George Stacey

The Dining Room of the Palm Beach Home

of Dr. & Mrs. Leon Levy.

Image via housebeautiful.com

George Stacey's interiors for Dr. & Mrs. Leon Levy,
Entrance Hall looking into Dining Room,
1409 South Ocean Blvd., Palm Beach, Florida.
John Volk, architect..
Image:  Library of Congress.

There is a wonderful new book just published, GEORGE STACEY AND THE CREATION OF AMERICAN CHIC, that will be a 'Must Have' for all interested in influential twentieth century interior design.  Maureen Footer, the author who is also an interior designer, and Mario Buatta, the living legend who wrote the Forward, both relate how George Stacey helped them formulate their own design aesthetic.  And the last chapter shows examples of work by today's well-known designers and how they are influenced as well.  Students of interior design might be familiar with George Stacey's philosophy from his writings;  articles from 1941 and 1942 issues of Vogue are reprinted in an Appendix as is the text from his chapter in the immensely popular 1964 book, THE FINEST ROOMS BY AMERICA'S GREATEST DECORATORS.

Maureen Footer.
Photo by Zev Starr-Tambor.
Used by permission of Rizzoli.

Most of the book, however, is devoted to showing and discussing the work of the talented Mr. Stacey.  Great praise is due Maureen Footer for her research, providing extensive and informative End Notes (far too uncommon these days) and a wealth of interesting photographs.  One theme that is repeated several times was the exceptional interiors Stacey created for particularly stylish female clients.  The homes of film star Ava Gardner, Brenda Frazier (Debutante of the Century), Mrs. Anthony Drexel Duke, Blanche Levy (Bill Paley's sister), Lil Isles, Marie Harriman, Betsey Whitney, and Minnie Astor all benefitted from the stylishly edited interiors by George Stacey.  In addition, the book goes into detail to present the homes, usually plural, of several clients who were confident enough to receive the full benefit of Stacey's talent.


Diana Vreeland
in the entrance hall of her apartment
at 400 Park Avenue.
Image: GEORGE STACEY
AND THE CREATION OF AMERICAN CHIC
published by Rizzoli, April, 2014.

The apartment that Stacey decorated for Diana ("dee AHN a") Vreeland and her family at 400 Park Avenue was used as the set for fashion photo shoots for Harper's Bazaar in the late 1930s.  Light colored walls, ebonized floors, lacquered doors and accents such as blackamoors and Regency convex mirrors promoted the edict of the times:  high style, high contrast, and perfect scale.  (Some readers might remember Vreeland's next apartment, at 550 Park Avenue, where Stacey's fabric-festooned mirror and other furnishings were re-purposed by Billy Baldwin).  The Devoted Classicist's favorite Vreeland room, however, was the living room of their country house in Brewster, New York.  The wood paneled walls and trim of the double-height room were painted a bold cyclamen pink, unusual for interiors at the time but identified with the fashions of Schiaparelli.  A sheet of mirror with a narrow frame was affixed to the wall above the 19th-century carved white marble Italianate chimneypiece with a polar bear skin rug laid on the Besarabian  carpet.  Large white lampshades punctuated the space anchored by a large sofa in a floral slipcover.  A basket of firewood, lots of accent cushions, books, magazines, plants, a butler's tray fully stocked with liquor, and even a white furry dog all added up to create the kind of room still cherished today.  (This photo of the room was not supplied from the publisher, but is a very similar image from the Louise Dahl-Wolfe Archive).


The Vreelands in the big room of their house in
Brewster, New York.  Image from the
Center for Photography, Arizona Board of Regents.

Around the same time, Stacey began to be involved in the decoration of a series of residences for Mr. and Mrs. Ward Cheney.  Unlike the Vreelands, the Cheneys seemed to have an endless supply of money.  And Frances Cheney had the confidence to trust Stacey's judgment, with their new Fifth Avenue duplex apartment becoming one of the most glamorous residences of its time.  Dramatically presented art and antiques combined with comfortable upholstery, the Cheney apartment was also used as the location for Harper's Bazaar fashion shoots, a design story for Town & Country, and a lifestyle feature for Vogue. 



The Cheney Master Bedroom in New York City
photographed by Louise Dahl-Wolfe
via Veranda magazine.

