The Travellers: Billy Baldwin's Finials for the Lawrences

The apartment of Harding and Mary Wells Lawrence
decorated by Billy Baldwin.

1970s interior design is more influential in today's work that many of you readers of The Devoted Classicist might realize.  The concept of a mix of antiques with sleek custom furniture, contemporary art, geometric carpets, and architectural artifacts is universally championed today as the Latest Big Thing in interior design.  The formula, however, is a classic that was perfected over forty years ago by legendary decorator Billy Baldwin.

Mary Wells and Harding Lawrence were terrific clients of Baldwin.  Mary Wells was an advertising genius who was introduced some of the most memorable ad campaigns of the twentieth century and her husband was the CEO of Braniff Airlines which experienced phenomenal expansion with a chic make-over in the late 1970s.  Between the two of them, both workaholics who combined business with pleasure in entertaining their contacts, they associated with the elite movers and shakers of the day.  Billy Baldwin decorated beautiful homes for them.  Their Dallas mansion was a landmark and their Riviera villa was among the most stylish ever.  (See The Devoted Classicist's series of posts on the villa, La Fiorentina).

A room in their large New York City apartment is shown in the lead image, and like the other residences, it has provided design inspiration to this day.  A bold striped dhurrie provides a base for arrangements of comfortable upholstered seating and a scattering of Warren Platner side tables.  Contemporary paintings and a Moroccan mirror over a mirrored interpretation of a Louis Seize chimneypiece blend with masterfully with Baldwin's expertise.  But perhaps the most memorable element in this room -- to my eye anyway -- was a pair of intricately detailed architectural finials on simple, white hexagonal stands.

It was a delightful surprise to see these finials, with their stands, show up again.  They again flank a fireplace and provide the primary architectural detailing in a room decorated by Charleston designer Amelia Handegan.  This undeniably fresh and up-to-date room appears on the dust jacket of the new book AMELIA HANDEGAN ROOMS.   The book will be released October 16, 2016, but can be ordered now at a discount by clicking on the title.

Remember that an appreciation of the iconic rooms of the past can be a valuable lesson in architecture and interior design today.  Search this blog to see other examples in The Travellers series.

The Travellers: Classical Rondels

A pair of rondels depicting classical busts.
Image: R. Louis Bofferding Decorative and Fine Art.

As a continuation of the on-going but non-sequential posts of exemplary objects being re-used in different settings, this edition features a pair of oil on canvas paintings depicting busts of Jupiter and Diana (or Zeus and Artemis in Greek mythology).  With a framed diameter of 41.5 inches, they were surely intended as overdoor decoration as they were painted di sotto in sù (as seen from below).  Currently offered for sale by R. Louis Bofferding Decorative and Fine Art, the paintings are described as mid-eighteenth century English, though perhaps by an Italian hand, a follower of Antonio Verrio.  (Verrio, brought to England by the Duke of Montagu, is best known for the frescoed walls of the grand staircase at Hampton Court for King William III).  It is not known if they were part of a larger set.

The painting of the bust of Diana
in the New York home of Gaser Tabakoglu.
Image via R. Louis Bofferding Decorative and Fine Art.

Gaser Tabakoglu, an associate of legendary decorator Renzo Mongiardino, bought the pair from equally-legendary antiques dealer Christopher Gibbs in the 1980s.  Tobakoglu displayed them in his home on Sloane Street in London and then in the master bedroom of his weekend retreat, Brick House, in upstate New York.


The painting of the bust of Zeus
in the Manhattan apartment of
the Carter Burdens by Mark Hampton.
Image via R. Louis Bofferding Decorative and Fine Art.

Bofferding had acquired them for his shop when they were spotted by the late interior designer Mark Hampton.  Hampton knew they would be perfect for a tall-ceilinged Drawing Room he had decorated in the apartment for Carter and Susan Burden, and the Burdens agreed.  Hampton added the frames according to Bofferding, the source of much of the factual information used here.


The Burden Drawing Room
as painted by Isabelle Rey.
Image via Carolyne Roehm.

