Hell on Color, Sweet on Song: Jacob Wrey Mould and the Artful Beauty of Central Park

Kowsky, a professor of fine art at SUNY-Buffalo (Country Park and City), and the late Gordon, a docent in Central Park, haul up from the shadows the extraordinary life of Jacob Wrey Mould (1825–1886), “an architect’s architect” who has been largely lost to history. English-born Wrey Mould was, among other things, the “grandson of a notorious slave trader,” and though he had some Black ancestry, he passed as white during his life. He was steeped in the lush Victorian ornamental traditions promoted by his mentor, British architect Owen Jones, and, six years after arriving in New York City in 1852, began architectural work on Central Park. His most significant contributions there were the “everlastingly enchanted” design elements he added to the park (while working in conjunction with the better known Calvert Vaux and Frederick Law Olmsted), including the Bethesda Terrace and the Sheepfold, which remain among the “chief delights” of the park today. Beyond his work on Central Park, Wrey Mould designed a number of churches, spent four years working in Peru, was a musician active in the world of grand opera, and was generally a captivating character, and the authors take in the full sweep of his life, capturing it in clear prose. Architecture fans will delight in this in-depth entry. (May)