The master bedroom was dominated by the bed.  No frame or fabric was exposed, only gigantic bullion fringe which created a half tester canopy with valance, backdrop, and pulled-back side panels as well as a bed skirt, all of the twisted/braided trim made to the length required.  A Venetian style chandelier was suspended by a sheath of silk from the ceiling covered in squares of mirror held by mirrored discs.  Textural contrast was provided by an impossibly shaggy, room-sized rug of string.  Papier-mache chairs inlaid with mother-of-pearl provided shots of black accents and contributed to the exotic effect.  Tailored curtains framed the windows with the urban views softened by lace under-curtain panels.  The apartment's decoration was a grand expression of high-rise luxury before World War II.


Babe Paley and George Stacey
shopping for antiques in Paris.
Image: GEORGE STACEY
AND THE CREATION OF AMERICAN CHIC,
published by Rizzoli, 2014.

Stacey decorated for Mrs. Stanley "Babe" Mortimer as he did for others who searched out style with a budget in mind.  But when she became Mrs. William Paley, wife of the head of the CBS Television empire, that all changed in regard to costs.  The expanded colonial house at Kiluna Farm on Long Island was re-imagined as a Belle Epoque country villa by Stacey for Babe Paley, a Francophile.  Her bedroom was furnished almost entirely in French furniture.


Babe Paley in her bedroom at Kiluna Farm.
Photo via cottages-gardens.com.

 A one-time Vogue model, Mrs. Paley is shown on an extravagantly large, tufted sofa, like those Stacey used for Babe's sister Betsey Whitney at Greentree, the adjacent estate.  (Jock Whitney was tall and the sofa model became an often-used feature of Parish-Hadley's rooms for tall clients as it was so luxuriously comfortable).  A floral carpet provided the foundation for a black lacquer Louis XV desk, an assortment of caned and painted Louis XV chairs, blackamoors, black papier-mache tables, and crenelated tab curtain valances reminiscent of continental pavilions.  (A special pair of boudoir chairs from this room will be featured in a future post of their own).  Paintings by Toulouse-Lautrec, Matisse, Rousseau, and Cezanne added to the very personal effect of the private retreat of the lady of the house.


Her Serene Highness Princess Grace
in the family room of the palace.
Image:  GEORGE STACEY
AND THE CREATION OF AMERICAN CHIC,
published by Rizzoli, 2014.

In addition to the masterpiece decoration for a new house by architect John Volk for Blanche Levy, Stacey decorated the Levys' house in Philadelphia, neighboring the family home of Grace Kelly.  Kelly admired the décor, and when she became successful in film, she rented an extravagant apartment at 998 Fifth Avenue, Stacey was hired to design the interiors.  Soon afterwards, she became the Princess of Monaco and Stacey was brought in as successor to Emilio Terry at the Palais Princier in Monaco in 1956.  Stacey updated the décor of many of the grand state rooms of the palace as well as the private quarters, the yacht and the apartment on Avenue Foch in Paris.  But the room I wanted to show to illustrate the development of his style (on page 183) was part of a palace renovation in the 1970s to accommodate the family with growing children.  The family room was a two-story space in the palace that opened on to a balcony overlooking a garden with views to the harbor below.  With some large-scaled furnishings matching the huge room, a central borne was given a contemporary appearance with new upholstery, contrasting with a large Coromandel screen, a very long rustic table, a slat park bench and chairs, and a multitude of assorted potted plants scattered across a bare marble floor, adding points of color and texture to an otherwise neutral scheme.


GEORGE STACEY AND THE CREATION OF AMERICAN CHIC
by Maureen Footer with Foreword by Mario Buatta.
Published by Rizzoli, April 1, 2014.

There's much more to the book, of course, and Ms. Footer has done an admirable job of bringing it all together.  It is a well-crafted presentation of George Stacey, the man who brought a stylish, contemporary twist on traditional decoration, a talent just as desirable today as it was eighty five years ago.

For those viewing this in the Follow By Email or other reduced format, view the full version at http://tdclassicist.blogspot.com to leave a comment, send a message, or search the archives of other posts.

