Saturday, March 30, 2013

Michael Taylor for Nan Kempner

The Manhattan living room of
Nan and Thomas Kempner
as it appeared in the mid 1980s.
Photo by Derry Moore for Architectural Digest.
California interior designer Michael Taylor, born Earnest Charles Taylor in 1927 and died in 1986, is remembered for his West Coast aesthetic using raw wood, boulders or split stone and nubby neutral fabrics.  But he first became well-known for his fresh, new interpetations of traditional European-influenced schemes that had been popularized by the likes of Syrie Maugham , Sister Parish, and Stephane Boudin of Maison Jansen.



Another view of the Kempner living room.
Photo by Derry Moore for Architectural Digest.
Nan and Thomas Kempner bought their Park Avenue, New York City, duplex apartment in 1956.  The story goes, as related in an article by Brooke Hayward in the May, 1987 issue of Architectural Digest, that Nan, having a troubled pregnancy and sent to relax in Palm Springs, ran into Michael Taylor the first day at the pool.  (Taylor had added to the decor begun by Frances Elkins for her parent's sophisticated house in San Francisco).  Sending for the floor plans, they worked out most of the decoration on paper in Taylor's San Francisco office.

The Banquette Room designed by Stephane Boudin
for the Duke and Duchess of Windsor's home
at 24 boulevard Suchet, Paris.
Watercolor by Alexandre Serebriakoff, 1946.
 
'Comfort First' was the mandate, with Taylor designing deep. oversize seating by laying out the outlines on the floor with string and having them custom made;  they were so big they had to be hoisted through the window rather than brought up in the service elevator.  Inspired by banquettes designed by Stephane Boudin of Maison Jansen for the Duchess of Windsor, the seating for the Kempners was covered in a fabric unusual for upholstery at the time, chamois-colored narrow-wale cotton corduroy.  A twelve-panel coromandel screen bought at a good price provides a rich contrast along with other bargain finds:  two Queen Anne mirrors, a pair of chests on stands, and a large Aubusson rug.  (The rug in the photo is a replacement due to wear).  The chimneypiece and over-mantle mirror were provided in the early 1970s by antiques dealer Norton Rosenbaum.

The Kempner dining room.
Photo by Derry Moore for Architectural Digest.
The dining room features handpainted eighteenth-century Chinese silk panels that had come from the house of a family friend in San Francisco.  Porcelain birds of Meissen or Chinese Export from her mother's collection are displayed on simple block brackets almost filling the walls not covered with fabric.  An 18th century French needlepoint rug covers the floor.  There are no curtains at the apartment windows, only shutters or shades.

The Kempner library.
Photo by Derry Moore for Architectural Digest.
In the library, the walls are covered with 95 coats of glaze to approximate Ming red lacquer, the process supervised by Michael Taylor until the desired effect was achieved.

The guest room of the Kempner apartment.
Photo by Derry Moore for Architectural Digest.
In the guest room, Chinese wallpaper taken from Nan's mother's house provides an elegant backdrop for the twin beds that Taylor had made for the room.

Nan Kempner in the master bedroom
decorated by Michael Taylor.
Photo by Derry Moore for Architectural Digest.
The room to gain the most public attention, however, is Nan's dressing room/closet created from a bedroom.  Designed by Chessie Reyner of Mac II, shirred curtains of a floral cotton fabric conceal the clothing.  While the room is not a favorite of this writer, it may be viewed here on a post of the always interesting blog, Little Augury.  Nan Kempner remained in the apartment until her death in 2005.  More about the celebrated decorator may be found in the book by Stephen M. Salny MICHAEL TAYLOR: INTERIOR DESIGN.

15 comments:

  1. In the final 10 years of his practice no one held greater sway in San Francisco. He was so admired that, not to engage him was seen as desperately vain.