The rondels do not appear in the published photos of the Burden apartment that appeared in HG magazine or in the Burden chapter of the book MARK HAMPTON: AN AMERICAN DECORATOR.  Undoubtedly a project of great significance to the designer, a view of the room also appears on the book's dust jacket.


The dust jacket for MARK HAMPTON:
AN AMERICAN DECORATOR
features a view of the Burden Drawing Room.
Image via The Devoted Classicist Library.

Who will be the next caretakers of these delightful decorative paintings?  Keep an eye out, Devoted Readers, and let's see if we can spot them again, soon.  For other posts in this series, just type in "Travellers" in the SEARCH THIS BLOG feature in the right-hand border of the regular web version of The Devoted Classicist. 

The Travellers: Ditchley Carpet

The Saloon at Ditchley Park
in a watercolor by Alexandre Serebriakoff.
Image via The Ditchley Foundation.

In this day of throw-away culture, The Devoted Classicist appreciates each sighting of a treasured furnishing that has been reused in another setting, sometimes even with a new owner.  The non-sequential series of posts that records these appearances is titled The Travellers.


Ditchley Park.
Image via The Ditchley Foundation.

Author Martin Wood writes in NANCY LANCASTER, COUNTRY HOUSE STYLE that the Saloon, mostly used for tea when there was a house party, had a large Portuguese needlework rug made especially for the room.  Countess Munster (the former Peggy Ward before her 1929 marriage and later a partner when Nancy bought the decorating business started by Sibyl Colefax that they reformed as Sibyl Colefax Limited) had discovered a prison in northern Portugal that was capable of taking on such work and that is thought to be the source of this 19 x 13 feet 10 inches carpet. 

The relocation of the magnificent Venetian folding screen from the Hall of Ditchley Park, Oxfordshire, to the Drawing Room of Heron Bay, Barbados, was shown in the post here.  But the carpet from the Saloon of Ditchley travelled to another home of Ronald Tree as well.  After Nancy divorced Tree to marry Colonel Lancaster, she moved to his home, Kelmarsh, which the Trees had leased before buying Ditchley (and sold many of the furnishings to Lancaster).


A detail of a Sebriakoff watercolor of the
Library at Ditchley looking into the Saloon.
Image from Martin Wood's book
NANCY LANCASTER, COUNTRY HOUSE STYLE

Ronald Tree retained Ditchley for a short while after his marriage to his second wife Marietta until moving back to New York City, once home to each.  Although The Ditchley Foundation says it was Marietta Tree who commissioned Alexandre Serebriakoff to provide the lovely watercolor views of Ditchley, author Martin Wood writes that it was Ronald Tree who arranged for the series after he and Nancy divorced; it appears that a set was done for each Ronald and Nancy.  (The watercolor of the Library, shown in part above, signed and dated A. Serebriakoff Dytchley [sic] 1948 later sold at Sotheby's for $32,500).


Penelope Tree in her living room, N.Y.C. 1962
Photograph by Diane Arbus.
Image via private collection.

Ronald and Marietta Tree bought the 1907 Leland-Wesson (sisters Eufrasia Leland and Emma Wesson) double-width, Georgian style house at 123 (and 125) East 79th Street, New York City. (The original architects of the house were Foster, Gade & Graham; it is now the Brazilian Mission to the United Nations).  It was one of several properties in the immediate area that Vincent Astor had bought up in the 1920s and 1930s to prevent development for apartment buildings that would block the light for the south-facing garden of his own grand double-width townhouse on East 80th Street.  Friends of the Trees called the townhouse Little Ditchley because of the art and furnishings that had come from the Oxfordshire estate.  One of those items was the rug from the Saloon, visible in the Diane Arbus photo of the Tree's 13 year old daughter taken for a feature in Town & Country magazine.  (The photographer died in 1971 but a silver gelatin reprint authorized by the estate sold in a 2008 auction at Christie's for $15,000).  The rug apparently followed Marietta Tree's move to One Sutton Place South where she lived until her death, and sold at the Christie's 1992 sale of items from her estate, lot 133.


