Fire Island Modernist: Horace Gifford and the Architecture of Seduction

New expanded edition

In the 1960s, architect Horace Gifford (1932-1992) built a remarkable series of beach houses that transformed the landscape and culture of Fire Island, New York. Growing up on the beaches of Florida, Gifford forged a deep connection with coastal landscapes. Combining this sensibility with jazzy improvisations on modernist themes, he has perfected an enduring modernism in cedar and glass, in tune with the natural landscapes. A refuge from a hostile world, celebrities have lived here in modest homes alongside middle-class holidaymakers: Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift, Truman Capote, who wrote Breakfast at Tiffany's here, Diane von Fürstenberg, who presented her latest wrap-around dresses here...

Blending cultural and architectural history, the new edition of this book, published in 2013, reflects on a fascinating era through the eyes of a little-known architect whose life and work still resonate. It includes five new houses, drawings of previously unpublished houses, new photographs and updated studies.