Herbert Muschamp’s Palaces
His “reviews” of architecture in the New York Times were architectural themselves. They were essays, really, with windows, balustrades, dark libraries, and terraces surrounded by fragrant trees. His writings were little palaces of thought, and unlike real-life palaces, they were inviting, amusing. His way of writing about couture and buildings suggested (gently) that our discomfort had been laziness, miserliness—an inferiority complex in the face of beauty, strength, and wealth.
Apparently, Muschamp was cast out of favor at the paper sometime around 2004.
Herbert Muschamp died this week, age 59, of lung cancer. We hope that you will have access to the announcement in the New York Times, though we found the obituary drab, almost comically so (What a good time he might have had with that assignment!). But the Times links to many, many of his wonderful essays. The Secret History of 2 Columbus Circle is another of our favorites. We’ve never read most of these—a lot to look forward to.
His “reviews” of architecture in the New York Times were architectural themselves. They were essays, really, with windows, balustrades, dark libraries, and terraces surrounded by fragrant trees. His writings were little palaces of thought, and unlike real-life palaces, they were inviting, amusing. His way of writing about couture and buildings suggested (gently) that our discomfort had been laziness, miserliness—an inferiority complex in the face of beauty, strength, and wealth.
Apparently, Muschamp was cast out of favor at the paper sometime around 2004.
Herbert Muschamp died this week, age 59, of lung cancer. We hope that you will have access to the announcement in the New York Times, though we found the obituary drab, almost comically so (What a good time he might have had with that assignment!). But the Times links to many, many of his wonderful essays. The Secret History of 2 Columbus Circle is another of our favorites. We’ve never read most of these—a lot to look forward to.