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    Replies
    1. Laurent, despite successors and a line of furnishings still available, the void is felt, isn't it? Thanks for commenting

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  2. Could there be a more thrilling synthesis than inspiration via Jansen (those
    eccentric banquettes), interpretation by Michael Taylor (covering them in
    cotton corduroy and placing them atop an Aubusson carpet) and a bit
    of Frances Elkins thrown into the mix for good measure?

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  3. Toby, having a knowledge of the design greats of the past is a bonus in searching for inspiration, isn't it? I appreciate your comments.

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  4. I had the pleasure to have seen one of his finer modern interiors, replete with those round throw pillows that resemble balls on oatmeal knubby banquettes...a Yves Klein Venus here and mirror polished black marble floors there...one of the 3 guest pavilions designed by John Woolf with William Haines touches for George Cukor's home.

    Jimmy Wilson was his friend and partner...and his home is the magnified version of Taylor's own...same color scheme yet a laboratory for all those ideas of Classical statuary, Etruscan potteries, Louie Louie and the odd Geode or Blue John masterpiece. I was able to purchase quite a bit including the George III Chinoiserie screen. Mrs. Rosekrans was the best devotee aside from Mrs.Kempner...a shame her home was dismantled, more so without a real book dedicated to both.

    Love the MT book, I really do think La Nan had the best NYC roost over all the other chickies...so chic, cosmopolitan and singular...not cookie cutter and Blue Book Bore.

    I think Michael Smith comes pretty close today!

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    1. Swan, I could be convinced that the Rosekrans house was Michael Taylor's finest work. A stylish, educated client, plus a fabulous Willis Polk mansion plus lots of money (Frisbees, Hula Hoops and more) makes a good formula.

      I hope to someday visit a John Woolf house. Thanks for adding your thoughts.

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  5. Perfect taste. Michael and NK-what a pair. Thanks for the reminder.
    Mary

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    Replies
    1. Yes, what a pair indeed. Thanks for commenting, Mary.

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  6. Didn't Billy Baldwin work on the bedroom at one point, covering everything with a Castaing-type print? I'm confused about where in the history of the room the above photo is from: did Taylor come back after Baldwin and put up the painted wallpaper? Thank you.

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    1. I did not show the fabric covered room by Chessie Reyner and that might be what you are thinking about.

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    2. The Baldwin version is pictured in "Billy Baldwin Decorates." Not as much of the Castaing print as I remembered, lots of big floral chintz, the walls draped in white muslin, and two hideous barley-twist white floor lamps. A really unsuccessful early attempt at le style Rothschild/Napoleon III that doesn't seem to have much to do with Mrs. Kempner. I'm still confused about the chronology of the various incarnations of the room.

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    3. Now I know the room you are thinking about, with the bed in the woven blue stripe set in parted white fabric wall hangings. Baldwin preceded Taylor and it is my understanding that the bedroom you described is in a previous Kempner apartment. That's my take on it, but a Devoted Reader with more knowledge of the Baldwin-Kempner era might be able to offer more insight.

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  7. I had seen the sketch for the Duchess of Windsor banquettes, but was it ever used by her? I can't imagine them working with the ever-so-popular Windsor style/myth. It is however interesting to see them, (or as near as can be) in the Kempner house. But in the "living room", (whatever that is). I have a daybed which divides my dining area from my sitting area, (it's a flat), but it is rarely used by visitors, and only occasionally by the hosts a deux. (But not for anything unseemly, I hasten to add.) After all, what would the staff say?

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    1. Columnist, the Windsors had rented this house and had to vacate when it was sold. Before packing up, it was photographed as well as recorded by a series of accurate watercolors. There were other sitting rooms much more formal, but I think the Duchess was always interested in being elegantly in vogue. This room with the textured rug and quilted curtains was quite chic for its day, the possibility of heels in the air not withstanding. I appreciate your comments.

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    2. And I did not mean to imply that anything unseemly would occur here either. It's just that we've all seen elegantly dressed party-goers topple over poufs and other perches.

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