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Environmental Design Library
Biographical Information on Landscape Architects
Collective Biographies: General | Specialized
Finding Books
Finding Journal & Newspaper Articles 		Directories
Additional Sources: Obituaries | Archives
Biographical Information on Landscape Architects is a bibliographic guide to UC Berkeley library and web resources for biographical information on landscape architects. For additional information, please consult the Environmental Design Library reference staff, 210 Wurster Hall.

UC Berkeley faculty, registered students, and staff who are off campus may use items marked UCB Only or UC Only by using The Library's proxy service or by installing the Connecting@Berkeley CD on their computer.

Last updated: 12 September 2006 Conditions of Use

    Collective Biographies:
    In addition to titles listed here, go to Find Information on The Library's home page; select Electronic resources, navigate to Electronic resources: types A-Z for and select Biographical Sources for a list of links to full-text biographical sources on the web.
    General:
  1. Biography and genealogy master index - UCB Only  Index to Who's Whos and other biographical directories. 
    2. http://galenet.gale.com/a/acp/db/bgmi
  2. Biography reference bank - UCB Only  Easy to search; includes some full text articles and other listings. Can serve as a bibliography of works by and about a particular person.
    Online ed.: http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com/hww/jumpstart.jhtml?prod=BIORB
    Paper equivalents.:
    -----.Biography index.  Indexes books, biographical dictionaries, periodicals, diaries, obituaries, etc. Coverage: 1946/49--.
    Doe Refe CT28 B5 Biographies
    -----. Current biography, H.W. Wilson. Includes the usual biographical data plus: subject's own views, attitudes and opinions, references to additional sources of information, and more. Coverage: 1940-- Cumulative index: 1940-1996.
    3. Doe Refe CT100 C8 Biographies
  3. The Complete Marquis Who's Who CURRENT BIOGRAPHIES - UCB Only
    Online access: Available via The Library's home page; see Electronic resources.
  4. Lexis-Nexis academic--Biographical information - UCB Only  Indexes current biographical information in a broad range of academic, popular, business, and other journals as well as newspapers.
    5. Online access: Available via The Library's home page; see Articles.
  5. World biographical information system online (K.G. Saur) - UCB Only "Indexes the complete contents of 38 microfiche sets of biographical archives, providing short biographies on more than 3.6 million persons from all periods, countries and regions worldwide."  Better for less contemporary names. In German and English.
    Online ed.: Available via The Library's home page; see Electronic resources.
    Paper /microfiche ed.: The Library owns the microfiche editions of the archives containing the complete texts; locations may be found by searching Pathfinder.

    Specialized:

