Winterthur's Chinese Parlor

Of the many images that I have filed away in my head, two images in particular have made the greatest impressions on me: those of the Chinese Parlor at Winterthur. Specifically, detail photos of the Chinese Parlor's magnificent Chinese paper mingling with damask furnishings.

Found for Henry Francis du Pont by Nancy McClelland, the parlor's superb Chinese paper needs no decorative assistance, but when photographed partnered with that yellow damask, camelback sofa, seen above, or those vivacious green damask curtains, below, the paper appears to brim with color and vibrancy.  And to the series I can now add a third image, which I recently found in American Elegance: Classic and Contemporary Menus from Celebrated Hosts and Hostesses: a table set for an imagined "Before the Theater" dinner, which was conceived by Mario Buatta.  Placed in the Chinese Parlor with a green damask sofa and chair providing seating, the setting seems to blur the line between decoration and reality.  It's as if this elegant dinner is but one of the paper's myriad scenes, playing out as Chinese figures merrily go about their business in the background.

By the way, if you're wondering why some photos show yellow damask while others capture green versions, it has to do with the seasons.  The room's curtains and slipcovers are changed out seasonally, with some seasons ushering in yellow damask or silk taffeta, while other seasons are heralded by the color green.

Image #1: House & Garden, October 2002, Simon Watson photographer; #2: House & Garden's Complete Guide to Interior Decoration, 1960; #3: American Elegance.

The Winterthur Collection at Currey & Company

I had the privilege of touring Winterthur a few years ago, and it was truly remarkable. What is equally remarkable, though in a much different sense of the word, is the number of designers who have never even heard of Winterthur.  That really amazes me.

I have written about Winterthur before, so I won't repeat myself by explaining what it is and who Henry Francis du Pont was.  You can read my previous Winterthur-related blog posts by clicking here.  But what I do want to bring to your attention is Currey & Company's Winterthur Collection. The collection, which includes lighting and furniture, was inspired by pieces at Winterthur.  Some of the furniture, such as the "Powell" dressing table, below, was based on pieces collected by du Pont himself, while books and ephemera in Winterthur's library were the source for many of the motifs used to embellish Currey's new lamps.

For more information on the collection, please visit Currey & Company's website.  And if you have never before visited Winterthur, I encourage you to do so soon.

 This Currey & Company "Powell" dressing table was based on an early eighteenth-century Philadelphia dressing table in the Winterthur collection.  Like the contemporary version you see here, the original dressing table had ogee-arched carved front and side skirts, which is a characteristic of the "Early Baroque" or "William and Mary" style.

It was an early nineteenth-century Massachusetts fancy settee, part of the collection at Winterthur, that spawned the Currey & Company version, which is named "Chestertown", above.  The original settee was decorated with gilded grapes and leaves.

Currey & Company's "Chestertown" Rocking Chair.

Currey & Company's "Victor" lamp.

The floral motif on this table lamp was inspired by the 1881 pattern book, Suggestions in Floral Design, by Frederick E. Hulme.  The book featured chromolithographed plates of plant and floral specimens, some of which were highlighted in gold.  A copy of this book is in the library at Winterthur.

Frederic March and Henry Sleeper

High on my list of places that I wish to visit is Beauport, the Gloucester, Massachusetts house of Henry Davis Sleeper. Built by Sleeper in the early twentieth century, Beauport was decorated in myriad historical styles and furnished with an array of objects, both of which attest to Sleeper's flair for decorating (he was one of this country's earliest professional decorators) and his passion for collecting.  Even if you're not overly familiar with Beauport, you have likely seen photos of two of its more famous rooms: the China Trade Room and the Octagon Room.

This post, however, isn't really about Beauport, but rather Sleeper's work as an interior designer.  Sleeper's clients included Isabella Stewart Gardner and Henry Francis du Pont, who enlisted Sleeper's guidance in decorating both his Long Island house, Chestertown, and his more famous residence, Winterthur.  But what I find to be curious was the fact that this New England decorator also worked for Hollywood actors, including Joan Crawford and Frederic March (pictured above.)

I recently discovered photos of March's Sleeper-designed Beverly Hills house in a 1936 issue of House Beautiful.  According to my research, Sleeper decorated the house in 1934, the same year in which he (Sleeper) died.  (I don't know if he died before or after completion of the March house.)  The House Beautiful article shows three photos of the home's exterior, which was described as French Provincial with whitewashed brick walls and blue doors, but just a scant three photos of the home's interior, namely, the dining room and a playroom.

