Norman Morrison Isham (1864–1943) was a prominent architectural historian, author, and professor at

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

and

Rhode Island School of Design The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD , pronounced "Riz-D") is a private art and design school in Providence, Rhode Island. The school was founded as a coeducational institution in 1877 by Helen Adelia Rowe Metcalf, who sought to increase th ...

(RISD). He was an ardent preservationist and a pioneer in the study of early American architecture.

Biography

Norman M. Isham was born in

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

on November 12, 1864, to Dr. Henry and Frances Elizabeth (Smyth) Isham. As a child his family moved to

Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...

. Norman Isham attended Mowry and Goff's preparatory school and

. At Brown he received a A.B. in 1886 and an A.M. in Architecture in 1890. After graduation in 1886, Isham worked for architectural firm of Stone, Carpenter & Willson and later Martin & Hall. He also served as an architecture instructor at Brown University.Norman Morrison Isham
at home.sprynet.com In 1899 Isham and Benjamin Wright created an architecture partnership which existed from 1912 to 1920 and 1923 to 1933. Isham chaired the architectural department at the

starting in 1912. He was a member of the American Institute of Architects and the Royal Institute of British Architects and published several architecture texts, including "Early Rhode Island Houses" in 1895. Isham was well known for his renovations of many prominent early Rhode Island and other New England houses, particularly, stone-enders. After Isham's wife, Elizabeth Barbour Ormsbee, died in 1917, he moved from Providence to

Wickford, Rhode Island Wickford is a small village in the New England town, town of North Kingstown, Rhode Island, North Kingstown, Rhode Island, United States, which is named after Wickford in Essex, England. Wickford is located on the western side of Narragansett B ...

. There, he constructed a two-story, shingle-style Colonial Revival home on Boston Neck Road. Initially, it was a summer home, but he moved there permanently after the death of his wife. Isham was a consultant on the building of the American Wing of the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

in New York, and was a consulting architect on the Delaware Legislative Hall, 1930–1933.

Memberships and societies

* Member of the

General Society of Colonial Wars The General Society of Colonial Wars is a Patriotism, patriotic Voluntary association, society composed of men who trace their descents from forebears who, in military, naval, or civil positions of high trust and responsibility, by acts or counse ...

* Elected to the

Walpole Society The Walpole Society, named after Horace Walpole, was founded in 1911 to promote the study of the history of British art and artists. From 1762 on, Walpole had published the first history of art in Britain, based on the manuscript notebooks of G ...

in 1911 * Elected to the

American Antiquarian Society The American Antiquarian Society (AAS), located in Worcester, Massachusetts, is both a learned society and a national research library of pre-twentieth-century American history and culture. Founded in 1812, it is the oldest historical society in ...

in 1933

Historic preservation

Norman Isham is perhaps best known for his work preserving and restoring Colonial-era homes and structures in Rhode Island. He wrote extensively on the topic of Colonial architecture and furniture. His books ''Early Rhode Island Houses'', published with Albert F. Brown in 1895, and ''Early Connecticut Houses'', published in 1900, are classics in their field. Some of the buildings Isham worked to preserve include: * Bullock-Thomas House,

North Kingstown, Rhode Island North Kingstown is a town in Washington County, Rhode Island, United States, and is part of the Providence metropolitan area. Its population was 27,732 in the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. North Kingstown is the birthplace of American ...

* Clemence-Irons House,

Johnston, Rhode Island Johnston is a New England town, town in Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 29,568 at the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census. Johnston is the site of the Clemence Irons House (1 ...

, 1691 *

Smith's Castle Smith's Castle, built in 1678, is a house museum at 55 Richard Smith Drive, near Wickford, a village in North Kingstown, Rhode Island. Smith's Castle is one of the oldest houses in the state. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 199 ...

, 1678 * Clement Weaver House,

East Greenwich, Rhode Island East Greenwich is a New England town, town and the county seat of Kent County, Rhode Island, Kent County, Rhode Island. The population was 14,312 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. East Greenwich is the wealthiest municipality within ...

