THE ENDURING INFLUENCE OF CLASSICISM

THE ENDURING INFLUENCE OF CLASSICISM

Drayton Hall Panel in Collaboration with the Charleston Library Society

On February 11, 2025, at 6:00 p.m., the Charleston Library Society will present, Classical Influences On Modern Design, a panel featuring nationally recognized, next generation practitioners in the arts who will discuss how the principles of classicism influence their work and how they incorporate this traditional design language into the houses, interiors, and exhibitions they create. Featured panelists include interior designer Elizabeth Lawrence, Partner, Williams Lawrence, New York City; architect Steven Spandle, Principal, Steven W. Spandle Architect LLC, Hoboken, New Jersey; and Dr. Carter C. Hudgins, President and CEO of the Drayton Hall Preservation Trust, Charleston, South Carolina. The panel will be moderated by Haskell Harris, founding style director at Garden & Gun Magazine.

Panel Moderator:

Haskell Harris is the founding style director at the national luxury lifestyle print magazine Garden & Gun, now known as G&G. She joined the magazine in 2008 and has helped infuse it with stories about homes, gardens, and products that are not only beautiful but have great stories behind them. In her recently published book The House Romantic, (Abrams, 2024), she expands on that theme, visiting jubilant, gorgeous, story-filled houses in the art and interiors world that she calls “kindred spirits.” Each chapter also includes a “Story Behind the Stuff” jaunt to the studio of an artist or a purveyor—of antique quilts, glassware, linens, and more.

Over the course of her twenty-year career in the shelter and lifestyle magazine world, Harris has contributed to dozens of publications, including Cottage Living, House Beautiful, Southern Accents, and Better Homes & Gardens.

Panel Participants:

Carter C. Hudgins

Carter C. Hudgins, is the president and CEO of the Drayton Hall Preservation Trust, a 501c3 responsible for the operation and administration of Drayton Hall, a historic site of the National Trust for Historic Preservation in Charleston, S.C., and one of the finest examples of American architecture to survive from the colonial period.   Dr. Hudgins has worked in the fields of archaeology, history and historic preservation for more than 25 years.  Prior to coming to Drayton Hall, he worked as a senior staff archaeologist for the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities Jamestown Rediscovery Project.  He has completed archaeological field work throughout southeastern North America and the Caribbean, in addition to instructing undergraduate and graduate students.  After graduating with a B.A. in history from Hampden-Sydney College, Hudgins received his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in history and material culture from Royal Holloway, University of London.  He has lectured and published on the history, archaeology, and material culture of early America and post-medieval England with a particular focus on the seventieth and eighteenth centuries.  Hudgins is an advisory board member of the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts (MESDA), a board member Porter Gaud Alumni Association, an advisory member of the Charleston World Heritage Coalition, an advisory member of the American College of the Building Arts, an advisory member of The Mayor’s Walled City Task Force in Charleston S.C., and a project member of the First Colony Foundation.

Elizabeth Lawrence

Elizabeth Lawrence has spent her career working alongside Bunny Williams, designing projects across the country, from Manhattan to Palm Beach to Los Angeles. Since being named Bunny’s only Partner in 2017, which led to the renaming of the firm as Williams Lawrence in 2023, she and Bunny have run the Bunny Williams umbrella of brands together.

Originally from Wilmington, Delaware, Elizabeth attended the University of Richmond and then the New York School of Interior Design. She was honored by The New York School of Interior Design at their annual gala in 2020 and her work has been widely published in The New York Times, Architectural Digest, Elle Decor, Veranda, Galerie, House Beautiful, and many others. A few of her current projects include a new country estate, a glamorous New York City townhouse, a Palm Beach getaway and a young family’s apartment overlooking Central Park.

Elizabeth and her family live in New York City and Elizabeth often shares snapshots of her work, travels, tablespaces, great design finds, and other adventures on her personal Instagram. Follow her @elizabeth_m_lawrence and see more of the firm’s work @williams_lawrence_interiors and williamslawrence.com.

Steven W. Spandle

Steven Spandle is the founding principal of Steven W. Spandle Architect, which specializes in residential design with projects throughout the United States. The firm has undertaken a diverse array of commissions—ranging from single-family homes to Manhattan penthouses as well as historic restorations and museum renovations. A practitioner of classical design with a love of history and the decorative arts, Steven is a former member of the U. S. Commission of Fine Arts and is the architect of the Tennis Pavilion – a classical structure and the first addition to the White House grounds in decades. He most recently completed a Manhattan penthouse renovation with the iconic designer Bunny Williams and her New York team at Williams Lawrence.

A native of Georgia, Steven’s life-long fascination with architecture, art, and design began with childhood visits to museums and historic houses, including Drayton Hall. These places and the history within profoundly shaped his professional pursuits as an architect and influenced his understanding of design.

Tickets can be purchased through The Charleston Library Society- linked below.

Tickets