The dining room, which you can see below, was furbished with a hunting-and-fishing-motif Zuber paper and "woodwork and damask curtains a soft azure blue-green."  Don't you wish that we could see that dining room in color?  The playroom is charming, though a bit unusual, in that it "reproduces a kitchen in an old Normandy house- fine copper and brass on the hearth, brown toile curtains, yellow quilting on the chairs and sofa."  Though not pictured in the article, the living room was described as having been decorated "after an 18th Century salon, with laurel green paneled walls, lots of books, a piano in one corner, secretary in another, 18th Century furniture in deep yellow brocade and a dark brown chintz on the couch."

According to the Beauport website, Sleeper described his early design focus as "Norman and English Country Houses- 17th and 18th century American Interiors."  Later, however, that focus shifted slightly to "English and French Interiors- 17th and 18th century American Paneling."  Sleeper was obviously well-versed in a range of historical styles, and I think that range is quite evident in the March house. 

An interesting footnote to this story is that March's house, which was designed by architect Wallace Neff in 1934, had several subsequent prominent owners, including Shirley and Flobelle Burden (the parents of Carter Burden, who grew up in this house,) Wallis Annenberg, and Brad Pitt and Jennifer Anniston.  Pitt supposedly removed some of the home's original paneling, which really doesn't surprise me at all.

The two photos above show the March dining room.

The old Norman kitchen-inspired playroom.

That Reminds Me...

After spending last week in bed with the flu, I am finally beginning to feel like a human again.  Well, sort of.  But the thought of having to string multiple sentences together gives me a headache, so I'm not really going to attempt to do much writing for this post.  However, I can still connect photos with one another, so bear with me as I try to make sense of this semi-stream of consciousness blog post.

I was recently doing some research when I came across the photo at the top of this post.  The bed that you see once belonged to the fashionable 18th-century British actor, David Garrick, and his wife.  The Garricks were at the forefront of 18th-century fashion, and they, like so many other wealthy Europeans of the day, took a shining to chintz, using the fabric for bed hangings and a cover on their beautiful Thomas Chippendale-designed bed.  Chippendale crafted not only a bed for the Garricks, but also a set of wardrobes, a small bookcase, and a corner cabinet, all of which were painted with Chinoiserie motifs.  This set of Chippendale furniture, which is now part of the collection at the Victoria & Albert Museum (where this photograph was taken,) has to be one of the most charming sets of painted furniture that I have ever seen.  You can see just a hint of the furniture in the left-hand side of the photo.

But going back to that chintz. The Tree of Life chintz on the Garrick bed, which is a reproduction of the bed's original chintz, was a popular chintz pattern in the 18th century.  This might be the reason why Henry Francis du Pont chose a similar Tree of Life chintz cover for one of the beds at Winterthur, which I photographed during my visit there a few years ago.

And another fashionable man, Hubert de Givenchy, chose the same Tree of Life print for his guest bedroom at his French manor, Le Jonchet. I'm pretty certain that the fabric is by Braquenié.  And yes, I've shown this photo on my blog in the past, but it bears repeating.

And from France, we travel to California, where the same Braquenié fabric was used in a room of what I believe is Dawnridge. The corresponding rock-outcropping print, also by Braquenié, I think, was used on the walls of the adjoining room.  You can tell that the model can hardly contain herself, such is the chicness of her surroundings.  I can't say that I blame her.

But it isn't only this Tree of Life chintz that has inspired designers through the years. It's the Chippendale painted furniture that captivates some (myself included.) Here, decorative painter John Sutcliffe painted a mirror to mimic the Garrick's set of bedroom furniture.

And now, after that burst of energy, I'm going back to bed.

The Charleston Art & Antiques Forum

Spring usually heralds a slew of design-related events and decorators showhouses, and there is one upcoming event in which I think many of you will be most interested.  The 16th annual Charleston Art & Antiques Forum will take place in, yes, Charleston from March 13-17.  The event is one of this country's premier fine and decorative arts forums, always boasting a stellar line-up of art experts and historians.  This year's event is no exception.

With its theme of "A Grand Tour: Trade Winds of Influence", the forum will explore how the grand tour of the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries influenced the decorative arts of both Europe and America.  Dame Rosalind Savill, Director Emeritus of the Wallace Collection in London, will be this year's keynote speaker, and her lecture is titled, "Twenty Years with French Decorative Arts".  (This lecture should be especially interesting to those Francophiles.)  Other speakers include experts from such august organizations as Winterthur, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts.  The bonus to the event is that J. Thomas Savage, Director of Museum Affairs at Winterthur, will be hosting and moderating the forum.  Those of you who know Tom- and I know that's quite a few of you- are familiar with his charm and ebullience, both of which guarantee an interesting time!