, 1679 * John Balch House,

Beverly, Massachusetts Beverly is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, and a suburb of Boston. The population was 42,670 at the time of the 2020 United States census. A resort, residential, and manufacturing community on the Massachusetts North Sho ...

, 1679 *

Eleazer Arnold House The Eleazer Arnold House is a historic house built for Eleazer Arnold in about 1693, and located in the Great Road Historic District at Lincoln, Rhode Island. It is now a National Historic Landmark owned by Historic New England, and open to t ...

Lincoln, Rhode Island Lincoln is a town in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 22,529 at the 2020 census. Lincoln is located in northeastern Rhode Island, north of Providence. Lincoln is part of the Providence metropolitan statistica ...

, 1693 * John Randall House,

North Stonington, Connecticut North Stonington is a town in New London County, Connecticut, United States which was split off from Stonington in 1724. The town is part of the Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region. The population was 5,149 at the 2020 census. Geography ...

, 1690 *Joshua Babcock–Smith House, Westerly, Rhode Island, 1734 * General Nathanael Greene Homestead,

Coventry, Rhode Island Coventry is a town in Kent County, Rhode Island. The population was 35,688 at the 2020 census and is part of the . Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of . of it is land and of it (4.49%) is wate ...

, 1774 *

Gilbert Stuart birthplace The Gilbert Stuart Birthplace and Museum is located in Saunderstown, Rhode Island. Gilbert Stuart, who was born on December 3, 1755, in the colonial-era house located on the property, became a famous American portraitist of the 18th and 19th ce ...

Saunderstown, Rhode Island Saunderstown is a small village and historic district in the towns of Narragansett and North Kingstown in Washington County, Rhode Island, United States. It was named in honor of John Aldrich Saunders, a member of the Saunders family. Saunde ...

, 1751 * Hyland House,

Guilford, Connecticut Guilford is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, that borders Madison, Connecticut, Madison, Branford, Connecticut, Branford, North Branford, Connecticut, North Branford and Durham, Connecticut, Durham, and is situated on Inter ...

, 1713 * John Updike House,

* Newport Colony House,

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is a seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island, United States. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and nort ...

, 1739 *

Old City Hall Old City Hall may refer to: Asia In Hong Kong * Old City Hall (Hong Kong) Europe In Croatia * Old City Hall (Zagreb) In Denmark * Old City Hall (1479–1728), in Copenhagen * Old City Hall (1728–1795), in Copenhagen * Old City Hall (Aalborg ...

, 1762 * Newport Brick Market,

, 1762 * Stephen Hopkins House,

, 1708 * Redwood Library,

, 1747 *

Trinity Church (Newport, Rhode Island) Trinity Church, on Queen Anne Square in Newport, Rhode Island, is a historic parish church in the Episcopal Diocese of Rhode Island. Founded in 1698, it is the oldest Episcopal parish in the state. In the mid 18th century, the church was home to ...

, 1724 * University Hall,

* Wanton-Lyman-Hazard House,

, 1697 *

Whitehall Museum House The Whitehall Museum House is the farmhouse modified by Dean George Berkeley, when he lived in the northern section of Newport, Rhode Island that comprises present-day Middletown in 1729–1731, while working to open his planned St Paul's Coll ...

Middletown, Rhode Island Middletown is a town in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 17,075 at the 2020 census. It lies to the south of Portsmouth and to the north of Newport on Aquidneck Island, hence the name "Middletown." History Issue ...

, 1729

Death and burial

Norman Isham died on January 1, 1943. His funeral attracted many renowned architects to Wickford to pay their respects. Tragically, fellow Providence architect Harry Slocomb suffered a heart attack and died after Isham's funeral service. Isham is buried with his wife and parents at Elm Grove Cemetery in

. He left no descendants.

References

External links

Isham bioExamples of Isham's work
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Isham, Norman 1864 births 1943 deaths Architects from Providence, Rhode Island People from North Kingstown, Rhode Island Writers from Hartford, Connecticut Brown University alumni Rhode Island School of Design faculty Writers from Providence, Rhode Island