  1. American landscape architecture: designers and places, William H. Tishler, ed., Washington, DC: Preservation Pr., 1989.
    2. EnvDesign SB470.53 A441 1989 Reference Desk & circ.
  2. Breaking ground: portraits of ten garden designers, by Page Dickey. NY: Artisan, 1997. Biographies of 10 contemporary American and European gardeners: Benech, Cox, Chasse, Idoux, Lutsko, Martino, McCabe, Oudolf, Pearson, and Power.
    EnvDesign SB472.45 D535 1997
  3. British gardeners: a biographical dictionary, by Miles Hadfield, Robert Harling, Leonie Highton, London: Zwemmer: Conde Nast, 1980.
    4. EnvDesign SB61 H3 Reference
  4. California landscape architecture & gardens (UC Berkeley, Library)  A bibliographic research guide to California landscape architecture in the UC Berkeley libraries and on the web.  Includes biographical sources for California landscape architects.
    5. http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/ENVI/califland.html
  5. Createurs de jardins et de paysages en France de la renaissance au XXI siecle, Michel Racine, ed. Arles: Actes Sud; Versailles: Ecole nationale superieure du paysage, 2001-.  French landscape architects and designers. Well-illustrated. Includes brief bibliographies.
    EnvDesign SB469.9 C74 v.1-2 Reference
  6. Dictionary of gardening, the Royal Horticultural Society. Anthony Huxley, ed. 4 vols. NY: Stockton Pr., 1992.  Primarily an encyclopedia of plants. However, includes 173 brief biographies of landscape architects and gardeners (e.g., Roberto Burle-Marx, Thomas Church, Beatrix Farrand, and Hermann Puckler-Muskau).
    EnvDesign SB450.95 D53 1992 Reference
  7. Dictionary of today's landscape designers, Pierluigi Nicolin, Francesco Repishti, eds. London: Thames & Hudson, 2003. For 86 international contemporary landscape architects and designers, engineers, artists, and more, provides a biographical note, a list of works and related bibliography, and color photographs of significant designs.
    EnvDesign SB469.37 D53 2003 Reference
  8. Down-to-earth women: those who care for the soil, Dawn Macleod, Edinburgh: Blackwood, 1982. British focus.
    9. EnvDesign SB469.9 M3
  9. Eminent gardeners: some people of influence and their gardens, 1880-1980, by Jane Brown, London: Viking, 1990.  British focus.
    10. EnvDesign SB469.9 B762 1990
  10. Garden makers: the great tradition of garden design from 1600 to the present day, by George Plumptre, NY: Random House, 1993.
    11. EnvDesign SB61 P58 1993
  11. Gardeners, gurus & grubs : the stories of garden inventors & innovations, by George Drower. Stroud: Sutton, 2001.
    EnvDesign SB454.8 D76 2001
  12. Grune Biographien: biographisches Handbuch zur Landschaftsarchitektur des 20. Jahrhunderts in Deutschland, by Gert Groning. Berlin: Patzer, 1997. Includes more than 2700 19th and 20th century German landscape architects and designers. Brief listings include works, publications, competitions, etc.
    EnvDesign SB469.9 G76 1997
  13. Influential gardeners: the designers who shaped 20th-century garden style, by Andrew Wilson. NY: Clarkson Potter/Publisher, 2002.  Includes illustrated biographies of 57 international landscape architects and designers. No bibliography.
    14. EnvDesign SB469.9 W55 2002
  14. Invisible gardens: the search for modernism in the American landscape, by Peter Walker and Melanie Simo, Cambridge, MA: MIT Pr., 1994.  Includes biographies of 20th century landscape architects and bibliography.
    15. EnvDesign SB470.5 W34 1994
  15. Landscape architecture: an illustrated history in timelines, site plans, and biography, by William A. Mann, NY: John Wiley, 1993.  Chapter 6 contains biographical sketches of 300 designers.
    16. EnvDesign SB470.5 M37 1993 Reference Desk
  16. 19th century horticulturists and plant raisers, by Thomas A. Brown. Petaluma, CA: The Author, 1998.
    17. EnvDesign QK26 B76 1998
  17. The Oxford companion to the garden, Patrick Taylor, ed. NY: Oxford Univ. Pr., 2006.  Table of contents. A one-volume encyclopedia of short authoritative articles on notable gardens, landscape designers, garden features, etc. New ed. of the classic The Oxford companion to gardens. Selectively illustrated. Bibliography: pp.531-538.
    18. EnvDesign SB 469.25 O951 2006 Reference Desk & circ.
  18. Pioneers of American landscape design,  Charles A. Birnbaum, Robin Karson, eds.  NY: McGraw-Hill, 2000.  Contains excellent biographical essays about 160 American landscape architects and designers.  Each essay includes a brief bibliography.  Illustrated.
    19. EnvDesign SB469.9 P56 2000 Reference Desk
  19. Profiles in landscape architecture. Washington, D.C.: American Society of Landscape Architects, 1992.
    20. EnvDesign SB469.9 P96 1992
  20. The School in a garden: foundations and founders of landscape architecture, by Gordon T. Millichap, J. Gordon Millichap. Chicago: PNB Publishers, 2000.
    EnvDesign SB470.5 M54 2000
  21. The Triumph of Flora: women and the American landscape, by Deborah Nevins. IN: Magazine antiques, vol.127:4 (1985) pp.904-922.
    EnvDesign NK1125 A35 Periodical stacks
  22. Women and the land: a biographical survey of women who have contributed to the development of landscape architecture in the United States..., by Catherine R. Brown, Baltimore, MD: Built Environment Studies, Morgan State Univ., 1979.
    23. EnvDesign SB469.9 B7
  23. Women in the ASLA: a descriptive analysis, by Valorie Hennigan and Jot D. Carpenter. IN: Landscape Journal, vol.17:1 (1998), pp.70-84. Analyses women's membership and leadership in the American Society of Landscape Architects. Includes bibliography.
    24. EnvDesign SB469 L34 Periodical stacks
  24. The World of landscape architects, by Francisco Asensio Cerver, Barcelona: [Arco Editorial Board], 1995.
    25. EnvDesign SB469.9 A84 1995


