We were thrilled to unveil our new Arthur Ross Awards trophy, designed by @matt.loumeau and manufactured by @nanzhardware , at our 45th annual Arthur Ross Awards on Monday.
At the event, we aired this short film, a behind-the-scenes look at the process of creating the trophy, from historical inspiration to manufacturing at the NANZ workshop.
This film captures the spirit of the trophy and of the ICAA’s mission. As Matt explains, the pinecone is a symbol for regeneration and continuity, values that are at the core of classical design. Classicism provides us with the foundations to build beautiful, enduring places for the generations to come.
The film will be available soon on our website! And don’t miss Matt’s piece in our inaugural issue of Forum for more information about the inspiration behind his contest-winning trophy design.
#arthurrossawards #classicaldesign #traditionaldesign #artisanship #trophy
Join the ICAA and @generalsociety on June 3 for Stone: Ancient Craft to Modern Mastery with Richard Rhodes @rhodesworks.design.studio .
The relationship between humankind and stone is elemental and deeply ingrained in all of us. Stone, after all, has been the primary building material for more than five thousand years of human history, and it continues to record our triumphs and failures.
Richard is a stone sculptor with a wide-ranging international practice. As a scholar of stonework world-wide, his book, Stone: Ancient Craft to Modern Mastery was published in June 2025 by Princeton Architectural Press.
Richard apprenticed as a stonemason in Siena, Italy after graduate studies at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. As the first non-Italian admitted into Siena’s ancient masonic guild in 726 years, he is known throughout the sculpture and stone community as the “last apprentice.”
Though now branching into other media such as cast bronze, Rhodes credits his guild training as the major influence in his sculptural practice. Rhodes is the founder of several businesses, including Rhodesworks Design Studio, Rhodes Masonry, and Rhodes Architectural Stone.
This program is open to the public, with discounted tickets available for ICAA members and students. The program will be both in-person and livestreamed. Follow the link in our bio to learn more and register now!
Image: Entrance gate at Falerii Novi. From Stone: Ancient Craft to Modern Mastery. Courtesy of Richard Rhodes.
Thank you to our generous sponsors:
Lead Annual Public Programs Sponsor: @_rinck_
Seasonal Public Programs Sponsor: @dellmitchellarchitects
Seasonal Public Programs Sponsor: @hydeparkmouldings
#artisanship #traditionalarts #stonework #traditionalcraft #stonemasonry
On Monday we celebrated the 45th Annual Arthur Ross Awards at @cipriani 42nd St!
Thank you to everyone who joined us in celebration of classical excellence and helped us raise over $1 million to further our mission of advancing classical, traditional, and vernacular architecture and allied arts.
Congratulations once again to our deserving winners:
Architecture: Voith & Mactavish Architects @voithmactavish
Artisanship: Thierry Goux, RINCK @goux.thierry@_rinck_
Interior Design: Craig & Company @craigandcompany
Landscape: Hoerr Schaudt @hoerrschaudt
Stewardship: The Frick Collection @frickcollection
Education: Alejandro García Hermida @almenara.arch
And thank you to our Benefactor Sponsors:
@foster_reeve_plaster
Janet C. Ross
John F. W. Rogers
@livingstonbuilders_inc@sdonadicinc
Stephen A. Schwarzman Foundation
@stevenwspandlearchitect@tischlerundsohn@zepsaindustries
#architecture #classicaldesign #architectureawards #classicalarchitecture #traditionaldesign
NANZ is honored to have crafted the Arthur Ross Awards trophies, bringing Matt Loumeau’s design to life. Created in the company’s Long Island, New York hardware factory and pattern shop, each trophy is produced by a team of artisans employing the lost-wax investment casting process. The Arthur Ross Awards are a source of pride for the NANZ team and are believed to successfully represent the achievements of their recipients, just as Arthur Ross would have intended.
These exquisite carved pilasters belong to a uniquely American classicism, exemplified here by historic homes in Portsmouth, NH. With one of the finest collections of classical, traditional, and vernacular buildings in the US (many dating from the 17th and 18th centuries!), Portsmouth is one of our favorite destinations for studying and sketching historic American architecture.
Visit Portsmouth with us and explore its architecture, design, and urbanism on our Christopher H. Browne Portsmouth Drawing Tour from June 11-14!
The Christopher H. Browne Drawing Tours are a reimagining of the long tradition of designers traveling—both domestically and abroad—to study and document precedents in order to inform and inspire the design of new buildings and places. These programs are especially designed for emerging practitioners who have some prior experience working in traditional design, and are looking to expand the breadth of precedents that they can utilize in practice throughout their careers.
Guided by longtime Portsmouth visitor and ICAA drawing instructor Stephen Chrisman, this June’s program will highlight significant local precedents from Portsmouth's 1630 founding through the 19th century while giving students the opportunity to develop their sketching, analytical, and measured drawing skills.
This program is open to the public, with discounted tuition available for ICAA, members, students, and groups of two or more professionals from the same firm. Follow the link in our bio to learn more and register now!
Images from Portsmouth, courtesy of Stephen Chrisman.
#architecturaltour #americanarchitecture #traditionalarchitecture #portsmouthnh #drawingtour
The team at @nanzhardware has been hard at work manufacturing our new trophy for the Arthur Ross Awards. @matt.loumeau ’s winning pinecone design evokes the enduring legacy of Arthur Ross and the classical harmony between the natural world and the built environment.
We can’t wait to unveil the final product at the 2026 Arthur Ross Awards ceremony this Monday! Will we see you there?