The rug in the loft of Niall Smith.
Photo by Jeffrey Hirsch for NYSD.

A 2008 feature on the Manhattan loft apartment of antiques dealer Niall Smith in New York Social Diary with photos by Jeffrey Hirsch and interview by Lesley Hauge and Sian Ballen revealed that the Ditchley rug had found an appreciated home yet again. 


Another view of the carpet from Ditchley.
Photo by Jeffrey Hirsch for NYSD.

The text of the NYSD article stated "Niall found the needlepoint rug at Doyle.  It had belonged to Nancy Lancaster who made it from the design of the front hall ceiling at Ditchley."  (Actually it was the rug in the Hall that had some of the same elements as the Hall ceiling but the Doyle lot may have been a resale from the 1992 auction).


The carpet from Ditchley in the loft of Niall Smith.
Photo by Jeffrey Hirsch for NYSD.

A caption of the NYSD article also revealed "a Biedermeier Recamier sits atop Niall's prized Nancy Lancaster needlepoint rug for which he paid 'four times the estimate'."  The Devoted Classicist finds it satisfying that well-made, well-designed neoclassical furnishings from the twentieth-century are still appreciated by discerning collectors today.

For more posts in The Travellers series, scroll down in the right hand margin of the regular web version of The Devoted Classicist to the heading LABELS and click on The Travellers.

Rex Whistler's Painted Room Travelled

Rex Whistler's painted panels now adorn
the dining room at The Grove.
India Hicks

A previous post of The Devoted Classicist, "Rex Whistler Murals", presented a sampling of the work of the great artist of the first half of the twentieth century.  All the projects were incredibly fantastic in their own way, with a great advantage being Rex Whistler's great range allowing each to be so unique.  Although Whistler had a studio that made it easier to paint the large murals on canvas, he sometimes painted directly on the walls.  It is fortunate that the client insisted that this one project in particular was painted on canvas because it has travelled to another location not once but twice.


Edwina, Countess Mountbatten of Burma.
Daily Mail

All of Whistler's patrons were wealthy, but perhaps none was more celebrated than Edwina Mountbatten, Countess Mountbatten of Burma.  Born Edwina Cynthia Annette Ashley, descended from the Earls of Shaftesbury, in 1901 at the family estate, Broadlands, she grew up in an environment of great priviledge.


Broadlands was improved by architect Henry Holland
beginning in 1767.
Photo from Wikipedia.

Not an academically strong student, she went to live with her maternal grandfather, Sir Ernest Joseph Cassel, one of the richest and most powerful men in Europe, after the death of his wife and only child, rather than continue her studies.  She filled the role of hostess at his London mansion, Brook House, on Park Lane and became his heir, inheriting a fortune in cash and real estate at age 20, in 1921.  She married Lord Louis Mountbatten of the British Royal Family (second cousin once removed to Queen Elizabeth II and uncle of Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh) in 1922, and gave birth to two daughters, Patricia (Knatchbull) in 1924, and Pamela (Hicks) in 1929.


The stairhall of the Mountbatten penthouse at Brook House
decorated by Mrs. Joshua Cosden
in collaboration with Victor Proetz.
Country Life photo.

The living room of the Mountbatten penthouse
decorated by Mrs. Joshua Cosden with Victor Proetz.
Country Life photo.

 A new luxurious apartment building, also called Brook House, was constructed between 1933 and 1935 on site of the razed mansion, with the Mountbattens taking the duplex penthouse constructed to their specifications, satisfying a requirement that Edwina maintains a residence there.


Lady Mountbatten's boudoir at Brook House, London.
Photo by A.E. Henson for Country Life.
Published in the August 24, 1939, issue.



Another view of Lady Mountbatten's boudoir at Brook House.
Photo by A.E. Henson for Country Life.
Published in the August 24, 1939, issue.

 

The panel designs are classical with allegorical statuary, trophies and architecture, but personalized to represent some special meaning to the client.

