The American Architect
The ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW
VOL. CXXIV
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1, 1923
NUMBER 2125
An example of out-of-door sketching. Looking down the Seine toward the old island city of Paris, with Notre Dame in the distance
AN ARCHITECTURAL SKETCHING TOUR in EUROPE and HOW I DID IT FOR LESS THAN SIX
HUNDRED DOLLARS
BY R. W. SEXTON
Illustrated by Sketches by the Author .
WHAT do you say to a couple of months’
trip in Europe for a vacation? We could see many of the famous architectural masterpieces of the world, study periods and styles directly from original specimens, bring back sketches galore of ideas and suggestions, a lot of valuable photographs and have a good time thrown in. Eor the young student architect such a. trip would he of more value than a degree obtained by successfully completing a university course in architecture; while to the older, seasoned architect a dozen sketchbooks, filled with sketches of designs and details he made himself from things which impressed him most on such a trip, would be of much more value than a dozen
of the best architectural books that could be found in any library of the country. Unfortunately, the general reply to this proposition, no matter how much it might appeal, is lack of money. Up to one year ago, I would have said, too, that I could not afford it, but never again! Did you ever really figure out what a trip to Europe costs? I never did before, but when I got “down to brass tacks,” I found it was actually within my means.
I got my inspiration this time (for I had gotten as far as the inspiration before, but that was all) at the movies. I was “taken” on a trip up the Grand Canal of Venice in one of those travelogue pictures, and was so carried away by the magnificence and grandeur of St. Mark’s and the
(Copyright, 1923, The Architectural & Building Press, Inc.)
The ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW
VOL. CXXIV
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1, 1923
NUMBER 2125
An example of out-of-door sketching. Looking down the Seine toward the old island city of Paris, with Notre Dame in the distance
AN ARCHITECTURAL SKETCHING TOUR in EUROPE and HOW I DID IT FOR LESS THAN SIX
HUNDRED DOLLARS
BY R. W. SEXTON
Illustrated by Sketches by the Author .
WHAT do you say to a couple of months’
trip in Europe for a vacation? We could see many of the famous architectural masterpieces of the world, study periods and styles directly from original specimens, bring back sketches galore of ideas and suggestions, a lot of valuable photographs and have a good time thrown in. Eor the young student architect such a. trip would he of more value than a degree obtained by successfully completing a university course in architecture; while to the older, seasoned architect a dozen sketchbooks, filled with sketches of designs and details he made himself from things which impressed him most on such a trip, would be of much more value than a dozen
of the best architectural books that could be found in any library of the country. Unfortunately, the general reply to this proposition, no matter how much it might appeal, is lack of money. Up to one year ago, I would have said, too, that I could not afford it, but never again! Did you ever really figure out what a trip to Europe costs? I never did before, but when I got “down to brass tacks,” I found it was actually within my means.
I got my inspiration this time (for I had gotten as far as the inspiration before, but that was all) at the movies. I was “taken” on a trip up the Grand Canal of Venice in one of those travelogue pictures, and was so carried away by the magnificence and grandeur of St. Mark’s and the
(Copyright, 1923, The Architectural & Building Press, Inc.)