Madoo: The Making of an American Garden

A portrait of an iconoclastic garden in the Hamptons where painter, poet, and self-taught horticulturist Robert Dash created an eclectic plant paradise and a literary and arts salon.

During the 1960s, painter, poet, and gardener Robert Dash set out to create a haven where art and the garden existed in tandem. What began as a fallow farm field over time became a beloved public garden and Hamptons treasure that The New York Times has called an "ever-changing masterpiece." Madoo, by By Alejandro Saralegui and Kendell Cronstrom, is a living tribute to this eclectic, beautiful place. Sumptuously photographed by Tria Giovan, the book is filled with stunning images of interiors and gardens, archival pieces illustrating Madoo's early days, paintings and drawings by Robert Dash, and essays from contributors who have witnessed its evolution. Madoo appeals to a broad range of readers infatuated with American culture, the gardens of artists, and the enduring appeal of the Hamptons. "Madoo," which is Old Scots for "my dove," was both Dash's personal haven and a forum for collaborative, creative discourse and critique, marked by the arcadian confluence of art, music, literature, and poetry. It was also a refuge for many famous artists and poets--John Ashbery, Fairfield Porter, Willem de Kooning, James Schuyler, and others--who spent time at Madoo, were deeply inspired by it, and often referenced it in their work.

Since the mid-1960s, Robert Dash has been regarded as an accomplished painter for his depictions of a now all-but-vanished Hamptons landscape. His work has been featured in solo and group exhibitions at institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art, Yale University, and the University of Missouri's Fine Arts Building and is included in the collections of the Modern Art Museum in Munich, the Guggenheim Museum in New York City, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, the Philadelphia Museum of Fine Arts, and more. His archive of poetry and garden writings was acquired by Yale University's Beinecke Library in 2011.

Author: Alejandro Saralegui,Kendell Cronstrom
Publisher: Timber Press (OR)
Published: 06/02/2026
Pages: 268
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 2.36lbs
Size: 10.22h x 8.25w x 0.86d
ISBN: 9781643264196


Review Citation(s):
Library Journal 05/01/2026 pg. 59

About the Author
Born and raised in Bronxville, New York, Alejandro Saralegui started his career at the Metropolitan Museum of Art after receiving an undergraduate degree in art history from SUNY Purchase. He worked for art galleries, magazines, and fashion and gardening companies before becoming the executive director of the Madoo Conservancy in 2009. He lives in Bridgehampton, New York.

A native of Minneapolis, Kendell Cronstrom attended Cornell University and the University of Minnesota, where he graduated with a degree in journalism. A longtime magazine editor, he has worked at a host of publications ranging from Vanity Fair to Elle Decor and was the editor in chief of Hamptons Cottages & Gardens for fourteen years. Currently the vice president of marketing for Schumacher, he lives in Brooklyn and Bridgehampton, New York.