James Gibbs (December 23, 1682 – August 5, 1754) is one of Britain's most influential architects.
Born in Scotland, he trains as an architect in Rome, and practices mainly in England.
His most important works are St. Martin-in-the-Fields, in London, and the cylindrical, domed Radcliffe Camera at Oxford University.
Gibbs very privately is Roman Catholic and a Tory, and is therefore not part of the Palladian movement which is prevalent in English architecture of the period.
The Palladians are largely Whigs, led by Lord Burlington and Colen Campbell, a fellow Scot who develops a rivalry with Gibbs.
Gibbs' professional Italian training under the Baroque master, Carlo Fontana, also sets him uniquely apart from the Palladian school However, despite being unfashionable, he gains a number of Tory patrons and clients, and becomes hugely influential through his published works, which became popular as pattern books for architecture.
His architectural style does incorporate Palladian elements, as well as forms from Italian baroque and Inigo Jones (1573–1652), but is most strongly influenced by the work of Sir Christopher Wren (1632–1723), who is an early supporter of Gibbs.
Overall, Gibbs is an individual who forms his own style independently of current fashions.
Architectural historian John Summerson describes his work as the fulfilment of Wren's architectural ideas, which were not fully developed in his own buildings.
(Summerson, John (1993) Architecture in the United Kingdom, 1530-1830 9th edition.
Yale University Press)Despite the influence of his books, Gibbs, as a stylistic outsider, has little effect on the later direction of British architecture, which sees the rise of Neoclassicism shortly after his death.
