Adam, Robert
Adam, Robert (1728–92). Scottish architect who, with his brothers John (1721–92) and James (1730–94), trained in the office of their father William Adam (1689–1748), the leading architect of his day in Scotland. After a spell at Edinburgh University, and a grand tour, Robert Adam started his architectural practice in London in 1758 and soon developed a light and decorative style inspired by his travels in Greece and Italy. His interiors combine domes, columned screens, and apses with classically derived surface patterns in delicate colours. The unity of the ‘Adam style’ can be seen in Kedleston (1760–1), Syon (1760–9), Osterley (1761–80), or Kenwood (1767–9), with their elegant plasterwork, furnishings, and fabrics. Robert Adam's finest civic work was in Edinburgh, notably Charlotte Square (1791–1807), the Register House (1774–92), and the first stage of the university (1789–93). To this later period belong such buildings as Seton (1790–1) and Culzean (1777–92), both in the castle style, which reflect Robert Adam's interest in the Picturesque. In 1773 there appeared the first engraved volume of the Works in Architecture of Robert and James Adam.
Peter Willis
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