Jacqueline Kennedy's Green Room

First Lady Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy.
Photo:  LIFE magazine, 1961.

This esssay is the third in the series on the history of decoration for the Green Room of the White House.  The first part, which inspired this whole series, presents the refurbishing by Laura Bush, may be viewed here.  To give background information, a survey of all the redecorations of the Green Room through Mamie Eisenhower is prented in the second part;  it may be viewed here. 

Poet Robert Frost with President John F. Kennedy.
The Green Room of the White House, 1961,
showing the decoration from the Truman era.
Photo:  John F. Kennedy Presidential Library, Boston.

Only 31 years old, Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy none-the-less was perhaps the most qualified First Lady to ever take on the decoration of the White House.  Before the inauguration, Mrs. Kennedy requested background information on the history of the White House and floor plans from the Library of Congress to begin planning the much-needed refurbishing.

December 9, 1960.
The wife of President-Elect John F. Kennedy, Jacqueline, shakes hands
with the wife of the current President, Mamie Eisenhower.
AP Wire Photo.

The customary tour by the  out-going First Lady for the in-coming was tense by all accounts.  Mrs. Kennedy compared the Eisenhower 'Pink House' to the infamous Russian prison Lubianka.  According  to FIRST LADIES, VOLUME ONE, Mamie Eisenhower, having breakfast in bed the next morning after the tour, warned the staff, "She's planning to redo every room in this house. . .You've got quite a project ahead of you.  There are certainly going to be some changes made around here!"

Mrs. Henry (Sister) Parish, 2nd.
Photo by Wilbur Pippin.
From ALBERT HADLEY: THE STORY OF
AMERICA'S PREEIMINENT INTERIOR DESIGNER.

The Kennedys had been working with New York society decorator Mrs. Henry Parish, 2nd, on their Georgetown house, so 'Sister' as she was known, was the obvious choice to make their furniture work in the second floor private living quarters, along with the additional furnishings that would be required.  (In January, 1962, Albert Hadley would join her firm which would become Parish-Hadley in 1964, this writer's former employer).  The $50,000 allocation for decorating was spent in just two weeks, however, with a kitchen and private Dining Room (seen here.)  added on the second floor to make the White House suitable for a family with children.  Mrs. Kennedy realized a more structured plan would have to be developed to realize her goals for the State Rooms to be filled with art, antique furniture and appropriate new rugs and curtains based on historic documents.

Arturo Pini di san Miniato, President of the National Society of
Interior Designers, presents the first Thomas Jefferson Award to
Henry Francis du Pont for his work at the White House.
Photo:  AP Wide World Photo, White House Historical Association.

Changes in tax laws made charitable donations more favorable and the Kennedys had many wealthy and influential friends who were called upon, along with an appeal to the public, to make gifts of antiques and cash to the White House.  Mrs. Kennedy wisely organized the Fine Arts Committee for the White House and served as the honorary chairperson.  Henry Francis duPont, the founder of the Winterthur Museum of American Decorative Arts and the foremost connosieur in his field in the day, was announced as chairman on February 23, 1961.  Mr. and Mrs. Charles Wrightsman, the noted collectors of 18th century Fench Furniture, were among the members of the committee, and played a large part in the introduction of the French Taste in both the State Rooms and the Private Quarters.  Public Law 87-286, passed in September, 1961, created a permanent White House furnishings collection to accept these gifts and established the position of curator.

Stephane Boudin in the Treaty Room of the White House,
photographed by Jacqueline Kennedy.
Photo:  John F. Kennedy Presidential Library, Boston.

With Sister Parish to create the comfortable and tasteful family environment, and Henry duPont to create a museum-quality decor, Stephane Boudin was brought in to add sophistication and glamour.  The head of the influential French decorating firm, Maison Jansen, was introduced to Mrs. Kennedy by Jayne Wrightsman, a Jansen client herself.  Jayne Wrightsman had become a mentor to Jackie Kennedy and Boudin helped  mediate the differences between Mrs. Parish and Mr. du Pont, each having the backing of committee members and donors who were each looking to have their interests in the decoration realized.  Although not entirely a secret, Boudin was kept out of the spotlight that was on the otherwise all-American team.  It was not until the 1997 publication of DESIGNING CAMELOT: THE KENNEDY WHITE HOUSE RESTORATION written by James Archer Abbott and Elaine Rice that the contributions of Boudin became widely known.  The Treaty Room, the Red Room, and the Blue Room, in particular, were triumphs of decoration, providing inspiration in design that influences the profession still today.