Rosalind Savill

J. Thomas Savage


While all of the lectures look intriguing, there are three in particular that I think many of you will find inviting. Fiona Heyward of Oxford, England will speak on "Life at Haseley Court and Its Gardens: The Legacy of Nancy Lancaster".  Heyward is certainly qualified to lecture on Haseley Court considering that she and her husband are the current owners of this magnificent house, once the home of the great designer, Nancy Lancaster.  For some time, Fiona and her family lived across the courtyard from Lancaster, who spent her final years residing in the Coach House of Haseley Court.

Fiona Heyward

The dignified looking Haseley Court

The Chess topiary garden at Haseley Court. According to Fiona, it was planted in 1850 and transformed into its present design at the turn of last century.


Fiona kindly answered a few of my questions about life and gardening at Haseley Court, both of which I can only assume are magical.  Fiona has fond memories of Lancaster, who, according to the homeowner, never interfered nor criticized any changes made to the house or gardens under the new owners. (Fiona noted that much of Lancaster's work on the house's interiors had already been dismantled by previous owners, with the Chapel Room and Tobacco Room remaining intact.)  The gardens, it seems, are just as beloved to Fiona as they were to Lancaster.  Although the garden's layout remains the same, Fiona has tweaked plantings just a bit.  And in what can only be described as music to a gardener's ears, Lancaster's gardening advice to Fiona still guides her today: a garden needs both formal and informal plantings and should not look too immaculate!

There were other interesting tidbits that I gleaned from Fiona, but I don't want give away her entire talk.  I think that Fiona's lecture will be one not to miss!

And the other two lectures not to miss?  Architect Ralph Harvard, whose work is seen often in both magazines and on design blogs, will present a talk on the architectonic furniture of the Eastern Shore of Virginia.  I'm including a few photos of this furniture, below, to give you a sense of what this furniture looks like.  During the 18th century, furniture of this region was often made by the same joiners who worked on paneling and such for local houses, hence the same type of architectural details were also used on chests, cabinets, and bookpresses.  I think that the geometric patterns on this furniture gives it a robustness that seems fitting for today's interiors:

Eastern Shore blanket chest with X and "quadrant" panels

Eastern Shore blanket chest with X panels

Eastern Shore corner cupboard showing a complementary color combination of orange and blue.

Then there is Count Stefano Aluffi-Pentini, who will be speaking about on Italian palaces like Palazzo Colonna, seen below.  Is that image stunning or what?  So you see, you'll learn about English great houses and gardens, French decorative arts, Italian palaces, Southern furniture, and more.  I can't imagine a more interesting forum!

Count Stefano Aluffi-Pentini, photographed in his library.

Palazzo Colonna in Rome.


For more information on this event, or to purchase tickets, please visit the Charleston Art & Antiques Forum website.  I hope to be able to tear myself away from work to attend, so perhaps I'll see you there.


All images used with permission of The Charleston Art & Antiques Forum.

Weekends at Winterthur

The Dining Room at Winterthur


I hope that some of you are planning to attend next week's Chic It Up! event at Winterthur. Seriously, you will be so glad that you did. When I toured Winterthur a few years ago, I was absolutely fascinated by Mr. du Pont's connoisseurship in all matters of living including decorating, collecting, and entertaining. His efforts at designing a home that was both historically accurate and aesthetically dazzling helped to cement his reputation as one of this country's most esteemed tastemakers. But what has especially intrigued me is the way in which H. F. du Pont approached entertaining. It seems that a night or a weekend at Winterthur was absolute perfection with no detail overlooked. I asked Maggie Lidz, Estate Historian and Curator of Garden and Estate Objects at Winterthur, to send me some archival information about du Pont's style of entertaining. I have to say that some of the anecdotes blew my mind. This is the kind of entertaining that one doesn't experience today.

If you were invited by the du Ponts to be weekend guests at Winterthur, you would arrive on a Friday afternoon, just in time for tea. As Mr. and Mrs. du Pont greeted you, footmen would take your coats while the houseman would deposit your luggage in your room. A maid would then unpack your suitcase. After tea, you would retreat to your room so that you could dress for cocktails and dinner. Cocktails began at 7:30 with dinner served at 8:00.

