1826-1836attends prep school

1837studies engineering in Andover, Massachu-setts and Collinsville Connecticut

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Frederick Law Olmsted is considered to be the father of Landscape Architecture. He used landscape architecture to improve the lives of everyone. He believed that open parks and nature should be available to people of all walks of life, and that open spaces in cities will help people relax and improve the quality of life in busy cities. Frederick Law Olmsted designed some of the most famous parks in the country, including Harvard’s campus, the Capitol grounds, and of course Central Park in New York City.His love for scenery came from his father. They often went on rides together in the land around his home in Connecticut. His works is often influenced by the natural American landscape. He defended the nation’s national parks. He believed in preserving natural space, whether something huge like Yosemite, or a small park in the middle of the city. His love of the old style and natural scenery caused him to reject many of the modern trends landscape gardeners of the time were using. His intent was to create the feeling of being lost in the wilderness and completely surrounded by nature. His landscapes were natural, something you could actually find if you got far enough away from the city. He did not try to make his parks fancy, or modern, or groundbreaking. Instead, his parks seem to predate the city that surrounds them. Although Central Park was built in the middle of New York City, the design is such that it appears it was a piece of land that just never quiet got developed all the way. In his parks he wanted people to forget they were in a city. And most importantly he

wanted to share his joy with everyone, regardless of class, income, and access to luxurious homes in the countryside. In a time when urban life was quickly growing, Olmsted sought to preserve what so many gave up by moving to the city.In the 19th century America was growing and becoming more urban. Cities expanded and life was stressful. When Olmsted was born 7 percent of Americans lived in cities, but by the time he died that number was 40 percent. Olmsted believed the stress of life surrounded by concrete and pollution was a problem he could help fix. He believed that nature was important, and that everyone should have access to it. He believed that parks were the perfect way to expose people to nature, and held strong American values of equality, because everyone could enjoy them. From state parks like Yosemite to individual homes, his designs brought people closer to nature. He shaped the way America looks. His firm designed hundreds of parks across the country. His designs are also the standard for campuses, hospital grounds, zoos, private residences, and pretty much any garden type space. His belief that nature should be everywhere and shared by everyone still resonates with people today, which is why his design style is still so popular. He is the Father of Landscape Architecture.

Calvert VauxHenry Hobson Richardson

Andrew Jackson Down-ning

1840Moves to NYC

1843Becomes sailor in China Trade

1850Travels to Europe

1852Publishes book Walks and Talks of an Ameri-can Farmer in England.

1860Appointed Landscape Architect and Designer to the commissioners north of 155th street NY

To Present This image presents a part of central park. You can see where everything is placed, which is practical for anyone building the park. People provide scale in the drawing so you can get an idea of how plants will compare to each other and buildings or how wide paths are. More importantly it provides a feeling of the park as a social escape from the city, perfect when arguing in favor of building the park or for future visitors. The detail and quality of the drawing allows anyone looking at it to feel the fresh air, hear the people (and birds) talking, and imagine the thousands of shades of green and blue that would surround them.

To Present

To measure This drawing contains a scale, making it very useful when actually building the park. This drawing contains enough detail that allows anyone building the park to lay out paths and plant trees. However, unlike many of his drawing, it contains the bare minimum level of detail needed. Instead of coloring in a beautiful forest, each tree is indicated with a symbol, so that planters can identify how many trees there are and where to put them. Everything is labelled and noted (including the “boy’s playground”). This drawing is very practical for building the park. Even though it is fairly simple the layout still conveys his belief that everyone should be able to get lost in nature.

To emoteIn order to create the feeling Olmsted wanted he created a simple park. It is flat with trees and lawn and a few ponds. The path wind aimlessly through the park. He did this to create the feeling of wandering and exploring, with no set destination, time limit, or anything that would remind people of their busy city lives. The paths are all set away from the edge of the street and each other, so anyone walking through would be as removed as possible from other people. His use of color is limited to gentle greens and blue, so the drawing conveys the calm feeling of the park to anyone looking at the picture.

