President of the National Civic Art Society, a non-profit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C. that promotes the classical and humanistic tradition in public art and architecture. Eleventh Chairman of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, an independent federal agency comprising seven presidential appointees who are the aesthetic guardians of Washington.
Can classical architecture unite Americans in an otherwise divided time? I said “yes” in a lecture earlier this year. I explored how timeless design rooted in ancient precedents–and employed by the Founding Fathers–bolsters democracy, unity, and civic identity. The talk was … Continue reading
Joe Grogan, director of the White House Domestic Policy Council in the Trump administration, interviewed me on the DC EKG podcast. I spoke at length about the magnificent new classical National World War I Memorial in Washington, D.C. I also … Continue reading
I was glad to sit down with Johnny Burtka, president and CEO of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI), for an interview about my work at the National Civic Art Society. I discussed how beauty, art, and architecture shape a flourishing … Continue reading
On May 19, 2024 at Georgetown University, I delivered a lecture on “Roger Scruton’s Philosophy of Architecture” at a conference on Scruton sponsored by the Center for American Culture and Ideas, the American Enterprise Institute, the Ethics & Public Policy Center, the National … Continue reading
On August 9, 2024, I had the pleasure of giving a talk on “Citizenship and Public Architecture” at First Things magazine’s intellectual retreat at the Union League Club in New York City. To quote: [T]he classical tradition recrudesced in early … Continue reading
On September 7, 2024, I’ll be speaking at the University of Cambridge at a conference on “A New Path for Beauty: Shaping Tomorrow’s Institutions” sponsored by the Roger Scruton Legacy Foundation. (I serve on their Board of Advisors.) My topic … Continue reading
In May 2024, I gave a talk on ordinary people’s preferences in architecture at a Beauty and Ugliness in Architecture conference in Oslo, Norway. Many members of the Arkitekturupproret (Architectural Uprising), a grassroots rebellion against Modernist architecture, were there. In … Continue reading
On May 19, 2024 at Georgetown University, I’ll be giving a talk on “Roger Scruton’s Philosophy of Architecture” at a conference on Scruton sponsored by the Center for American Culture and Ideas, the American Enterprise Institute, the Ethics & Public … Continue reading
I’m pleased to report that I’ll be giving a talk on ordinary people’s preferences in architecture at a conference in Oslo, Norway in May 2024. The theme of the conference is Beauty and Ugliness in Architecture. Other speakers include James … Continue reading