Brooke Astor recalled that the cocktail hour at Winterthur was most special. du Pont would have small card tables set up outside of the drawing room or in the hall at which guests could enjoy caviar and iced vodka. This was a seated affair where, according to Astor, "one could enjoy the delicious treat comfortably and to the full, which one cannot do standing up with a plate in one hand and a glass in the other." Susan Mary Alsop was also impressed by "the caviar on the pink covered card table outside the conservatory on our cozy Friday evening."

Afterwards, it was into the dining room where dinner was served á la russe with one footman to every two guests. By all accounts, the food was delicious. Mr. du Pont also paid much attention to his table settings. A few days before the dinner, he would start to plan the setting with the head gardener who would bring a selection of flowers to Mr. du Pont. Once du Pont chose flowers for the table, he then selected the proper china which best matched the flowers.


A Butler's Pantry filled with candelabra and Battersea candlesticks

After dinner, the male guests would retire to the library or the Marlboro Room where they would enjoy cigars and drinks. The ladies went to the Chinese Parlor for coffee. But even then, the evening was not over. Guests would then play bridge, watch a movie in the Court, or even tour the house.


The Chinese Parlor

Breakfast was served in one's room. You would fill out a menu card the night before, one which read: "M__ (name)___, Hour, Coffee, Tea, Hot milk, Cream, Eggs, Bacon, Toast, Fruit, Remarks". The next morning at the requested time, a footman would deliver a tray with your breakfast, a copy of the Herald Tribune, and a rose in a silver bud vase.

The day's activities included an informal lunch, tennis, swimming, golf, bowling, touring the gardens, and at times trips to Longwood Gardens and Eleutherian Mills.


The Enclosed Porch

And in terms of the guest rooms, it seems that they never ceased to impress guests. They were beautifully appointed with the finest antiques. One guest, Joe Kindig III, recalls that a "period textile was present on the bed upon your arrival, but was replaced when you retired to your room. A valet was available for my needs and a maid for my wife's." Antiques dealer Bernard Levy was quoted as saying that H. F. du Pont "had a staff that gave you the feeling that when you turned over at night they fluffed the pillow." And Walter Heacock said, "One [footman] checked the labels in the clothes of the guests to find out how much service they were accustomed to." Heacock went on to say that during one of his visits, he retired to his bedroom one evening to find that his shoelaces had been pressed and toothpaste had already been applied to his toothbrush.

Like I said earlier, I can only imagine the cosseting that the du Pont's guests must have felt during a weekend at Winterthur. It's no wonder that people like Jackie Kennedy, no slouch herself, were enthralled by Henry Francis du Pont. I didn't know the man but I am enthralled by him as well!

And by the way, the relationship between H. F. du Pont, Jackie Kennedy, and the Fine Arts Committee of the White House is just one of the topics that will be covered next week at Winterthur. If you do attend, please let me know. I want to hear all about it!


I would like to thank Maggie Lidz for providing me with the information used to write this post. The first and last photos are courtesy of Winterthur. The middle two were taken by me.

Chic It Up 1960s Style

I just received word that Winterthur's annual design conference, Chic It Up!, will be held on October 9 and 10 at Winterthur. This year's event focuses on 1960's interior design and the contributions that Henry Francis du Pont made both to Winterthur and to the design world during that decade. After all, du Pont was friends with such luminaries as Diana Vreeland, Billy Baldwin, Millicent Hearst, and Jackie Kennedy. In fact, you might recall that Kennedy appointed du Pont to be chairman of her committee to refurnish the White House, something which I'll explore in a future post.

This year's lineup of speakers includes Adam Lewis speaking on Billy Baldwin, Emily Evans Eerdmans discussing Madeleine Castaing, James Archer Abbot holding forth on Maison Jansen, and Mitchell Owens expounding on Swinging 1960s Style. I have heard both Lewis and Eerdmans speak before, and they are both interesting and engaging speakers. And although I have never had the opportunity to attend a lecture given by Abbot nor Owens, I hear that they too are most impressive. Can you imagine a better way to spend the day than to learn more about 1960s design? I can't.

Later in the day on the 10th, there will be workshops that one can attend led by Winterthur's own Maggie Lidz, Tom Savage, Jeff Groff, and Linda Eaton as well as other Winterthur historians. I have heard this group lecture before, and they too will knock your socks off. And there is even an optional tour the day before of private homes in the area including one whose dining room appeared in Thomas Jayne's recent book, The Finest Rooms in America.

