Writers

NOTES: John, James and Anne were the children of artists Eric and Tirzah Ravilious.

NOTES: Sir Henry Wotton was a distinguished diplomat and writer on architecture. He was the author of the famous remark that an ambassador was an honest man sent to lie abroad for the good of his country. Wotton took advantage of his postings to develop his passionate interest in architecture. He was the first person to bring drawings by Palladio to England (in 1612). In 1624, Wotton wrote The Elements of Architecture, a brief but highly influential work that has been described as 'the first significant British contribution to architectural theory'. The text is erudite and pithy and includes the oft-quoted Vitruvian definition of the qualities of good architecture as being 'firmness, commodity and delight'.

SOURCE: Architects' Journal, vol. 123, 1956 Jan. 19, p. 86-87

NOTES: Charles Perrault, writer with a career in government service, was the brother of architect Claude Perrault.

NOTES: Burns died in 1796 and was buried in St Michael's churchyard, but his body was moved in 1817 to the mausoleum built in the churchyard by public subscription. This view is a somewhat idealised view of the monument and its surroundings. See also RIBA31552 for an uncoloured version of this print.

NOTES: Denys Lasdun was awarded an honorary degree by the University of East Anglia in 1974.

NOTES: MacAlister was Secretary of the RIBA from 1908-1943. He was a significant figure in the twentieth-century development of architectural education and until he joined the RIBA he had been a freelance journalist with a particular interest in the Empire. Note the elevation of the RIBA building on the wall behind the sitter.