Hermes Mallea and the Great Houses of Havana

Hermes Mallea will be the Guest of Honor
at the Decorative Arts Trust gala anniversary celebration.

All Devoted Readers within driving distance will not want to miss an upcoming talk about the great houses of Havana by architect/interior designer/author Hermes Mallea.  This event is just one part of the 35th anniversary celebration of Decorative Arts Trust, a support group of Memphis Brooks Museum of Art.  Hermes' presentation will be Saturday, October 17, 10:30 am in the museum auditorium in Overton Park, 1934 Poplar Avenue, Memphis, Tennessee.  The talk is free and open to the public.  A book sale of both THE GRAND HOUSES OF HAVANA and ESCAPE: THE HEYDAY OF CARIBBEAN GLAMOUR, with proceeds benefiting D.A.T., will follow the talk along with a book signing by the author.

 

 

And be sure to allow enough time in your schedule afterwards to view the current exhibition which features over 100 items donated to the museum collection by Decorative Arts Trust and its members.  For more information, see the Trust's website.

John J. Tackett To Speak At Evergreen Museum

The Entrance Vestibule of a new house in Miami Beach Florida.
Ink and colored pencil drawing by John J. Tackett, 2011.
John Tackett Design.

Baltimore-area readers of The Devoted Classicist might be interested in The House Beautiful lecture series at Evergreen Museum and Library.  On Wednesday evening, April 25, 2012, John J.Tackett will speak on the topic "A Devotion to Classicism:  The Enduring Popularity in Decorative Arts".

Evergreen, the Garrett mansion, in Baltimore, Maryland.
Photo from Evergreen Museum and Library.
www.museums.jhu.edu/evergreen.php

The presentation will be made at Evergreen, the historic Garrett mansion now one of the museums of the Johns Hopkins University, in the Baskt Theatre starting at 6:30 pm, followed by a reception in the Far East Room.

The Baskt Theatre at Evergreen as it appeared during the time of Billy Baldwin.
Photo from BILLY BALDWIN REMEMBERS.

Fans of Billy Baldwin will remember that Mrs. John W. (Alice) Garrett and her mansion Evergreen had a great influence in the legendary decorator's development in taste.  Their meeting and subsequent friendship is fondly related in Chapter 2 of BILLY BALDWIN REMEMBERS. 

Alice Garrett as a Russian peasant in a portrait by Leon Baskt.
Image from BILLY BALDWIN REMEMBERS.

It was dancing that first brought them together.  She chose Billy to be her partner in productions that she often performed for her friends in the brilliantly decorated theatre in an added wing of the house that had been converted from the former gymnasium and school room.  The first space in this annex, however, is a long gallery lined with vitrines filled with Oriental porcelains and bronzes;  formerly a billard room and bowling alley, this is now known as The Far East Room. 

The Far East Room at Evergreen Museum.
Photo from www.eventective.com.

More pictures of Evergreen can be seen in a linked post by my blogging friend Meg of Pigtown*Design.

The House Beautiful 2012 Lecture Series.

Other speakers in the series will be Hermes Mallea who will present "Great Houses of Havana:  A Century of Cuban Style" on March 28, and Donald Albrecht who will present "The American Style:  Colonial Revival And The Modern Metropolis" on May 16.  View and/or download the brochure for more information.  Seating is limited and advance ticket purchase, either for the series or the individual events, is recommended.  I am looking forward to meeting some of you in Baltimore!