In this new biography, Anthony C. Wood the nationally recognized preservationist and award-winning author, recounts the life of Albert S. Bard, one of New York City’s greatest civic activists.

It is a story of two all-consuming passions: Bard’s love of beauty in the public realm, which forever changed New York, and his love for a troubled younger man, which forever changed him. Bard (1866-1963) spent four decades fighting to protect the city’s architectural beauty, propelling him ultimately into a David versus Goliath battle with Robert Moses that paved the way for New York's Landmarks Law (1965). Today this legislation protects over 37,000 buildings in the five boroughs and has inspired cities across the nation. Bard persevered against the odds. As he fought to protect the beauty of the city he loved, he also functioned as the stand-in father to three children of the man he loved in secret — who himself was embroiled in an international scandal of espionage. Servant of Beauty uncovers and recovers the life of this forgotten pioneer, a Renaissance man whose story will inspire and inform.

The renowned historic preservationist Kent Barwick, best known for partnering with Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis to save Grand Central Terminal, joins in conversation.

LOCATION: SKYLIGHT ROOM, THE GRADUATE CENTER, CUNY, 365 Fifth Ave & 34th St