Fabric sample from the office of Mrs. Henry Parish, II.
Image:  John F. Kennedy Presidential Library, Boston.

Delays in getting the desired wall and curtain fabric contributed to the Green Room decoration not being completed before President Kennedy's assasination on November 23, 1963.  As the numerous Scalamandre samples were rejected, the existing Truman era fabric had to remain while Boudin arranged to have the silk moire specially woven by the historic French firm Tassinari & Chatel.  The existing green fabric had a blue cast and the new fabric had yellow tonalities, so the new seating fabric had to coordinate with both.  Boudin often used white damasks and brocades for upholstery, but there was surely little consideration that anything else would work in this situation.

March 15, 1961.
Photo:  John F. Kennedy Presidential Library.

Many photos of the Green Room taken by the White House staff photographers were intended to make a record of the flower arrangements rather than document the progress of the redecoration.  But that secondary accomplishment was made as well as seen in these images taken before a dinner to honor Polish Prince Stanislaw and Princess Lee (the First Lady's Sister) Radziwill.  Although there have been some rearrangements, the furnishings largely remain the same as they were for the Eisenhowers.  Among the first changes was the art.

March 15, 1961.
Photo:  John F. Kennedy Presidential Library.

A large portrait of President Millard Fillmore now hangs over the Daniel Webster settee.  And it looks like a painted Louis XVI fauteuil is being tried out at the seating group at the fireplace opposite.

May 8, 1961.
Photo:  John F. Kennedy Presidential Library.

In this photo, the First Lady, in a navy blue dress, speaks with the wife of astronaut Alan Shepard, the first American to travel into space, at a reception following the award of the NASA Distinguished Service Medal.  Sister-in-law Ethel Kennedy, in a pink suit with her back to the camera, speaks to the astronaut's mother, carrying an Autumn Haze mink stole and what is undoubtedly her daughter-in-law's handbag as well as her own.  Also note the hats, gloves, stockings and orchid corsages, clearly accepted attire for lady guests at a daytime reception at the White House.

March 15, 1961.
Photo:  John F. Kennedy Presidential Library.

The double hanging of paintings was being studied for the north wall flanking the main entrance to the room.  Here the floral arrangement is in conflict with the portrait of President Andrew Johnson.

May 3, 1961.
Photo:  John F. Kennedy Presidential Library.

Among Mrs. Kennedy's favorite paintings in the White House collection were eight paintings by Paul Cezanne, given by Charles A. Loeser;  she had two intstalled in the Green Room.  "The Forest", 1890-92, is shown above, hanging at a height to consider a floral arrangement beneath.

June 28, 1961.
"The Forest" by Paul Cezanne.
Photo:  John F. Kennedy Presidential Library.

June 28, 1961.
"House on the Marne" by Paul Cezanne.
Photo:  John F. Kennedy Presidential Library.

As shown in the photos of the First Lady with Miss P. Calnan, the grand-daughter of the donor, the paintings are above the optimal viewing height.

October 4, 1961.
Photo:  John F. Kennedy Presidential Library.

Different chairs are tried with two pairs from a set of four on the north wall, at the Cezanne paintings flanking the main entrance to the room, and a pair at the settee in the foreground.

November 1, 1961.
Photo:  John F. Kennedy Presidential Library.

In a similar view, the different chairs are less-upholstered and decidedly more American.  The Cezanne paintings remain in position, however.  At a later date, they are deemed inappropriate for the Green Room and relocated to the second floor private quarters.

November 2, 1961.
Photo:  John F. Kennedy Presidential Library.

By November, 1961, the 1858 portrait of President Franklin Pierce is placed above the fireplace.  The Truman curtains, in the same fabric as the wall hangings, are reworked to delete the gilt valance and hang within the window trim.

November 2, 1961.
(Reversed view).
Photo:  John F. Kennedy Presidential Library.

