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Robert Adam
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Contents Robert Adam (3 July 1728 – 3 March 1792) was a Scottish neoclassical architect, interior
Robert Adam
Featured content designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam (1689–1748), Scotland's
Current events foremost architect of the time, and trained under him. With his older brother John, Robert
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took on the family business, which included lucrative work for the Board of Ordnance, after
William's death.
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In 1754 he left for Rome, spending nearly five years on the continent studying architecture
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under Charles-Louis Clérisseau and Giovanni Battista Piranesi. On his return to Britain he
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established a practice in London, where he was joined by his younger brother James. Here
Recent changes he developed the "Adam Style", and his theory of "movement" in architecture, based on his
Contact Wikipedia studies of antiquity and became one of the most successful and fashionable architects in
Donate to Wikipedia the country. Adam held the post of Architect of the Kings Works from 1761 to 1769.
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Robert Adam was leader of the first phase of the classical revival in England and Scotland
Toolbox from around 1760 until his death.[2] He influenced the development of Western architecture,
both in Europe and in North America. Adam was not content with providing houses for his
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clients but very ready to design the fittings and accessories as well.[3] Portrait attributed to George Willison, c. 1770-1775
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Contents [hide] Personal information
1 Biography Name Robert Adam
1.1 Early life Nationality Scottish
1.2 Architectural practice in Edinburgh
Birth date 3 July 1728
1.3 Grand Tour
1.4 Architectural practice in London
Birth place Kirkcaldy, Fife [1]
2 Public life Date of death 3 March 1792 (aged 63)
3 Architectural style Place of death London
4 Influence Work
4.1 Written works
Buildings Syon House
5 Projects
Culzean Castle
6 See also
Kedleston Hall
7 References
Pulteney Bridge
8 Bibliography
Harewood House
9 External links

Biography [edit]

Early life [edit]

Blackfriars Monastery, Edinburgh,
site of the Edinburgh High School until
1777
gothic follies.[6] William Adam died in June 1748, and left Dowhill, a part of the Blair Adam estate which included a tower house, to Robert.
Adam was born at Gladney House in Kirkcaldy, Fife, although the family moved to Edinburgh later that
same year. [1] As a child he was noted as having a "feeble constitution".[4] From the age of six Adam
attended Edinburgh High School, where he learned Latin until he was fifteen. In autumn 1743 he
matriculated at Edinburgh University, and attended classes including mathematics, taught by Colin
Maclaurin, and anatomy, taught by Alexander Monro primus. His studies were interrupted by the arrival
of Bonnie Prince Charlie and his Highlanders, who occupied Edinburgh during the 1745 Jacobite rising.
At the end of the year, Robert fell seriously ill for some months, and it seems unlikely that he returned to
university, having completed only two years of study.[5]
On his recovery from illness in 1746, he joined his elder brother John as apprentice to his father. He
assisted William Adam on projects such as the building of Inveraray Castle and the continuing
extensions of Hopetoun House. William's position as Master Mason to the Board of Ordnance also
began to generate much work, as the Highlands were fortified following the failed Jacobite revolt. Robert's
early ambition was to be an artist rather than architect, and the style of his early sketches in the manner
of Salvator Rosa are reflected in his earliest surviving architectural drawings, which show picturesque

Architectural practice in Edinburgh [edit]

On William Adam's death, John Adam inherited both the family business and the position of
Master Mason to the Board of Ordnance. He immediately took Robert into partnership, later to
be joined by James Adam. The Adam Brothers' first major commission was the decoration of
the grand state apartments on the first floor at Hopetoun House, followed by their first "new
build" at Dumfries House. For the Board of Ordnance, the brothers were the main contractor at
Fort George, a large modern fort near Inverness designed by military engineer Colonel Skinner.
Visits to this project, begun in 1750, would occupy the brothers every summer for the next ten
years, and, along with works at many other barracks and forts, provided Robert with a solid
foundation in practical building.[7]
In the winter of 1749–1750, Adam travelled to London with his friend, the poet John Home. He
took the opportunity for architectural study, visiting Wilton, designed by Inigo Jones, and the Entrance front of Hopetoun House, designed by
Queens Hermitage in Richmond by Roger Morris. His sketchbook of the trip also shows a William Adam and modified by the Adam Brothers
continuing interest in gothic architecture.[8]
Among his friends at Edinburgh were the philosopher Adam Ferguson and the artist Paul Sandby whom he met in the Highlands. Other
Edinburgh acquaintances included Gilbert Elliot, William Wilkie, John Home and Alexander Wedderburn.[6]

Grand Tour [edit]

