Laurie Ossman - A

Architectural historian Laurie Ossman not only writes about “great houses,” but has an extensive career in preservation, interpretation and management of historic buildings, landscapes and collections.  Most recently, she served as Director of Woodlawn and Frank Lloyd Wright’s Pope-Leighey House, historic sites of The National Trust.  From 2004-2007, Laurie served as the Deputy Director for Collections and Curatorial Affairs of Vizcaya Museum and Gardens in Miami. As Chief Curator of The Henry Morrison Flagler Museum in Palm Beach, she curated the 2004 exhibition, “A Genuine Style:  The Beaux-Arts Architecture of Carrère and Hastings,” among others.   She has also served as Curator and Restoration Project Manager for Cà d'Zan at The Ringling Museum in Sarasota;  Guest Curator at The Maryland Historical Society in Baltimore, and in a variety of research capacities at the Preservation Office of the Old Executive Office Building, The Preservation Society of Newport County in Rhode Island, Decatur House (now the Center for White House history) and the Office of the Curator of The White House, in Washington DC.

Laurie holds the Ph.D. in American Architectural History from the University of Virginia and an undergraduate degree in art history from Brown University.  She has written dozens of articles and lectured widely on a variety of topics related to historic houses, gardens, and historic preservation.

She is the author of Great Houses of the South (Rizzoli, 2010) and, more recently, Carrere and Hastings: The Masterworks (Rizzoli, 2011) with co-author Heather Ewing and featuring photographs by Steven Brooke.