Alexander Jackson Davis: Designer of Dreams
May 23rd – September 23rd, 2025
Lyndhurst is a National Historic Landmark located on the banks of the Hudson River in Tarrytown, just outside New York City. It is considered the masterpiece of architect Alexander Jackson Davis. This exhibition will explore Davis’s career as an architect and furniture designer through the designing and building of Lyndhurst, his extant Gothic revival masterpiece, and other homes in the region.
Alexander Jackson Davis set American architectural taste at a time when Americans were looking to form a unique, native culture after their liberation from England. However, Davis’s fame as one of the founders of American cultural institutions and architectural taste has significantly faded and this exhibition will reintroduce Davis’s reputation as America’s preeminent architect of the nineteenth century and place Davis as the founder of America’s architectural fascination with historical pastiche.
The exhibition will unite works from the New York institutions that hold major parts of Davis’s archive: The Avery Architectural Library at Columbia University, The New York Public Library, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The New York Historical Society, and The Museum of the City of New York. Also including works from the National Museum of American History of the Smithsonian, the Cropsey-Newington Foundation, Winterthur Library and Archive, Historic Hudson Valley, and private lenders. The works of furniture and interior decor that survive the buildings they were built are also included. There is also significant documentation of Lyndhurst, the many drawings, letters, and watercolors about the Lyndhurst Commission will be exhibited in the place for which the plans were made. The exhibition will also explore new research into Davis’s influences, including his background as an actor and watercolorist, and explore the influence of Gothic novelists and playwrights of the period.
The exhibition runs between May 23rd and September 23rd, 2025.
The 2025 special exhibition Alexander Jackson Davis: Designer of Dreams will be on view in our gallery located in the Welcome Center complex. You can visit Designer of Dreams between 11 am and 5 pm on days we are open for tours:
Thursday- Tuesday, May through September.
Entrance to the exhibition gallery is free with your ticket for any guided tour or grounds admission at Lyndhurst.
The Lyndhurst Season is presented by Montefiore Einstein.
The Alexander Jackson Davis exhibition is made possible with support from:
Lee Anderson Memorial Foundation
Richard Hampton Jenrette Foundation
New York State Assemblymember MaryJane Shimsky
New York State Council on The Arts
ArtsWestchester and the Westchester County Board of Legislators
AJ Davis Mansion & Exhibition Tour
Starting in June! Ticket Information Coming Soon!
Take a specialized tour of the mansion, which will focus specifically on Davis, his design, and how he came to work on the residence not once but twice. Hear about his path from theater and the arts, to lithographer, to architect, and how this influenced his work and career. Also, get a closer look at this year’s exhibition and how Lyndhurst fits in with the other residences in the area designed by Davis.
Alexander Jackson Davis Symposium
Sunday, June 22nd, 2025, 9 am to 6 pm
A full day of talks on topics surrounding Alexander Jackson Davis, from who he was, and how his work impacted architecture, decorative arts, and landscapes.
Speakers Include:
Howard Zar, Executive Director of Lyndhurst.
Benjamin Prosky, President of the Richard Hampton Jenrette Foundation
Davis Scott Parker, FAIA & Trustee of the National Trust for Historic Preservation
Kerry Dean Carso, Professor of Art History at SUNY New Paltz
Steven Baltsas, Historian, Curator, and Winterthur Graduate
Emma Gencarelli, Collections & Curatorial Coordinator at Lyndhurst
Schedule:
9 am: Early tour of the mansion with the Executive Director, focusing on special Davis pieces being exhibited
10 am: Presentations Start
Noon: Included Lunch & Tour of the Exhibition Gallery
1:30 pm: Presentations Resume
5 pm: Closing Reception