Kedleston Hall. The south front by Robert
Adam, based on the Arch of Constantine in Rome
Dalmatia (now known as Split, in modern Croatia).[9] These studies were later published as Ruins of the Palace of the Emperor Diocletian at
Spalatro in Dalmatia in 1764.
In 1754, Robert Adam set off for Europe on the Grand Tour of France and Italy, in the company
of Charles Hope-Weir, brother of the Earl of Hopetoun. Hope agreed to take Adam on the tour at
the suggestion of his uncle, the Marquess of Annandale, who had undertaken the Grand Tour
himself. Adam met Hope-Weir in France, and they travelled on to Italy together, before falling
out in Rome over travelling expenses and accommodation. Robert Adam stayed on in Rome
until 1757, studying classical architecture and honing his drawing skills. His tutors included the
French architect and artist Charles-Louis Clérisseau, and the Italian artist Giovanni Battista
Piranesi. Here, he became acquainted with the work of the pioneering classical archaeologist
and art historian, theorist Johann Joachim Winckelmann. On his return journey, Adam and
Clerisseau spent time intensively studying the ruins of Diocletian's Palace at Spalato in

Architectural practice in London [edit]

He returned to Great Britain in 1758 and set up in business in London with his brother James
Adam. They focused on designing complete schemes for the decoration and furnishing of
houses. Palladian design was popular, and Robert designed a number of country houses in this
style,[10] but Robert evolved a new, more flexible style incorporating elements of classical
Roman design alongside influences from Greek, Byzantine and Baroque styles.[11] The Adam
brothers' success can also be attributed to a desire to design everything down to the smallest
detail, ensuring a sense of unity in their design.

Public life [edit]

Adam was elected a member of the Royal Society of

Arts in 1758 and of the Society of Antiquaries in 1761, Mistley Towers, Essex
the same year he was appointed Architect of the King’s
Works (jointly with Sir William Chambers). His younger brother James succeeded him in this post when
he relinquished the role in 1768 in order to devote more time to his elected office as Member of
Parliament for Kinross-shire.
Robert Adam died suddenly at his home, 11 Albermarle Street, London, after a blood vessel in his
stomach burst. He was 64. He was buried in Westminster Abbey. He left nearly 9,000 drawings, most of
which were purchased by the architect John Soane and are now at the Soane Museum in London.

Architectural style [edit]

Robert Adam rejected the Palladian style, as introduced to England by Inigo Jones, and advocated by
Lord Burlington, as "ponderous" and "disgustful".[12] However, he continued their tradition of drawing
inspiration directly from classical antiquity, during his four-year stay in Europe.[12] Through the adoption
of classical motifs, Adam developed a new style of architectural decoration.
One of Adam's masterpieces:
Pulteney Bridge, Bath The Adam brothers' principle of "movement" was largely Robert's conception, although the theory was
first written down by James. "Movement" relied on dramatic contrasts and diversity of form, and drew on
the picturesque aesthetic. The first volume of the Adam brother's Works (1773) cited Kedleston Hall, designed by Robert in 1761, as an
outstanding example of movement in architecture.
By contrasting room sizes and decorative schemes, Adam applied the concept of movement to his interiors also. His style of decoration,
described by Pevsner as "Classical Rococo", drew on Roman "grotesque" stucco decoration.[12][13]

Influence [edit]

Robert Adam's work had influenced the direction of architecture across the western world. In North America, the Federal style owes much to
neoclassicism as practised by Adam. In Europe, Adam notably influenced Charles Cameron, the Scotsman who designed Tsarskoye Selo and
other Russian palaces for Catherine the Great.[14] However, by the time of his death, Adam's neoclassicism was being superseded in Britain by
a more severe, Greek phase of the classical revival, as practiced by James "Athenian" Stuart. The Adam brothers employed several
draughtsmen who would go on to establish themselves as architects, including George Richardson, and the Italian Joseph Bonomi, who Robert
originally hired in Rome.

Written works [edit]

During their lifetime Robert and James Adam published two volumes of their designs, Works in Architecture of Robert and James Adam (in
1773-1778 and 1779; a third volume was published posthumously, in 1822).

Projects [edit]

The Adelphi development, London (1768-1772)

