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Calvert VauxEnglish architect and landscape designer
Date of Birth: 20.12.1824
Country:  Great Britain |
Content:
- Early Life and Education
- Partnership with Andrew Jackson Downing
- Central Park and Beyond
- Olmsted, Vaux and Company
- Later Career
- Death
Early Life and Education
Calvert Vaux was born in London, England in 1824 to a physician father. From the age of nine, Vaux attended a private school. Subsequently, he pursued architectural studies under Lewis Nockalls Cottingham, a prominent Gothic Revival architect, until 1850.
Partnership with Andrew Jackson Downing
In 1851, Vaux exhibited his watercolors from his European travels in London. At the exhibition, he met American landscape designer and writer Andrew Jackson Downing. Impressed by Vaux's work, Downing offered him a position in his architectural-design firm. Together, they collaborated on projects such as the landscaping of the White House and Smithsonian Institution grounds in Washington, D.C.
Central Park and Beyond
Following Downing's untimely death in 1852, Vaux carried on their joint designs for Central Park in New York City alongside landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted. Vaux's talent for landscape design became evident in the creation of this iconic urban park. In 1856, he became a naturalized American citizen.
Olmsted, Vaux and Company
In 1865, Olmsted and Vaux founded Olmsted, Vaux and Company. The firm designed numerous parks across the United States, including Prospect Park and Fort Greene Park in Brooklyn, Morningside Park in Manhattan, and Delaware Park in Buffalo.
Later Career
After dissolving his partnership with Olmsted in 1872, Vaux worked with George Kent Radford and Samuel Parsons. In 1889, he briefly reunited with Olmsted on the design of Downing Park in Newburgh, New York. Vaux also designed notable buildings in New York City, including the Jefferson Market Library, American Museum of Natural History, Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Samuel J. Tilden House.
