Saxon Henry

Jan 14, 2025 | saxonhenry.com | Saxon Henry

What a difference a few centuries can make. When this declaration is said about a piece of historic architecture, it is rarely good news. Fortunately for Houghton Hall, it is indeed a celebration. Construction on the mansion began in 1722 and was completed in 1735, its purpose being a country house for Sir Robert Walpole, the 1st Earl of Orford and Britain’s first de facto prime minister.

Dec 6, 2024 | saxonhenry.com | Saxon Henry

This essay exploring the world of Consuelo Vanderbilt, who would become a drawing-room diplomat, is included in my most recent book Lives Illuminated. The ten other essays in it have similar themes that delve into the lives of a variety of historical figures. Taking in the interiors of Marble House—the Newport, Rhode Island, mansion that William Kissam Vanderbilt funded as a fortieth-birthday present for his wife Alva—was like eating a box of bonbons for breakfast.

Dec 6, 2024 | saxonhenry.com | Saxon Henry

I’m hard at work on my first novel that begins in 701 A.D. in Scandinavia and meanders along to France when three brothers reach French soil around 825 A.D. Though the Viking raids are ravaging the country, the young men are not warring “Northmen”; they are peace-loving protagonists hoping to become landowners. Raised by generations of mystical women, they will contribute greatly to their new homeland as feudal farmers and shipbuilders, and eventually as crusaders.

Dec 6, 2024 | saxonhenry.com | Saxon Henry

Marble muscles ripple—the stone carver’s feat charismatic in its unselfconsciousness. Crystals dangle, their effervescence gleaming for centuries as blown baubles from the past. Mother-of-pearl inlay sparks within its black lacquered construct as light strikes it, and the arcing wood frame of a chair is relieved of its layers of paint to expose the smoothed secrets of its origins. Walls holding panels that masquerade as boiserie playfully unfurl their fanciful shapes.

Dec 6, 2024 | saxonhenry.com | Saxon Henry

With watercolors, brushes, ink pens, and paper in hand, Dominique Mathez walked the boulevards of her home town, documenting the architectural details that make the city unique in its Parisian flourishes. She beautifully captured the sculpted arabesques, bows, spirals, interlacing forms, and curves that ornament the windows, doors, and balconies that proliferate. The book produced to celebrate her artistry, The Façades of Paris published by Rizzoli, is a true gem.