#arthurrossawards #icaa #classicism #classicalarchitecture #classicaldesign
As anticipation builds for the Arthur Ross Awards, NANZ is proud to have collaborated in bringing Matt Loumeau’s vision to fruition. Crafted at our Long Island, New York hardware factory and pattern shop, each trophy reflects the care and precision the artisans behind the lost-wax investment casting process.
We are honored to share a glimpse into the making of these remarkable pieces and look forward to unveiling the finished award following Monday’s celebration.
The Royal Palace of Caserta has been described by @unesco as “an eloquent expression of the Enlightenment in material form, integrated into, rather than imposed on, its natural setting.”
Just north of Naples, the sprawling palace complex includes over 130,000 square meters of floor area and 300 acres of gardens. Construction began in 1752 under the direction of Italian Baroque architect Luigi Vanvitelli, who would not live to see the palace completed. In both form and function, the palace at Caserta took inspiration from the Palace of Versailles: a center of cultural, political, and economic life where the grand architecture and landscape served as a physical representation of the monarchy’s power over nature and society.
Visit Caserta with the ICAA on our Christopher H. Browne Naples Drawing Tour this October!
Designed for emerging practitioners, the ICAA’s Christopher H. Browne Drawing Tours are a reimagining of the long tradition of designers traveling—both domestically and abroad—to study and document precedents in order to inform and inspire the design of new buildings and places.
This program is open to the public, with discounted tuition available for ICAA members and limited scholarships available for students and emerging professionals. Follow the link in our bio to learn more, register for the tour, and apply for a scholarship!
The Christopher H. Browne Drawing Tours honor the generosity, leadership, and legacy of the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art’s late Trustee, Mr. Christopher H. Browne. The ICAA is pleased to award four scholarships to drawing tour students or emerging professionals annually in the name of Mr. Browne, a long-time supporter and champion of classicism. Scholarship recipients will receive the moniker “Christopher H. Browne Scholars.”
Images:
1. Gianluca Pugliese / iStock.
2. GISTEL Cezary Wojtkowski / iStock.
3. NateBergin / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).
#drawingtour #architecturaldrawing #naples #italianarchitecture #classicalarchitecture
What is Art Deco, exactly? A style? An era? Or more of a sensibility?
On January 6, 2026, the ICAA was pleased to welcome ICAA Board Member Jared Goss for a lecture on his new publication The Birth of Art Deco: Ruhlmann and the Hôtel du Collectionneur, 1925, out now with @rizzolibooks .
The book celebrates the 1925 Paris Exposition—a landmark event that shaped twentieth-century design and gave its name to Art Deco—at its centenary. In his lecture, Jared explores the origins of Art Deco and its multiple expressions in art, architecture, and design.
Follow the link in our bio to watch the full program on our website now!
This lecture is presented as part of The Françoise and Andrew Skurman Lecture Series on Classical French Architecture.
Thank you to the ICAA’s Book Club Sponsor: @foster_reeve_plaster
Thank you to our generous sponsors:
Lead Annual Public Programs Sponsor: @_rinck_
Seasonal Public Programs Sponsor: @dellmitchellarchitects
Seasonal Public Programs Sponsor: @hydparkmouldings
#artdeco #decorativearts #arthistory #designhistory #1920s
What did architects do before AutoCAD?
For thousands of years, they perfected the art of hand drafting, carefully planning buildings in two dimensions using only simple measuring and drawing tools. Though automation can help things go more smoothly these days, we still believe that hand drafting is an essential foundation for good design.
Join us on May 16 for an introductory course on hand drafting, which will introduce the materials and mechanics needed to create hand-drafted architectural drawings through demonstrations and hands-on practice.
This course is open to the public, with discounted tuition available to ICAA members and limited free tuition spaces for students and emerging professionals. Participants of all backgrounds and skill levels are welcome. Follow the link in our bio to learn more and register today!
Pictured: Elevations and floor plans for the Bryan Lathrop House, Chicago, IL by McKim, Mead & White, c. 1892. In the public domain. Via @artinstitutechi .
#studyarchitecture #architecturestudents #architecturaldrawing #handdrafting #drawingcourse
Designed in the 1780s by Gothenburg city architect Carl Wilhelm Carlberg, Gunnebo House is one of Sweden’s best-preserved 18th-century estates.
Gunnebo was once the home of the wealthy merchant Hall family and welcomed dignitaries including King Gustav III of Sweden. Since the estate was acquired by the municipality in the 1950s, the neoclassical manor home and surrounding Baroque gardens have been faithfully restored using Carlberg’s original plans and several pieces of original furniture have been returned to the site.
Visit Gunnebo with the ICAA and @classicalexcursions this June on an exclusive 10-day excursion to discover the beautiful and unique Gustavian style of architecture and decoration in Sweden. Swedish curators and historians will introduce participants to the classical works of prominent Swedish architects and designers of Gustavian period, including Hårleman, Rehn, Adelcrantz, the Masreliez brothers, Sergel, and others.
Follow the link in our bio to learn more and register for the tour today!
Images:
1- 4 & 6. Mkallgren / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).
5. Artifex / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).
7. Arild Vågen / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0).
#gunnebo #swedisharchitecture #swedishhistory #neoclassicism #architecturetour
Not just a house—a total work of art. With its iconic colonnade and rare octagonal library, Edgewater is a masterclass in 19th-century American classical design. Experience it for yourself, from the original home attributed to Robert Mills, to the octagonal library designed by A.J. Davis, to the guest house designed by Michael Dwyer. Edgewater is turning 200 and we are throwing a massive party. So, act fast by buying your ticket at jenrette.org. Proceeds will help restore the historic Barrytown Post Office.
@jenrettefoundation is proud to partner with @classicist_org , who supplied these fabulous photos, to advance historic preservation, the decorative arts, and historic landscapes.