Designs for the murals at Brook House.
REX WHISTLER. HIS LIFE AND HIS DRAWINGS
by Laurence Whistler, Sheneval Press Ltd, 1949.

The pet lion Sabi.
India Hicks

After a couple of decades devoted to pleasure, the Mountbattens went into public service at the outbreak of World War II.  Fortunately, the Rex Whistler panels were removed from Brook House in 1939 and the building was demolished after damage from Nazi bombing.


David and Lady Pamela Hicks
Art Architector

Lady Pamela lived with her parents in India in 1947 and 1948 when her father was Viceroy of India the Governor-General of post-Partition India. Lady Pamela, the second great-great-grandchild of Queen Victoria, is a former lady-in-waiting to Elizabeth II and acted as her bridesmaid at her wedding to Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, her first cousin.  In 1960, she married the interior designer David Hicks.  Hicks' career was launched in 1954 when the house he had decorated for his mother and himself was published in British House & Garden magazine to great acclaim.  

Britwell
Photo:  British Listed Buildings.

Soon after their marriage, the Hickses bought Britwell, a 1728 house with wings added in the early 20th century.  The panels from the Brook House boudoir were installed in Lady Pamela's study.  It appears that possibly some blank panels may have been created to make the layout work, but the scheme was very successful despite being a slightly simplified version of the original room.


Lady Pamela Hicks' study at Britwell.
Photo from
DAVID HICKS ON HOME DECORATION.

In DAVID HICKS ON HOME DECORATION, published in 1972, the designer/author wrote, "The boudoir painted by Rex Whistler for Brook House in 1937 has a pale blue background and grisaille decoration.  I continued the late 'thirties theme by using a boxy sofa and all-white upholstery, and placed early Chinese ceramics on the Louis XVI chimney."

The tax burden, along with other expenses to maintain the property led to a sale of the house and many of the contents in 1979.  But the Rex Whistler panels were again removed to be installed in the dining room of the Hickses next house, The Grove.



The Grove.
Life.style.etc

The Rex Whistler panels were expertly adapted, by all indications, to suit their present location at The Grove.


Rex Whistler's painted panels as installed in The Grove.

David Nightingale Hicks died in 1998 while still in residence at The Grove (not at Britwell Salome as reported on most websites).  It continues to be home to Lady Pamela.


Lady Pamela' grandaughter Dolly with Bun.
Photo by her father, David Flint Wood.
Indiahicks.com

David Hicks wrote a number of books on interior design featuring examples of his own work to illustrate his design philosophy.  Some vintage copies are still available today including LIVING WITH DESIGN, DAVID HICKS ON HOME DECORATION, DAVID HICKS ON DECORATION -- WITH FABRICS, and STYLE AND DESIGN.  The best book about the designer, however, was written by his son Ashley Hicks, DAVID HICKS: DESIGNER.

The Travellers: Chandelier and Portrait from Rose Cumming

Rose Cumming in her antiques shop, 1964,
by Jeanloup Sieff for Harper's Bazaar.

As Devoted Readers remember, The Travellers series of posts shows how a particular piece of furniture or work of art is presented in two (or more) very different settings.  This time, The Devoted Classicist presents two particularly stylish items from legendary 20th century design icon Rose Cumming and how they are used in interior design today.


The Directoire period chandelier as it appears today
in Toby Worthington's dining room.

The first photo of the post appeared in the July, 1964, issue of Harper's Bazaar in conjunction with a theme of New York City's hosting the World's Fair.  Rose Cumming "stands amid the splendors of her antique shop", then at 499 Park Avenue.  She is wearing one of her trademark Chinese Mandarin robes, her hair dyed lavender, said to intend to upstage her rival Elsie de Wolfe who had dyed her hair blue.  In the background can be seen the Directoire period chandelier that is also shown in the second image.  Distinctive aquamarine crystals adorn the crown and there are also small cobalt blue glass beads along the ringed tiers.  The chandelier had never been wired and remains candle-powered today.



