Klaus Enrique, The Arcimboldo Series

I was recently informed of a very interesting looking photography exhibit, Klaus Enrique, The Arcimboldo Series. To be held at New York's Robert Burge/ 20th Century Photographs, Ltd. from February 21 to April 13, the show will feature the photographic work of Klaus Enrique Gerdes. As mentioned in the title of the show, Klaus Enrique's photographs of his vividly detailed vegetable and floral compositions were inspired by the work of Italian painter Giuseppe Arcimboldo. Just look at Klaus Enrique's Autumn above. Isn't the detail amazing?

According to Robert Burge, Klaus Enrique endured a few hardships while creating his vegetal creations including dealing with swarms of fruit flies as well as petals rotting under hot lights. Ah, the life of an artist. For more information on the show, please visit Robert Burge's website. And if you happen to be in Manhattan, I urge you to see the show for yourself.




Flora, 2011




Vegetable Gardener, 2011




Winter, 2011




Vertumnus, 2010





Primavera, 2010


All images courtesy of Robert Burge/ 20th Century Photographs, Ltd.

Condé Nast Prints

I was recently offered a free print from the Condé Nast Store and Art.com. As many of you know, the Condé Nast Store sells prints of photographs and illustrations that have appeared in their various publications including Vogue, The New Yorker, and House & Garden. I thought no more of the offer until I wrote my blog post a few weeks back on vintage illustrated advertisements, something that prompted me to visit the Condé Nast site. After taking a look at the store's website, I decided to take them up on their offer out of curiosity.

Trying to choose my print was difficult. The site offers thousands of prints featuring the work of Christian Bérard, Cecil Beaton, René Bouché, Horst, and others. Did I want an illustration from the 1930s? A Vogue cover from the 1950s? A 1960s table setting photo from House & Garden? I finally settled on a print of a Christian Bérard illustration that appeared in the October 1935 issue of Vogue. (That's it, above.)

I was a little skeptical about what the quality of the print might be. I'm usually not so keen on reproductions nor prints that are offered online. However, I have to say that when I received it, I was very pleasantly surprised. It appears to be good quality, and while it doesn't have the old patina that an original illustration from this era would possess, it's still a charming print. My only complaint is that beneath the illustration is a caption with the Condé Nast copyright. Just something to keep in mind should you order your print framed.

While you're probably not going to display these prints in places where important art should be hung, they would look terrific in powder rooms, bathrooms, dressing rooms, and offices. The gorgeous photos of food that appeared in Gourmet magazine might look great if hung on the backsplash in your kitchen. Just be forewarned: it's very easy to spend hours browsing through the Condé Nast Store website.



A Cecil Beaton illustration from the March 1933 issue of Vogue.




A Horst photograph from the September 1965 issue of Vogue.



A Sal Traina photo of Truman Capote and Gloria Vanderbilt from W, May 1972.



A House & Garden photo by Herbert Matter that appeared in the January 1950 issue.



A Romulo Yanes photo from Gourmet, January 2001.


All photos the copyright of Condé Nast and Art.com

Spellbound by Color

I love color in my home, but not so much in my wardrobe. (Look through my closet and you'll see a sea of black, gray, and bit of greige thrown in for good measure.) But a panoply of bright colors is usually not something to which I gravitate. Lots and lots of shocking, wild color in one room feels like getting hit in the head with an anvil. But if an array of vivid color is limited to one piece or a confined area, and if the colors are arranged in a tight, linear way, well, that's an entirely different story. An angular composition of color seems to give a semblance of order to what otherwise might be chaos; it adds a severity and an edginess to the colors which I like.

Take, for example, the fabric I've shown at top. I don't know who made this fabric, but I'm absolutely in love with it. I realize it's not for everyone, but think about this geometric print being used in a controlled way- perhaps on a seat cushion, pillow, tablecloth. It could very well bump a room from great up to fabulous. And it has the Brooke Astor seal of approval.




Think something like Harran II, Frank Stella, 1967; the Guggenheim Collection.


I think this quilt, Bittersweet XII by Nancy Crow, 1980, would be magnificent hung on the wall as artwork, especially if housed in a very minimal, contemporary space.


This Donald Brooks coat from the 1960s/70s is fabulous. The colorful bands read sophisticated, not cutesy. It's that wow piece that would make the rest of your neutral wardrobe sing.