Screen in front of the Old Admiralty, Whitehall, London
Airthrey Castle, Stirlingshire (1791)
Alnwick Castle, Northumberland (interiors)
Apsley House, London (1778)
Balbardie House
Ballochmyle House, Ayrshire
Bowood House, near Calne, Wiltshire
 Charlotte Square (north side), Edinburgh (1791)
Osterley Park, London
Compton Verney House
Culzean Castle, South Ayrshire (1772-1790)
Dalquharran Castle, South Ayrshire (1789- 1792)
Dumfries House, Ayrshire (1754-1759)
Old College, University of Edinburgh
Fitzroy Square, London
Gosford House, near Longniddry, East Lothian (1790–1800)
Goldsborough Hall, near Knaresborough, North Yorkshire (1764-1765)
Harewood House, West Yorkshire (1759-1771)
Home House, London (1777-before 1784)
Hopetoun House, West Lothian (interiors)
Kedleston Hall, near Derby (1759-1765)
Kenwood House, Hampstead, London (1768)
Lansdowne House, Berkeley Square, London
Luton Hoo, Bedfordshire (1766-1770)
The Market Cross, Bury St Edmunds (renovations)
Marlborough House, Brighton (1786)
Mellerstain House, Kelso, Scottish Borders (1760-1768)
Mersham le Hatch, Mersham, Ashford, Kent (1762-1766)
Details for Derby House in Grosvenor Square,
Mistley Towers an example of the Adam Brothers' decorative
Newby Hall, Newby Boroughbridge, North Yorkshire (1760s) designs
Northumberland House, London, alterations (1770s)
Nostell Priory
Osterley Park, west London (1761-1780)
Paxton House, near Berwick-upon-Tweed (1758)
Portland Place, London (1773)
Pulteney Bridge, Bath (1770)
Register House, Edinburgh (1774-1789)
Saltram House, Plymouth, Devon
Shardeloes, Amersham, Buckinghamshire (altered and completed the original design by Stiff Leadbetter)
Stowe, Buckinghamshire (1774)
Syon House interior, Brentford (1762-1769)
Trades Hall, Glasgow, Scotland (1791-1792) (completed 1792-1802 by his brothers)
Wedderburn Castle, Duns, Berwickshire (1770-1778)

Parliament of Great Britain

Member for Clackmannanshire and Kinross-

Preceded by Succeeded by
shire
James Abercromby Ralph Abercromby
1768–1774
Government offices

Architect of the King's Works

Preceded by Succeeded by
1761–1769
New appointment Sir Robert Taylor and James Adam
Served alongside: Sir William Chambers

See also [edit]

Adam style
Category:Robert Adam buildings

References [edit]

1. ^ a b James, Jude (2005). Kirkcaldy: a History & Celebration of the Town. p. 60. ISBN 1845677498.

2. ^ Pevsner, p. 237
3. ^ Adam silver (1953). Victoria & Albert Museum, London. Her Majesty's stationery Office (HMSO), p. 1.
4. ^ Fleming, p. 76
5. ^ Fleming, pp. 79-80
6. ^ a b Fleming, p. 81
7. ^ Fleming, pp. 85-86
8. ^ Fleming, p. 85
9. ^ C.M. Hogan, "Diocletian's Palace", The Megalithic Portal, A. Burnham ed, Oct 6, 2007
10. ^ Roth, p. 397
11. ^ Roth, p. 402
12. ^ a b c Glendinning and McKechnie, p. 106
13. ^ Pevsner, p. 238
14. ^ Glendinning & McKechnie, p. 108

Bibliography [edit]

Bolton, Arthur T. (1922, reprinted 1984) The Architecture of Robert & James Adam, 1785–1794, 2 volumes ISBN 0-907462-49-9
Curl, James Stevens (2006) Oxford Dictionary of Architecture and landscape Architecture 2nd Edition. Oxford University Press. ISBN
0198666788
Fleming, John (1962) Robert Adam and his Circle John Murray ISBN 0-7195-0000-1
Glendinning, Miles, and McKechnie, Aonghus, (2004) Scottish Architecture, Thames and Hudson. ISBN 0500203741
Harris, Eileen (1963) The Furniture of Robert Adam Alec Tiranti, London. ISBN 0-85458-929-5.
 Harris, Eileen (2001) The Genius of Robert Adam: His Interiors ISBN 0-300-08129-4
Lees-Milne, James (1947) The Age of Adam
Pevsner, Nikolaus (1951) An Outline of European Architecture 2nd Edition. Pelican
Roth, Leland M. (1993). Understanding Architecture: Its Elements, History and Meaning (First ed.). Boulder, CO: Westview Press. ISBN 0-
06-430158-3.
Stillman, Damie (1966) The Decorative Work of Robert Adam ISBN 0-85458-160-X
Tait, A. A. (2004) doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/105 "Adam, Robert (1728–1792)" , Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press
Yarwood, Doreen (1970) Robert Adam ISBN 0-460-03824-9 and ISBN 0-460-02130-3 (1973 paperback)

External links [edit]

 "Adam, Robert". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). 1911. Wikimedia Commons has media
Archival material relating to Robert Adam listed at the UK National Register of Archives related to: Robert and James
Adam

Categories: Scottish architects | Neoclassical architects | Scottish interior designers | British furniture designers | Royal High School alumni |
Alumni of the University of Edinburgh | Burials at Westminster Abbey | People from Kirkcaldy | People from Fife | 1728 births | 1792 deaths |
Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London | Fellows of the Royal Society of Arts | Fellows of the Royal Society

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