New Twist On Sister



A portrait of Sister Parish with her Pekingese, Yummy, by Aaron Shikler.
From Parish-Hadley, Sixty Years of American Design by Christopher Petkanas, 1995.

 There is a new book about my former employer, the legendary decorator Sister Parish, which will be available in the U.S. in November, 2011.  Dorothy May Kinnicutt (whose year of birth is often listed as 1910, but sometimes earlier), was dubbed "Sister" by her brothers and the name stuck even after she became Mrs. Henry Parish, 2nd.  In the Olden Days, when members of High Society were often in the newspapers only three times -- birth, marriage, and death -- Sister Parish quietly decorated the homes of the Rich for thirty years before becoming nationally known.  A newspaper headline announced "Kennedys Pick Nun to Decorate White House" when she joined the committee to contribute to the highly publicized redecoration of the Executive Mansion.  Bringing on Albert Hadley, the business partnership became Parish-Hadley for another thirty years, and the office continuing on several more after Mrs. Parish's passing in 1994.

The Guest Room at Greentree known as the Princess Margaret bedroom.
From Parish-Hadley, Sixty Years of American Design by Christopher Petkanas, 1995.

While it would be hard for The Devoted Classicist to name a favorite Parish-Hadley project, the sprawling mansion on the Greentree estate is certainly the most memorable.  One of several lavish residences of John Hay "Jock" Whitney and his second wife Betsey of the famous Cushing sisters (formerly married to FDR son James Roosevelt, her sister Minnie was once married to Vincent Astor and her sister Babe was married to Standard Oil heir Stanley Mortimer, Jr., before marrying CBS founder William Paley), the estate was created starting in 1904 with the purchase of five contiguous farms by Mr. Whitney's father, Payne Whitney, stretching across the entire width of Long Island from sound to ocean.  The original colonial farmhouse was expanded to become an enormous mansion, filled with exquisite art and made exceptionally comfortable with the help of Parish-Hadley and a sizeable household staff.  When Jock Whitney, Thoroughbred horse enthusiast and one of the wealthiest men in the world, was named by President Eisenhower as the Ambassador to the Court of St. James, the Whitneys became close friends of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, as well as the other members of the royal family.



Copyright 2011 Frances Lincoln Ltd.  Author:  Martin Wood.  $60.00.

 It is not surprising that the guest bedroom at Greentree known as the Princess Margaret bedroom is featured on the cover of the new book by Martin Wood, as it is very representative of the style of Sister Parish, comfortable and without ostentation despite the elements of formality and the huge house.  The story of the redecoration of the room for the private visit by the Princess and Lord Snowden after their highly publicized 1960 wedding is told with photos in both books Parish-Hadley, Sixty Years of American Design and Albert Hadley, The Story of America's Preeminent Interior Designer.  A private suite of two bedrooms, a bathroom, and a sitting room was formed from a line of rooms, creating a passage through a former closet to connect the bedrooms withoug disturbing the existing nineteenth century French scenic wallpaper.  Tone-on-tone Swiss muslin curtains with tassel fringe paired with natural linen roller shades trimmed with Irish lace dress the windows with a matching treatment for the dressing table holding a triptych mirror and a pair of bronze candlestick lamps in the form of a palm tree sheltering a giraffe.  A carpet of a small geometric pattern is scattered with a number of antique hooked rugs, a favorite Sister Parish touch.  There is no use of chintz here, considered a trademark, but the bed with a custom shaped headboard upholstered with cotton matelasse is covered with a boldly graphic American quilt, quintessentially Mrs. Parish.

The publication of this new book is greatly anticipated as the Sister Parish style of decorating is still popular today.  The chapters start with "Where It All Began" and continue to "Twilight", plus a Bibliography, Notes, and an Index.  The author Martin Wood is known for his widely acclaimed previous design biographies, John Fowler: Prince of Decorators and Nancy Lancaster:  English Country House Style which showcase the forces behind the legendary London interiors firm Colefax & Fowler.


In affiliation with Amazon, the Sister Parish, Albert Hadley, and Parish-Hadley books are available through The Devoted Classicist Library here.   The books on John Fowler, Nancy Lancaster, and Colefax & Fowler are available here.

Curtains for Albert Hadley?

Yes and no.  Yes, Albert Hadley refers to window treatments as curtains (and never drapes).  As a former employee of the interior design firm Parish-Hadley, The Devoted Classicist follows the tradition.

But no, despite a recent New York Times article titled "It's Curtains", it is not over for Albert Hadley, b. 1921, who closed his design office on November 1st of last year.  Fortunately, the upcoming auctions represent a retirement sale rather than an estate sale.  At Sotheby's Manhattan on March 30 and 31, and at Stair Galleries, Hudson, NY, on April 1, 2011, there will be an auction of property from his office and warehouse.  While many treasures have already found good homes, even second tier furnishings with an Albert Hadley provenance will be worthy of attention.  There is anticipation building to see the on-line catalogs as well as the exhibitions themselves.

The sketches shown here are not by Mr Hadley but my own.  However, they clearly show his influence in both theory and rendering style.  As Albert Hadley is referred to as the Dean of American Decorating, these drawings would fall into the category of "school of . .".  For the top sketch, I have used as inspiration an A.H. design for a bathroom window treatment for Mrs. Jock Whitney at Greentree, the Manhasset estate that will be featured in a future post.  For my project, the bathroom with a wainscot of slabs of marble was given stencilled decoration on the upper walls, and the window was treated with a half curtain, a roller shade (not shown), and a swagged valance with trailing jabots, adorned with a fringe of tiny silvered bells and wooden silverleafed tassels, and silvered rings held with glass head picture pins.  The bottom sketch was for dining room windows at One Sutton Place, an apartment which will also be featured in a future post.  Here the sketch shows the proposal for using different fabrics -- one for the valance, another for the panels, and a third for the lining which is visible as a border on the face.  Currently there is a trend for more simple window treatments, but there are still circumstances where the curtains can provide just the right finishing touch.