington’s Independence Hall in Philadelphia, the Bun- estate, walking its gravel paths to admire the ker Hill Monument near Boston, and Wash- mansion’s rusticated façade, red painted roof, ington’s military camp at Valley Forge. The and imposing piazza. The current sparkling dar is also an example of the many groups condition of the house and its grounds belies a inspired by popular sentiment and celebrations not-so-distant period of neglect and near-loss. surrounding the Centennial International Ex- Many historic properties across the United hibition of 1876, an event that drew close to States, including Mount Vernon, were virtu- ten million visitors. ally abandoned in the nineteenth century due This patriotic spirit was also manifested by to lack of support or plans to preserve them. individuals like Helen Pitts Douglass, who, During that period of Civil War and even- with limited resources, perpetuated the legacy tual Reconstruction, historic properties were of her husband, Frederick Douglass, in pre- hardly the nation’s primary concern. serving their home, Cedar Hill, in Washington,

The New Criterion June 2018 35 Reﬂections

D.C. She would go on to found the Frederick over fifteen thousand female members. Mem- Douglass Memorial and Historical Associa- bership is based on lineage and a commitment tion in 1900. to the Society’s three main objectives: historic Whether working alone or in formal net- preservation, patriotic service, and education. works, these women shared a common passion The nscda first assumed the title of historic for protecting what they believed had inherent property steward in 1896, when the organiza- educational value. They had the ability not only tion’s New York Society undertook the preser- to raise the funds but also to influence politicians vation and management of the Van Cortlandt —who provided much of the funding for con- House (ca. 1748), the oldest surviving building servation—and set precedents that would lead in the Bronx. As per the name of the orga- to the later development of such institutions as nization, the nscda’s initial efforts reflected the National Park Service in 1916 and the Na- a narrow focus on architecturally important tional Trust for Historic Preservation in 1949. or culturally significant properties related to As the twentieth century progressed and colonial America. federal preservation programs expanded, Encouraged by its first foray into preserva- Congress took on an increasingly active role tion, the nscda assumed its first ownership of in historic preservation with the introduction a historic property in 1900, with the White- of legislation including the Historic Sites Act hall Museum House (ca. 1729) in Middle- of 1935 and the National Historic Preservation town, Rhode Island. Other acquisitions and Act of 1966. Having adeptly created sustain- collaborative stewardships quickly followed, able models of operation, women’s preserva- including The Powder Magazine Museum (ca. tion groups moved into a phase of less visible 1713) in Charleston, South Carolina’s oldest but still unwavering stewardship. Awareness government building; the Dorothy Quincy of the role of women in historic preserva- Homestead, first built in 1686 in Quincy, Mas- tion efforts began to wane. By the end of the sachusetts; and Stenton (ca. 1723), the country twentieth century, the record of women in home of James Logan, a colonial mayor of preservation, though impressive, had become Philadelphia. In 1907 the nscda sponsored mostly overlooked. the rebuilding of the Memorial Church at Historic Jamestown. One of the greatest, though little-known, But seeing the educational value in widening proponents of American historic preserva- its collecting purview outside the strict “Thir- tion has been the National Society of Co- teen Colonies” scope, the nscda in the 1920s lonial Dames of America (nscda). The and ’30s began the process of expanding its origin of the Dames can be dated to April footprint across the United States. Exploring 8, 1891, at the Philadelphia home of Fanny the broader American experience, purchases Hollingsworth Arnold. A history enthusiast were made in Florida (the Ximenez-Fatio and the treasurer of the Associate Committee House Museum, ca. 1798, in St. Augustine) of Women at what is now the Philadelphia and Wisconsin (the Historic Indian Agency Museum of Art, Arnold was joined by a group House at Fort Winnebago, ca. 1832, in Portage). of women with similar philanthropic experi- Provided with abundant collecting opportuni- ence, including Elizabeth Duane Gillespie (a ties owing to the financial crises of the Great great-granddaughter of Benjamin Franklin Depression, the nscda added thirteen new and the president of the Women’s Commit- major properties, most significantly Dumbar- tee of the Centennial International Exhibition ton House (ca. 1799)—the only Federal-period of 1876), to establish the founding society of house museum in Washington, D.C.—to serve the nscda. Once launched in Philadelphia, as the nscda’s national headquarters. the nscda quickly grew into one the most ef- During this interwar period, the nscda also fective nationwide preservation organizations. began to commission works by several preemi- Today the organization is an unincorporated nent contemporary American architects, in- association of forty-four state societies with cluding the renowned team of McKim, Mead

36 The New Criterion June 2018 Reﬂections

& White, which designed and constructed the practices to collections data—all headed by one granite neoclassical memorial canopy over of the unsung heroes of the historic preserva- Plymouth Rock in 1921. Collaborating with tion movement. Bringing together ninety-two other preservation organizations even outside seventeenth- to twentieth-century historic the United States, the nscda in 1939 initiated properties and collections open to the public the endowment of Sulgrave Manor, George across the United States, Great American Trea- Washington’s ancestral home in Oxfordshire, sures is the result of the nscda’s long commit- England, with the donations of over thirty-five ment to honoring America’s rich heritage. Of thousand subscribers. institutions participating in the Great Ameri- Once again re-examining its collecting can Treasures program, forty-two of these sig- approach in the 1940s and ’50s, the nscda nificant historic properties are owned outright recognized the inherent importance of pursu- by the nscda, forty-two are on the National ing additional post-colonial examples. During Register of Historic Places, and twenty-one this period the group took on ten additional are National Historic Landmarks. The only properties, most of which date from the 1800s, American organization that owns or supports including the San Francisco historic landmark more historic properties than the nscda is the Octagon House (ca. 1861), built at the time National Park Service. when the American preservation movement In addition to comprising historic prop- itself was nascent. erties, Great American Treasures will also By the 1960s, with a large and comprehen- involve more than fifty equally significant col- sive portfolio of properties and objects, the lections of American, European, and Asian nscda gradually slowed its pace of expansion, fine and decorative arts, books, manuscripts, concentrating its efforts on curatorial and edu- and historic memorabilia. Many of these items cational initiatives. To this day, acquisitions were donated directly by the families of the (including the Stephen Hopkins House, ca. original owners, and highlights include such 1708, in Providence, Rhode Island, the home items as Dumbarton House’s Stoddert Children of the colonial governor and signer of the Dec- by Charles Willson Peale (1789), still with its laration of Independence) continue, though original frame by James Peale. The encyclo- at a slower pace. The organization’s most re- pedic array, which continues to grow, stands cent purchase, in 2013, was the François Valle in excess of 184,000 objects. House, a French-colonial example (ca. 1792) Over time the nscda has evolved from in Ste. Genevieve, Missouri. a philanthropic educator-collector to a significant steward of American culture. Great The 125th anniversary of the nscda in 2016 American Treasures, though guided by the brought the opportunity for the organi- nscda, will include museums and collec- zation to reflect on its legacy and consider tions beyond the Dames’ own holdings. By women’s role in historic preservation for the facilitating the communication of ideas across next century. The organization committed museum partners, the program will aid the to disseminating the nscda’s institutional houses and collections in carrying out their knowledge, gleaned over more than a cen- missions. Well-run venues will serve as gleam- tury of historic preservation. Great American ing advertisements for the educational value Treasures, a new initiative of the nscda is, of historic-house museums across the United essentially, a museum consortium, separate States, thereby engaging the public in the mis- from the nscda but operating with guidance sion of historic preservation. And if successful, from the organization. It will be a platform the program will recognize women as some of for sharing resources—from curatorial best the original “shapers” of our national memory.

The New Criterion June 2018 37