In the view of the south wall, reversed, a Baltimore desk is placed beneath a Georgian mirro between the windows.  It was later discovered to be a reproduction and removed.  This is another view of the curtains refitted to be installed within the trim.

December, 1961.
The Special Committee for White House Paintings.
Photo:  John F. Kennedy Presidential Library.

Gathered for a photo, and what appears to be a film as well, is the Special Committee for White House Paintings.  The First Lady, seated and wearing what appears to be a black velvet dress, speaks to Henry du Pont, standing in the brown suit behind.  Seated next to Jacqueline Kennedy is James W. Fosburgh, the chairman of the committee.  Also seated, in the red dress, cape and mink hat is Susan Mary Alsop.  Standing, left to right, is Suzette M. Zurcher; Stanley Marcus, the Dallas department store millionaire;  Lawrence Fleishchmann; Minnie (Mary Benedict Cushing Astor) Fosburgh; Nathaniel Saltonstall;  Andrea Cowdin;  Henry Francis du Pont, Chairman of the White House Fine Arts Committee;  Helen Chisholm Halle;  Babe (Barbara Cushing Mortimer) Paley; and Joseph Pulitzer, Jr.  The new rug appears to be a neo-classical Savonnerie, and brackets with Paris Porcelain urns are added to flank the mirror between the windows.

January 31, 1962.
Photo:  John F. Kennedy Presidential Library.

In the January, 1962, view, the portrait of Benjamin Franklin is seen over the fireplace now, and the lolling chairs appear in white damask, one at the Webster settee, but the other at the window near the door to the East Room.  The Truman rug has returned.

1962
Photo:  Tom Leonard, Conde Nast.

Another view of the room before the wall fabric is changed, showing the reworked curtains of the same material, but set within the window trim.  The crystal sconces still flank both the sofa and the fireplace until the wall fabric is changed.

Photo:  White House Historical Association.

The Daniel Webster sofa gets upholstered in a fabric from Scalamandre.  This photo is undated and may have been taken at the same time as the following view of the room.

A 1963 view of the room showing the new wall fabric,
a neo-classical rug,and revised installation of paintings.
Photo:  Family of (White House Photographer) Robert Knudsen.

This photograph is not in the Kennedy Library collection, and thought to be taken after the President's death, as a last record of Jacqueline Kennedy's efforts for the room.  The furniture has all been reupholstered and the fabric for the walls has finally arrived (via diplomatic pouch so there was no record at U.S. Customs of foreign goods for the White House) and is installed.  This writer could find no view of the windows in this room in the digital photos of the subsequent Lyndon B. Johnson administration, however, but presumably they were made of the same fabric as planned.  The Savonnerie rug is a bit shy of optimal dimensions but a great improvement over the commercial grade rug from the Truman era.  Also of note is the choice of art and the placement.

An undated photo showing the Boudin-designed curtains installed.
Photo:  John F. Kennedy Presidential Library.

1963 (or later).
Photo:  Private Collection.

Thanks to a Devoted Reader, here is a view of the new curtains, in the same fabric as the walls.  Very much in the style of Stephane Boudin, straight panels hang from behind a valance of shaped tabs with contrasting trim.

Image:  John F. Kennedy Presidential Library.

This illustration was the personal Christmas card for the President and Mrs. Kennedy for 1963, with a pre-printed message line and signatures;  it was sent to close friends, despite the President's death.  It shows the Green Room from the opposite direction as the last photo, with the specially woven green silk moire from France and the same arrangement of furniture, clearly the intended design.  The rug is optimally sized and the art includes installations over the doorways.  A tall secretary bookcase is placed between the windows, flanked by another pair of lolling chairs, similar to those flanking the Webster sofa.  And notably the design for the curtains is indicated, more what would be expected for a chic private interior than a period American museum room.

Despite that a few sources had stated that Lady Bird Johnson changed the chandelier in this room during the time of her husband's Presidency, this writer could find no evidence to support that.    In fact most of the decoration (with the exception of the Oval Office) intentionally remained intact as a tribute to the efforts of Jacqueline Kennedy.  It appears that the decoration of the Green Room remained until a major refurbishing by First Lady Pat Nixon almost ten years later;  that will be the subject of the next post of The Devoted Classicist.