There's a reason that this book makes appearances so often in chic interiors, and it's just not because it's about Christian Liaigre. I think it might also have to do with that cover.


Even better than the Liaigre cover is this one, American Painting by Barbara Rose.

(Unfortunately, I can't remember from which publication the photo at top was taken.)

Silhouette: The Art of the Shadow

Bear with me and my book reviews. You know that the Fall is like Christmas to those of us who love design books!

One of the more intriguing books to come out this season is Silhouette: The Art of the Shadowby art historian Emma Rutherford. I've long been drawn to these graphic visages, and I'm not alone. Think of Lulu Guinness whose logo includes a silhouette (in fact, Guinness wrote the forward to the book), or Diamond Baratta who introduced a great silhouette fabric a few years ago.

Rutherford traces the history of the silhouette all the way back to Etruscan vases that are considered to be the precursors to this graphic art form. The book explores the silhouette's popularity in 18th c. France and of course the Victorian age (those Victorians were awfully crazy for silhouettes...), and many 20th c. examples are included as well, most notably the provocative work of artist Kara Walker. Rutherford reminds the reader that silhouettes have long been created in many forms besides paper cutouts- paintings and carved and molded pieces were also favorite mediums for the silhouette.

After reading this book, I find that I now have far more of an appreciation for silhouettes; to me, they're no longer just a Victorian novelty. Is it fine art? Well, no, not really, but to dismiss silhouettes as mere decorative trifles would be quite a shame.

Roger Palmer, Lady Dorothy Bradshaigh (c. 1705–1785), life-size head, hollow-cut on blue paper, 9-3/5 inches high, Private Collection


A Jockey at Newmarket, Pringle (dated 1827), painted and bronzed on card, 3-1/2 inches high. Lidstone Collection.


The Hunt, Master Barber, aged 9 (fl. c. 1851), cut-out paper, 5 inches high, Ian Cross Collection.

(All images ©Silhouette: The Art of the Shadow by Emma Rutherford, Rizzoli New York, 2007)

An Architectural Alphabet

Remember how we all raved- for months- about Andrew Zega and Bernd Dams' Chinoiseries? Well, hold on to your hats because they are back with a new book that I think might be one of their best yet!

An Architectural Alphabet (Connaissance et Mémoires) is the new limited-edition artist's book that features the duo's watercolors of the alphabet. Each letter is featured in an architectural or garden related scene. In fact, a few lucky letters are painted against backdrops of Chinoiserie follies. How great is that?

The new book, with a forward by none other than Charlotte Moss (I told you this was good!), is hand-bound in silk, numbered, and slip-cased. Forget the jewelry, baubles, trinkets, and bibelots- this is what I want for Christmas. I better start writing Santa right now.

Cynthia Conigliaro and Will Rogers of Archivia Books and Catherine Cormery of Connaissance et Mémoires are hosting a book party where Zega and Dams' new book as well as some of their recent watercolors will be featured. The event takes place at Archivia Books on Thursday, November 20 from 6 until 8pm. To RSVP, call 212-570-9565.

Artaissance: A New Source for Prints

I get emails quite often from readers who are looking for affordable prints and paintings. Original and one of a kind artwork is certainly nice and desirable, but sometimes you need to fill in the gaps on walls with art that is budget friendly and pleasing to the eyes. (I think this is why so many of us have framed notecards and book pages from Chinoiseries by Dams and Zega.)

I recently learned about Artaissance, a company that has launched an art publishing website called "Art My Style". Original works are available in any number of genres, and each work can be printed on either canvas or paper.

The works that caught my eye were those in the New York Botanical Garden collection. How pretty would these look grouped en masse in a sunroom, a kitchen, or a conservatory? In fact, some of the prints are a bit reminiscent of those antique German botanical prints that were all the rage a few years back. (You remember those prints- the ones that looked like they came right out of a Botany class?)

There are a lot of works on the site, but today I'm featuring those from the NYBG collection.


"Peony #1"


"Flore d'Amerique #3"


"Merian Annanas #2"


"Merian Still-Life #2"


"Lima Romana", Blue


"Martagon #3"


"Aronzo de fior doppio"

Image at top: "Pompelmus", Copper