Greene and Greene and the Arts & Crafts movement
This picture (and below) of a Greene & Greene inspired home taken by Neal Bahrman
Greene & Greene inspired links worth checking out:
Wendell Garrett on the Greenes
Gamble House
furniture maker
hamm studios
Today there is a growing tendency in our throwaway society to dismiss craftsmanship as an outdated notion, and to relegate woodworking to “craft” status, somewhere between macramé and potholder knitting. So it becomes easy to overlook the vital role that craftsmanship & woodworking play in art, industry, and architecture.
In this regard we at HP Construction believe that the architectural firm known as Greene and Greene – specifically, Charles Sumner Greene and Henry Mather Greene, merit a closer look. Because of our dedication to fine craftsmanship, we're reserving this page of our website for a consideration of these two architectural artists and craftsmen.
Born in Ohio of New England stock, schooled at MIT, also known as Boston Tech, they developed their trademark style in
Even as teenagers, their career in architecture was already a given. They attended the Manual Training School of Washington University, a pre-engineering high school where math, drawing, and wood and metal working were taught in order to develop a hands-on appreciation for the virtue of skilled labor and craftsmanship.
This early training had an enormous impact on the brothers, which deeply affected their design work. Even in later life, they would often do skilled woodworking on their own projects – something unheard of for a modern architect in today’s world.
While Greene and Greene were proficient in a number of styles, at some point they fell under the influence of Gustav Stickley’s emerging Craftsman Style. Coupled with their love of Asian art and architecture, they developed their own trademark style, sometimes called “ultimate bungalow”, because it took the style to such a grand scale.
They created homes and entire interiors, ranging from the architecture and engineering of the structure to the design and detailing of the doors, windows, furniture, carpets, stained glass, tile, metalwork, light fixtures, pottery, and even landscaping.
Their furniture designs show an elegance and subtlety not present in most craftsman-style furniture. We don't consider it an exaggeration to say that their woodworking joinery elevated their best homes to the One obstacle the Greene’s encountered was the difficulty of finding craftsmen with the level of skill required to build their designs. Thus, their work was greatly benefited by their collaboration with the Hall brothers, Peter and John, two Swedish immigrants skilled in combining Old-World techniques with modern power tool joinery. The Greene’s met the Hall brothers in 1904, and began a long relationship that took the craftsmanship and detailing of their projects to new heights.
Greene and Greene struggled to balance the demands of their uncompromising artistic vision with the economic realities of producing work-for-hire. Many letters survive wherein again and again we find Charles Greene defending their work, explaining why quality work costs more and takes longer. Characteristically, their work cost more because they demanded and paid for premium materials and craftsmanship, but they did not themselves amass any significant wealth while building masterpiece homes for the wealthy.
Although the Greenes continued to work their artistic and architectural magic throughout their lives, the bulk of their best work took place in a flurry of creative years just prior to WW1, while they were still young men. They received some recognition for their work, but as a post-war Modernism swept the world, their style was no longer in vogue, and their contributions were largely forgotten. It is a tragedy that such great talent lay largely untapped for much of the remainder of their lives.
Their commissions tapered off, their partnership broke up, and their work became sporadic at Just as some of Van Gogh’s paintings were found after his death being used to patch holes in a chicken fence, much of the Greene’s incredible work was demolished, remodeled, or painted over. When visiting one of his architectural projects later in life, Henry Greene reportedly wept when he saw how even the embossed gold leaf on a ceiling design had been painted over.
It wasn’t until near the end of their lives that they began to get a sense of a renewed appreciation for what they had done. And (as is always the case) the real recognition for their accomplishments materialized after their death.
Today they are recognized for having left behind a legacy of great furniture and architectural design, even stunning landscape designs, which continue to inspire students and followers of great design, almost a hundred years later. GREENE & GREENE: artists, architects, craftsmen, and interior designers
WHO: brothers Charles Sumner Greene and Henry Mather Greene, architectural firm: Greene and Greene Treated the production of residential architecture, interiors, and wood furniture as an art form of both functional and aesthetic beauty. Developed a trademark style based on combining the unpretentious integrity of Gustav Stickley’s “Craftsman” ideal with the subtle beauty of Asian art and architecture. Left behind a legacy of great furniture and residential architecture design, even stunning landscape designs, which continue to awe and inspire students and followers of great design, almost a hundred years later. WHERE:
WHY: Both brothers were schooled in the fundamentals of craftsmanship based on sound design principles.
Charles Greene, the more artistic and creative member of Greene and Greene, sought to achieve an ideal of beauty both of form and function, based on an unpretentious style that celebrated the inherent attractiveness of good craftsmanship. Biblioigraphy: QUOTES:
“It is too much to expect that anyone may see the excellence of this kind of thing in a few days. The work itself took months to execute and the best years of my life went to develop this style. ..Into your busy life I have sought to bring what lay in my power of the best that I could do for Art and for you” - Charles Greene, regarding the expense of constructing a stone wall
“The idea was to eliminate everything unnecessary, to make the whole as direct and simple as possible, but always with the beautiful in mind as the first goal…” -Henry Greene
“Business, I admit, must be run upon business lines, but this is not business, this is the art of helping to make living pleasurable and beautiful beyond the merely useful” - Charles Greene
“Perhaps one of the greatest legacies of Charles and Henry Greene, along with their extraordinary, decorative arts, and other tangible output, is the uncompromising will of two men in a quiet corner of California who toiled for a level of perfection that each felt to be unobtainable, but worth striving for. In doing so, they created some of the most enduring masterpieces of the last century.” - Edward R. Bosley 
status of furniture large enough to live in.
best. And yet, they did manage to produce some enduring masterpieces, even during this period of limited opportunities. Like many creative geniuses, their lives are a study in the frustration and disillusionment that result from pouring one’s heart and energies into pursuing a personal artistic vision in a largely critical and unappreciative world, driven more by economics than aesthetics.
to visit a blog of our Craftsman Style room addition, click here
to see our flickr.com scrapbook of photos for this room addition, click here
WHAT: established a style later known as the “ultimate bungalow” that took the Craftsman style of architecture and interiors to a heightened level of craftsmanship, detailing, and aesthetics.
Created entire interiors, ranging from the architecture and engineering of the structure to the design and detailing of the doors, windows, furniture, carpets, stained glass, tile, metalwork, light fixtures, and pottery.
WHEN: early in the 20th century, during the years preceding the first world war of 1914-1919
Supported by the pragmatic and industrious Henry Greene, his younger brother, the two men sought to establish an architectural vocabulary native to
Greene & Greene, by Edward Bosley
Greene & Greene by Marvin Rand
Greene & Greene Masterworks by Bruce Smith and Alexander Vertikoff
Greene and Greene Virtual Archives
David P. Hellman and Associates