    Finding Books:
    To search for books about landscape architects as a group, in the online catalogs, the following Library of Congress subject headings may be useful:
    Architecture--Film catalogs
    Architecture--Videotape catalogs
    Autobiography
    Gardeners--Biography
    Landscape architects--Biography
    Landscape architects--[place name]
    Landscape architects--[place name]--Correspondence    		 Landscape architects--[place name]--Exhibitions
    Landscape architects--[place name]--Interviews
    Landscape architects--Directories
    Landscape architects--Homes and haunts
    Landscape architects--Interviews 
    Landscape architecture--History 
    Women landscape architects 

    Modify these searches with the addition of descriptive terms (subheadings), e.g., f su eckbo garrett interviews. The following subheadings may be especially useful:
    -Aesthetics
    -Archives
    -Autobiographies
    -Catalogs     		 -Correspondence
    -Criticism & interpretation
    -Diaries
    -Exhibitions     		 -Influence
    -Interviews
    -Journeys
    -Knowledge and learning

    Search tip: Remember to search for a landscape architect's firm name as well as his/her personal name. For example, search for both the personal name eckbo garrett and the corporate name garrett eckbo associates.


    Finding Journal & Newspaper Articles:
    Biographies may be found in journal and newspaper articles; note that newspaper articles on contemporary projects can be useful sources of biographical information.  In addition to the indexes listed here, some newspapers are available full-text on the web; information regarding archives of older issues is sometimes available at these sites.

  1. Access world news via NewsBank - UCB Only Formerly America's Newspapers . Full text database of articles from 500+ regional, national, and international newspapers and newswires.
    2. Online access: Coverage varies.
  2. Historical newspapers online - UC Only Indexes four major historical resources: Palmer's Index to the Times (1790 to 1905), Palmer's Full Text Online (1785-1870), The Official Index to the Times (1906 to 1980), The Historical Index to the New York Times (1851-1923). Includes some full text.
    Online access: 1790-1980.
  3. Landscape architecture indexes & abstracts (UC Berkeley, Library) An annotated list of journal article indexes for landscape architecture.  Includes some newspaper indexes.
    4. http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/ENVI/laindx.html
  4. Lexis-Nexis academic - UCB Only Includes indexing to and full textof over 6,000 newspapers, news media, and journals.
    5. Online access: Coverage varies.
  5. Nineteenth century masterfile - UCB Only A subject index to almost 500 American and English periodicals and newspapers. Serves as an enhanced version of Poole's Index to Periodical Literature . Bibliographic citations only.
    6. Online ed.: 1802-1906; paper ed. of Poole's: Doe Refe & Moff Refe AJ3 P7 Consult library catalog for holdings


    Directories:

  1. American Society of Landscape Architects. Member handbook.
    2. EnvDesign SB469 A632a Latest ed. Reference Desk
  2. Historic landscape directory: a source book of agencies, organizations, and institutions providing information on historic landscape preservation, Lauren G. Meier, ed. Washington, DC: Preservation Assistance Division, National Park Service, [1991]. American focus.
    3. EnvDesign SB451.3 H57 1991 Reference & circ.



    Additional Sources:
    Obituaries: Obituaries frequently include synopses of an individual's professional life and contributions and often appear in newspapers. See Finding Journal & Newspaper Articles in this guide for useful sources.

  1. Avery obituary index of architects and artists, 1st and 2nd eds. Boston: G.K. Hall, 1963, 1968. Includes citations to obituaries of landscape architects. Citations also available online through the Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals (UC Only); combine a title search on obituary with a subject search on the name.
    2. EnvDesign fNA40 C6 Reference & fNA8 C63 1968 Reference
  2. Land online: landscape architecture news digest (American Society of Landscape Architects) Some articles are available online (see In Memoriam).
    3. Online ed.: http://www.asla.org/land/
    Paper ed.: EnvDesign SB469 L12 Bound & unbound periodical stacks
    Archival Sources:
  1. Architectural records in the San Francisco Bay Area: a guide to research. Waverly B. Lowell, project dir. and ed., NY: Garland, 1988.
    2. EnvDesign NA2125 C22 S2631 1988 Reference Desk
  2. Archival finding aids: Guides or finding aids to archival collections related to individual people usually include useful and succinct biographies of those individuals. Many finding aids can be located via the following web-based archives as well as through the online catalogs:
    3. Online archive of California: http://www.oac.cdlib.org/
    ArchivesUSA - UCB Only: http://archives.chadwyck.com/
    Environmental Design Archives finding aids:
    Available through UC Berkeley Finding Aids from The Library's home page.
    This collection includes archives of San Francisco Bay Area architects and landscape architects, among others.
Compiled by Deborah Sommer
Landscape Architecture & Environmental Planning Librarian
Environmental Design Library
Originally compiled in 1999

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