A photograph of Rose Cumming
Circa 1930, by Edward Steichen.
Conde Nast Archives.

The portrait seen behind Rose Cumming in the photo above is of Elizabeth Holkes Western by the English painter Thomas Hudson, 1701-1779.  It was bought from the New York commercial art gallery, Scott & Fowles, in 1926. 



Rose Cumming's portrait of Mrs. Western.
The New York Historical Society.
THE GREAT LADY DECORATORS.

In the photo above, a better view of Mrs. Western's portrait is revealed.  Labelled only as a Drawing Room, it is thought to be Rose Cumming's own residence.


Mrs. Western at home in Toby Worthington's Living Room.

Hudson had helped set a standard for fashionable portraiture in London.  This portrait follows his characteristic elegant pose of the subject, swathed in luxurious fabrics, giving the impression of quality and wealth.  After 235 or so years, the portrait still provides a stylish contribution to the decor of a room today.


Rose Cumming's 'Banana Leaf' fabric.
The pink and charcoal colorway is the original.
The design was developed with sister Dorothy dipping leaves in pigment.
Photo by Rose Cumming Fabric and Wallcoverings
for Architectural Digest.

Rose Cumming's antiques shop was much admired by the design community and trendsetters of the day.  But the name is more known today for the fabric of her own design which was sold from her shop.  Her floral chintzes were particularly notable for their distinctive colorways, giving a fresh, contemporary twist to traditional design.  But she also designed modern fabrics that are being revived by Dessin Fournir, which now owns the rights for production and distribution.




The cover of the new book ROSE CUMMING
by Jeffrey Simpson with Foreward by Sarah Cumming Cecil.
Published by Rizzoli,
Release date September 4, 2012.

Interest in Rose Cumming is building as the release date grows near for a new book, Rose Cumming.  Written by Jeffrey Simpson with a Foreward by grandniece Sarah Cumming Cecil, it is the first book devoted entirely to the legendary design figure.  The book is available at a discount here.



Photo of Rose Cumming by Wilbur Pippin.
 Private Collection.

A chapter is devoted to Rose Cumming in The Great Lady Decorators: The Women Who Defined Interior Design by Adam Lewis with a Foreward by the great lady decorator of today, Bunny Williams.  It is available at discount here.

Previous posts in The Travellers series feature a chimneypiece, a folding screen, a sunburst clock, and a nude portrait.  Those reading a subscribed version of this post are reminded to view the full site for features such as SEARCH THIS BLOG and COMMENTS.

The Travellers: Albert Hadley and a Sunburst Clock

Photo by Michael Mundy for Parish-Hadley.

In the Horse Country of New Jersey, the area around Peapack where the owners of the beautiful old estates still insist on keeping their roads unpaved, was a very stylish house with a great room, perhaps my favorite of the Parish-Hadley living rooms done before my time there. 

Photo by Michael Mundy for Parish-Hadley.

Ornamented with classical pilasters salvaged from a local historic building, the pale gray walls and the dark-stained wood floor provided a great background for the furnishings in essentially just three fabrics:  a chintz, a silk, and a cotton.  Decorated in 1969, the room remained virtually untouched until the owner decided to scale down to a smaller house forty years later.  Albert Hadley was called back to edit and arrange the furnishings, one of my favorite being the giltwood starburst clock.

Photo by Simon Watson for "House Beautiful".

In the new house, a very simple clapboard Late Georgian dating to 1820, the two front rooms were combined to create a large living room with a fireplace at each end.  The walls were painted off-white again, but this time the wood floor was painted pale gray, a custom mixed color Albert Hadley calls Fog, and again left bare.  The chintz-upholstered Odom chairs were placed flanking the fireplace; the chintz had been discontinued so it was not replaced.   Other seating was slipcovered or recovered, however, with the exception of the great pair of Regency benches which still remained without refreshment of the painted finish.  The wooden urn lamps that had white shades when placed in front of the wallpaper screens in the former house, now have black shades to stand out at the bare windows.


Photo by Simon Watson for "House Beautiful".

