Paris on the Potomac: The French Influence on the Architecture and Art of Washington, D.C.

Preface

Preface The essays in this collection, the latest addition to the series on Perspectives on the Art and Architectural History of the United States Capitol, originated in a conference held by the U.S. Capitol Historical Society in 2002 at the French Embassy’s La Maison Française. The five essays in this volume explore aspects of the French influences on the artistic and architectural environment of the nation’s capital that continued well after the well-known contributions of Peter Charles L’Enfant, the transplanted French military officer who designed the city’s plan. His vision of a majestic capital on a grand European scale remains evident today in the placement of the Capitol, the Mall, and the city’s monumental core. As the articles in this volume attest, French influence, however , extends from the city’s major federal and public buildings to the city’s commercial and residential architecture as well. The essays in this volume were compiled by Cynthia R. Field, Isabelle Gournay, and Thomas P. Somma, who together originated the concept for the conference. The series editor thanks these three scholars for their diligence and perseverance in seeing this project to publication. He also extends special thanks to two speakers at the 2002 conference: Michael Paul Driskel, who substituted on short notice to present a paper on L’Enfant, and Kenneth R. Bowling, who discussed his book Peter Charles L’Enfant: Vision, Honor, and Male Friendship in the Early American Republic. Donald R. Kennon ix Paris on the Potomac ...