An Ode to Landscape

Architect Dan Kiley

American landscape architect Dan Kiley (1912-2004) is a hero for
those of us who follow and care deeply about this art form. He is one
of the most important modernist landscape architects of the 20th
century. I have to be honest that I've never visited any of his projects,
some 1,000 in total worldwide, but just through images and talks I
have been moved by his vision, his sense of the ordered and edited
landscape without it losing its soul, and his intrinsic sense of place
and for what feels right.
In his words, "to build landscapes of clarity and infinity, just like a
walk in the woods." He seems exactly the kind of person I would have
enjoyed being seated next to at a dinner party: stylishly quirky, witty,
and full of ideas. Those who knew him talk endlessly about his
infectious enthusiasm. Landscape architect Laurie Olin says of Kiley:
"Dan's thoughts are like rabbits; they keep leaping out."
He worked with the great architects Eero Saarinen, Louis Kahn, and
I.M. Pei. His design vocabulary was influenced by Andre Le Notre, the
17th-century French landscape architect and gardener to King Louis
XIV. Thankfully, The Cultural Landscape Foundation has put together a
traveling photographic exhibition as a retrospective of his life and
career. It opens in Boston today, the place of Kiley's birth, and to
coincide with the American Society of Landscape Architects' annual
event. The exhibition focuses on 27 of his projects through beautiful
images and an informative catalog of his private and public
commissions. Some of Kiley's work has been lost or tragically altered,
Lincoln Center in New York City and Dulles Airport outside of
Washington, DC among them. This points to the mission of TCLF, the
responsibility of stewardship to these ephemeral works of art.
Here we share images of Currier Farm in Danby, VT and a peek at the
Miller House in Columbus, IN, a project he did with Saarinen which is

currently owned and operated by the Indianapolis Museum of Art and

is open to the public.
Photographs of Currier Farm by Peter Vanderwarker, courtesy of TCLF.

Above: Currier Farm was once part of an expansive 5,000-acre estate

called Smokey House Farm and owned by Stephen and Audrey
Currier.

Above: A drive winds through a hardwood forest before reaching the

house.

Above: Kiley reinterprets the traditional Vermont farm through a

modernist lens, using his characteristic grids and ordered geometry.

Above: The property, ensconced in native woodland, sits atop a low

rise with panoramic views.

Above: Marble steps descend to the house, crossing a narrow streamfed rill.

Above: View outwards to the rolling foothills of Vermont's Green

Mountains range.

Above: Dan Kiley at home. Photograph by Dana Gallagher.

Above: The Miller House, Columbus, Indiana. Photograph by Dana

Gallagher.

Above: Indoor-outdoor living at the Miller House: designed by

Saarinen, landscape by Kiley, and interior designer Alexander
Girard. Photograph by Dana Gallagher.

Above: A classic outdoor entertaining area at the Miller

House. Photograph by Dana Gallagher.
For more from Lindsey Taylor, see A Painter's Legacy: Madoo Gardens
Lives On and Grace Knowlton in the Garden.
EXPLORE MORE: Issue 97: Love Letter to the Houseplant, Outdoor
Gardens, Garden News, Landscape Architect Visit, Outdoor & Gardens