Unfortunately, I won't be able to attend this year's event because of a prior commitment. I am sick that I'll miss it because the Chic It Up! event that I attended two years ago was one of the best conferences that I have ever attended- truly. This is why I urge you to make plans to attend. You really won't be sorry. And if my ebullience seems a little over the top, just know that I am not receiving any type of compensation for this plug. I am doing it solely because I think that Winterthur is one of our country's great treasures.

For more information, visit www.winterthur.org/ciu or call 302-888-4786.





The Dining Room at The Big Bend, one of the houses that is part of the optional tour. Photo courtesy of The Finest Rooms in America (The Monacelli Press, 2010) by Thomas Jayne. Photo by Kerri McCaffety.





Madeleine Castaing's Winter Bedroom at Maison de Leves that will be discussed by Emily Evans Eerdmans. Photo from The World of Madeleine Castaing (Rizzoli, 2010) by Emily Eerdmans, courtesy of Sotheby's.





Adam Lewis will speak on design legend Billy Baldwin. Photo by Horst, from Billy Baldwin: The Great American Decorator (Rizzoli, 2010) by Adam Lewis, courtesy of Adam Lewis.





The White House Blue Room as designed by Stephane Boudin of Maison Jansen. Photo courtesy of the John Fitzgerald Kennedy Library



Photo of David Hicks interior, part of the Chic It Up! banner, from from The Best of European Decoration (Reynal & Co., 1963) by Georges Bernier, courtesy of L’Oeil.

Let's Chic It Up for the 1950s

Hands down one of the best conferences that I've ever attended was last year's Chic It Up! conference at Winterthur. Absolutely fascinating and well worth the trip up North. In fact, it was at last year's event (it focused on 1940s design) that I heard Pauline Metcalf speak about Syrie Maugham. It was after listening to her lecture that I knew her book on Maugham was going to be a winner...and it was.

This year's event, scheduled for Friday, November 12, will look at 1950s design. Speakers include Thomas Jayne (whose new book The Finest Rooms in America was just released), Donald Albrecht (he is an absolutely terrific speaker who will speak about Cecil Beaton and 1950s set design), and other decorative arts historians. And what could be better than to visit Winterthur as well?

If meetings didn't keep me in Atlanta, I would attend in a heartbeat. Poor me. Anyway, if you live in the area or plan to be close-by, I encourage you to make plans to attend. You will not be disappointed!

For more information, click here.

Winterthur, Part Three

As part of my Winterthur tour, I was treated to a behind the scenes tour of their textile collection. Curator Linda Eaton, who by the way is incredibly knowledgeable, took us into the bowels of the house where boxes and boxes of textiles are carefully stored. Textiles like this one- an antique English valance:


Isn't the craftsmanship amazing?

Some of my favorite pieces were the antique Indian Palampores. This one, below, is simply stunning in person. Would you believe that it's early 18th century? It's in pristine condition.



As it was in the days of Henry Francis du Pont, curtains, pelmets, and slipcovers are changed out seasonally. Winterthur has a room that's devoted entirely to curtain storage! There are racks and racks of out of season curtains, while pelmet covers are carefully hung on the wall. Many of the curtains have tags sewn into the lining identifying which season they should be displayed. I wish I had taken a photo, but I was so amazed at the sight of this space that I simply forgot!

One of the greatest surprises to me was Mr. du Pont's bedcover in the master bedroom.




Does the fabric look familiar? Remember these photos from my recent posts?




Braquenié's Tree of Life print as seen in Givenchy's country manor and Braquenié's "Le Rocher" print.

I couldn't believe my eyes when I entered Mr. du Pont's bedroom and saw this fabric. It was almost identical to the Braquenié prints I've been obsessing about as of late. Linda explained that the du Pont fabric is yet another antique Indian Palampore with the Tree of Life motif. Many of these Indian prints were copied by European textile makers back in the 18th century.

It's crazy how this print seems to be everywhere I look!




The day ended with a tour of Winterthur's Licensing group. In case you didn't know, Winterthur has teamed up with companies like Stark, Brunschwig & Fils, Kravet, Currey & Company, and others to design lines of products that have been inspired by or are replicas of items in the Winterthur collection. The paper above, a Chinoiserie print, is part of the Winterthur Collection for Stark. As lovely as this paper is, my favorite is this one:




How beautiful is that? You should visit Winterthur's website for a complete list of product partners. There are a lot of nifty things in these collections!