As the tenth anniversary of the death of Sir James Stirling approaches, Michael Spens considers the relative significance of aspects of his work, both in terms of a sequence of key designs and in the light of contemporaneous critiques. What emerges is a confirmation of the architect's underlying extension of a progressive, enriching modernity. The best work is seen as a rare consummation of the Sublime, as opposed to the Picturesque, within the general continuity of Modernism.