"Each essay is a voyage of discovery. What is so interesting and what makes Mr. Summerson the architectural critic of his generation . . . is an] aversion to dogma. . . . It is supremely well worth reading."Spectator

The purpose of ornament-to articulate a realm of the imagination-is as important as it is misunderstood. Kent Bloomer, an outstanding sculptor and ornamenter whose work adorns the Harold Washington Library, Chicago, Reagan National Airport, Washington, DC, and other buildings, maintains that ornament is neither pure "art" in the contemporary sense of the word nor mere decoration, but rather a category unto itself, with its own unique language. He describes the key elements of ornament, rhythm and metamorphosis, and shows their application in such figures as the foliated scroll. Illustrated...