This room is an example of decorating small, spare and chic.  And it cannot be said often enough:  buy what you love and it can be used over and over again.
The 1969 decoration appeared in Parish-Hadley, Sixty Years of American Design with photos of this room by Michael Mundy, and the new house with re-used furnishings was featured in the July, 2009, issue of "House Beautiful" magazine with photos by Simon Watson.


The 1995 Christopher Petkanas book PARISH-HADLEY, SIXTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DESIGN is out of print, but used and collectible copies can be purchased through The Devoted Classicist Library in affiliation with Amazon by clicking here.

The Travellers: Folding Screen

A view of the Living Room of a Volk Estates house renovated by John Tackett Design.
Photo by Pieter Estersohn  for "Southern Accents" magazine.

As a continuation of The Travellers, a series where the same furnishings are shown used in different ways in different locations, this edition illustrates a folding screen.  In its traditional placement to define a seating group adjacent to a doorway or as a wall hanging, a folding screen can be a huge asset to a classic interior.

The clients' Living Room in their former home, decorated by Josie McCarthy.
Photo by Peter Woloszynski for "Southern Accents" magazine.

This is also a continuation of the previous July 8, 2011, post where most of the furnishings from the clients' former residence on Strait Lane were re-used at their newly renovated home on Vassar Avenue in the Volk Estates area of University Park, Dallas, Texas.  The Garden Room is down a step through the thick doorway past the screen in the first photo.  For this new placement, the back of the screen was upholstered with a check fabric and decorated with framed miniatures attached to lengths of gros grain ribbon.  It is always a good investment to buy what you love, especially a versatile piece that can be used in a variety of ways.

The Travellers: Chimneypiece

The Kips Bay Showhouse room's chimneypiece was featured in HOUSE BEAUTIFUL FIREPLACES.

I am often asked if my projects involve a complete purge of the owners' belongings and a total refurnishing;  usually they do not unless the project is a second (or third) home.  More often, there are pieces to be accomodated in the new project, but perhaps used in a different way.  This is the first of a series of posts  The Devoted Classicist calls The Travellers showing a piece of furniture, architectural fragment or art that has travelled from one location to another.

John Tackett Design helped Mariette Himes Gomez with her Dining Room in the 1991 Kips Bay Decorator Showhouse, an extremely popular New York City event that benefits the Kips Bay Boys and Girls Club.  For four weeks each Spring, a large house that is on the market for sale has each room decorated by a different designer and open to the paying public.  That year, the house was 121 East 73rd Street, a handsome 1908 Federal Revival style townhouse of about 12,000 square feet.  The same house had been used in 1989 and the Dining Room was decorated to wide acclaim by Ruben de Saavedra (1933-1990).  Mr. de Saavedra was at the peak of his career, beloved by the media and deep-pocketed clients alike, and he had designed his showhouse room in an opulent European style with the walls upholstered with padded striped silk to compliment the lavish furnishings he had chosen.  For the 1991 showhouse, the building's owner stipulated that neither the silk wallcoverings nor the Adamesque chimneypiece could be removed, but they could be covered as long as the room was returned to the previous appearance.

The Kips Bay room was named one of "America's 10 Best Showhouse Rooms" in 1991 by House Beautiful Magazine.

As the de Saavedra room was so memorable, Mariette Himes Gomez wanted to create an entirely different, less formal decor with the space becoming a combination Dining-Sitting Room.  A heavy, loosely woven, natural Haitian cotton covered the silk walls and I designed a moderne mahogany form to cover the exisiting chimneypiece.

The London apartment was featured in the British magazine House & Garden.

After the showhouse, the furnishings that were not borrowed went to storage.  Later, when Mariette decided an apartment in London would be convenient, some the items were reused, including the chimneypiece.

The Anglo-Indian and Anglo-Chinese armchairs were also reused in the London apartment.

A new house or renovated apartment should have the capability of accomodating furnishings from the previous residence, if the owners desire.   In future posts, there will be examples of using an owner's belongings in a different way in the new house or apartment.