The American architect Stanford White (1853-1906), a partner in the architectural firm of McKim, Mead & White, was noted for his decorative inventiveness.

Stanford White was born on Nov. 9, 1853, in New York City. His father, Richard Grant White, was a distinguished Shakespearean scholar and a music and drama critic. At the age of 19 Stanford became an apprentice in the architectural office of Gambrill and Richardson, where he met Charles Follen McKim. By 1878 White felt that he must study architecture in Europe. For almost two years he lived in Paris and traveled extensively, sometimes with McKim and the sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens, making sketches of buildings and architectural details, medieval ornaments, and armour.

In September 1879 White entered into partnership with McKim and William Rutherford Mead, creating the firm that would be responsible for setting a high standard of taste in America for the next three decades. The firm's greatness grew out...