James Gowan studied at the Glasgow School of Art and Kingston School of Architecture where he was taught by Philip Powell of Powell & Moya, who subsequently employed him on the winning entry to the Skylon Competition for the Festival of Britain in 1951. Following a period working on Stevenage New Town, he joined Lyons Israel Ellis, where he met James Stirling. They were quickly established as one of the most radical practices of their generation when they designed Langham House Close on Ham Common (West London) in 1958 — a reaction against all that had gone before them. Gowan and Stirling took equal parts in the design of their early projects, culminating with the 1963 Engineering Building at the University of Leicester, considered the first postmodernist building in Britain. Shortly after the building was completed, the two split acrimoniously, Stirling taking the lion's share of the credit. The Engineering Building represented a massive shift from the postwar era's functionalist doctrines, bringing in forceful geometries and dynamic structural feats in what was subsequently called the 'engineering style'. Two cantilevered lecture theatres are topped by a pair of glazed towers, clad in red Dutch tiles, monolithic wedges inspired by the superstructure of an aircraft carrier; the workshop building is surmounted by a crystalline roof with rippling waves that let in north-facing light. An almost Gothic feel to the design, with concrete columns supporting the building like mediaeval flying buttresses, was later described by Gowan as "the Picasso profile with the big eye slapped on the front". The visually stunning and highly practical building caused the architects to be awarded the Reynolds Award from the American Institute of Architects and was Grade II* listed in 1993.
James Gowan FRIBA Blue Mill at Backbarrow Modernist Architect Leicester
By James Gowan
Located in London, GB
Post-war architect partner of architect Sir James Stirling, together they created Britain's first post-modernist building, Gowan being the talented shy ...
Oil
James Gowan FRIBA Fountains Abbey Modernist Architect Leicester Engineering
By James Gowan
Located in London, GB
Post-war architect partner of architect Sir James Stirling, together they created Britain's first post-modernist building, Gowan being the talented shy ...
Oil
$1,295
H 19 in W 23 in D 2 in
Vintage Signed American Modernist New England Framed Coastal Landscape Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Vintage American modernist abstract oil painting. Oil on board. Framed. Signed. Measuring: 19 by 23 inches overall, and 17 by 21 painting alone.. In excellent original condition. H...
Oil, Board
$975
H 12 in W 14 in D 2 in
Antique French Impressionist Framed Landscape Coastal Original Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique French landscape oil painting. Oil on canvasboard. Framed. Signed verso. Measuring: 12 by 14 inches overall, and 9 by 11 painting alone. In excellent original condition. Ha...
Oil, Board
$596Sale Price|25% Off
H 24 in W 30 in D 2 in
Vintage Abstracted Cape Cod Landscape Original Modernist Pastel Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique American modernist landscape pastel painting. Pastel on board. Framed in plexi box.
Canvas, Oil
$1,160Sale Price|20% Off
H 20 in W 26 in D 2 in
Antique American Modernist New York City Brooklyn Bridge Scene Framed Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique American modernist cityscape oil painting. Oil on canvas. Framed. Image size, 24L x 18H.
Canvas, Oil
$636Sale Price|20% Off
H 35 in W 25 in D 2 in
Vintage Signed Architectural Modern Medieval Revival Framed Landscape Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique English modernist landscape oil painting by Phillip Castle (Born 1943). Oil on canvas. Framed. Signed verso.
Canvas, Oil
$3,850
H 16 in W 20 in D 2 in
Vintage American Modernist New Orleans Street Scene Signed & Framed Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Vintage American modernist New Orleans street scene oil painting by Charles Whitfield Richards (1906 - 1992). Oil on canvas. Signed. Framed. Provenance from a Sag Harbor, NY collecti...
Oil, Canvas
$1,475
H 27 in W 31 in D 2 in
Contemporary American Modernist Nocturnal New York Cityscape Framed Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Oil on canvas, 27 x 31 inches overall, 20 x 24 inches image size. A modern urban nocturne depicting the Manhattan Bridge at night, painted with gestural brushwork and a restrained, b...
Canvas, Oil
$1,295
H 22 in W 27 in D 2 in
Vintage American Modernist Gallery Exhibited Hawaiian Farm Landscape Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Vintage American modernist landscape oil painting. Oil on canvas. Unsigned. Framed. Provenance from a gallery collection. Handsomely framed in a giltwood molding. Excellent conditio...
Oil, Canvas
$695
H 12 in W 16 in D 2 in
Signed Vintage European Modernist Abstract Landscape GiltFramed Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Vintage modernist landscape oil painting. Oil on canvas. Signed. Framed. Provenance from a Sag Harbor, NY collection. Handsomely framed in giltwood molding. Excellent condition, r...
Oil, Canvas
$1,036Sale Price|20% Off
H 26 in W 30 in D 2 in
Exhibited Ashcan School Nocturnal New York City Brooklyn Bridge Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique American modernist nocturnal view of the Brooklyn Bridge. Oil on board. Signed verso. Framed.
Canvas, Oil
$795
H 14 in W 17 in D 2 in
Vintage American Modernist Framed Winter Mountain Landscape Scene Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Vintage American modernist winter mountain landscape oil painting. Oil on board. Signed. Framed. Provenance from a Sag Harbor, NY collection. Measuring: 14 by 17 inches overall. Han...
Oil, Board
$1,275
H 17 in W 20 in D 2 in
Vintage American Modernist Giltwood Framed Forest Landscape Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Vintage American modernist forest landscape oil painting. Oil on board. Framed. Signed. In excellent original condition. Handsomely fr...
Oil, Board