To notateThis drawing contains lots of detailed writing about the park. Sections of the park are labelled, as well as the ponds and fields. Along the side are the details about each section. There is a scale along the side to measure the drawing. This drawing is perfect for actually creating the park. The notes on the drawing give details about what to plant and where. Notations do not convey the same emotion as drawing. However they are much more practical when building and planning the park because they detail things that would be hard to show visually, and without having to zoom in closely on individual parts. To convey all the information that can be written down you could need several different types of drawing. However trying to understand and build the park without using a drawing would be extremely difficult if not impossible. Notations on the side give a blend of detail and overview.

To Emote

To Measure

To Notate

1856Returns toEurope

1861Civil War begins

1863Resigns from Central Park. Becomes superin-tendent of Mariposa Mining Estate in California

1864He is appointed com-missioner of Yosemite and Mariposa Big Tree Grove.

1865Re-appointed to Central Park with Vaux, Civil War ends

1866Works on Prospect Park

1867Works on Harvard grounds

1870Olmsted and Veax resign from Central Park

Discussion of Line, Composition and Color His use of straight or exposed lines is minimal, except when outlining the border of the park or surrounding streets. Pathways are not usually defined by an outline, but recognized as the only place not covered in foliage. His shading and hatching techniques make it very clear which areas are covered in trees, grass or water. His gardens have a very distinct composition. He felt it important that everyone have the opportunity to get completely lost in nature. When arranging his plans he would put trees bordering the entire park. There are often winding paths twisting through dense trees. Many of his plans show a pond or small lake. Frederick Law Olmstead’s drawings are mostly black and white. If they do have color they usually are blue, various shades of green, and sometimes yellow to show pathways and streets. His use of color is minimal and simplistic. His coloring is very faded or almost like a pastel. This may just be discoloration due to time, but I believe allows the viewer to focus on the layout of the park. His drawing style reflects his style of designing. His realistic use of color and clear use of hatching techniques make it very easy to understand what he is trying to convey in his drawings. It is easy to identify after a single glance what he is trying to convey. His style is simple. He does not use wild colors or symbols. This is much like his love for the old styles

1871Reappointed as Landscape Architect of Central Park

1872dissolves partnership with Calvert Vaux

1884-85 Works in and around Boston

1886Works at Stanford

1890-93 Helps plan World’s Fair

1895-1903 Retires and suffers mental break-down. Rest in McLean asylum, Waverly Mass. until he dies

1887Works in Boston and NYC

of design, and his love of nature as it is in the wild. not tamed or stylized by people. One important lesson to draw from Olmsted is to make sure that all drawings are very clear. Include only what is needed. Frederick Law Olmsted made sure that his drawings were extremely well done so that a person can know what is foliage or water or lawn after one glance. For some drawings achieving this level of clarity may be accomplished by using color, but not in a way that distracts from the layout of the park. Colors allow the viewer to quickly identify trees, paths and water. He did not need to label everything because it was drawn out clearly. The parks in his drawings have defined edges, and unlike many modern plans there are not multiple images inlayed or layered. Part of this may be because there were no computers when he was a designer. I like the simplicity of his drawings, and how well they reinforce his focus on the simplicity of the American countryside he recreates in his parks. Have a clear vision of what you want to create. In every drawing by Olmsted, from a rough sketch to an intricate ground plan, you can see his design intent. Olmsted had his love of the American country and his desire to bring nature to the city in mind when creating his parks. It is clear in all his drawings that he never lost sight of this. When you are looking at a ground plan you can imagine being completely surrounded by the park. In the drawing to the left the paths wind through the park in such a way that from above they look like roots. Although this will not be apparent from ground level, it creates an interesting image in the mind of anyone looking at the plan. All of his drawing have elements like this that reinforce the theme Olmsted is trying to create. Because his drawings are so focused it is very easy to imagine what his parks would look (and feel) like simply by looking at his drawings. The most important lesson is to draw inspiration from what you love. Olmsted grew up traveling the countryside with his father. His love for nature is what drew him to landscape and kept him passionate. He drew on American scenery when designing his parks. He wanted anyone to have the chance to get completely lost in the serenity of nature, even if they lived in the middle of the city. His childhood among nature gave him a passion that he longed to share with others. He was able to improve the lives of so many people who would not have had the chance to escape to the countryside. His honest passion and desire to help others created some of the most amazing parks in the world. His vision resonates with so many people, so his designs never become outdated or stale. I believe that in anyone’s work, the design will be so much better if they are working on something they are truly passionate about.

Clarity and Craft

Clear Vision

Passion