Adrian Stokes (1902-72) - aesthete, critic, painter and poet - is among the most original and creative writers on art of the twentieth century. He was the author of over twenty critical books and numerous papers. This book traces the influence upon Stokes of places, texts and personalities, and examines how his theory of art developed and matured.

The argument is supported by appropriate illustrations to confirm the evidence that Stokes's claim for architecture as mother of the arts carries the deepest experiential and psychological import.