Heath J. Haviland (active London, 1900 - 1910)
Lamb House, Rye, East Sussex, about 1900
Photograph, 24.5 x 30.7 cm (9 5/8 x 12 1/16 in.)
This black and white photograph shows a large, multi-winged, brick house. The main wing is nearly square with two imposing brick chimneys that reach into the sky and extend the chimneys well above the second story. The gable roof is recessed over the main wing, partially hiding two dormers. The other three visible wings are attached at parallel or perpendicular angles. Their gable roofs are interrupted with many auxiliary chimneys and other dormers. There are large floor to ceiling multi-paned windows painted white. A glass slope-roofed greenhouse is attached to the left of the main wing. There is a small garden in front of it that is so full of shrubs, flowers, and a tree that its walls are not visible. A dense, leafy vine completely covers the near side of several of the brick wings and extends around corners to partially cover other walls. The photograph is matted in a cream-colored mat with the photography studio and its address printed in a script-like font.
Blue Room
Commentary
Weary of London and longing for a quiet refuge in which to write, James leased and subsequently purchased a distinguished Georgian home in the town of Rye, East Sussex, England. In the garden room of that home, James wrote The Wings of the Dove, The Ambassadors, and The Golden Bowl, and penned numerous letters to Isabella Stewart Gardner.