little augury

KATE.. The Great!

2020-07-29T13:27:00.001-04:00

I've just written this piece for F.Schumacher. Please take a moment to check-in and see what Katherine Hepburn might have been up to during this pandemic. Hope you take something away from her tenacious spirit. ~pgt

https://livetheedit.com/2020/07/katherine-hepburn-design-p-gaye-tapp/

2020-03-16T17:19:00.000-04:00

a simple cotton dress of blue, for I, have loved the skies.

circumscribed in pine and yew—and lilies of the field-BCT

Betty Anne Cushwa Tapp, 89 of Roxboro, died Wednesday, February 26, 2020, at her home.

Born, April 12, 1930, in Roxboro, to parents George Joseph Cushwa and Bessie Pettigrew Cushwa. She attended Woman’s College in Greensboro, pursuing her love of art and singing. She continued her love of painting, and poetry sharing her work with family and friends throughout her life.

She said her greatest accomplishments were her three children, instilling in them her sense of kindness, and her acceptance of every individual regardless of their diverse beliefs or station in life.

She is preceded in death by her one and only love, husband Norman Lewis Tapp; and three of her siblings, Helen C. Gentry, Annette C. Snipes, and George Cushwa Jr. Surviving are her children, Paul Norman Tapp and his wife Joanne Reed of Fairfield, Iowa, Kevin Cushwa Tapp of Winston-Salem and Patricia Gaye Tapp of Roxboro; sister, Hanky C. McFadyen of Roxboro; two grandchildren, Elizabeth Tapp and her husband Adam Ewing, and Jeremy Tapp.

A private memorial service will be held in the home.
In remembrance of her life, Betty would encourage you to donate to the charity or cause you most believe in.

in memory

2019-12-21T10:37:00.000-05:00

oddly the holiday that brings pine and holly

brings a stillness no rustling of green can shutter.

as with Loss, December races to catch us-coming in red and green.

children never wonder at the slight trace of sadness in a beautiful mother's smiling face-

a granmother's happy forbearance of mistletoe.

women who have lost father, sister, little siblings, parents, husbands-

the faces that shown brightly in their midst-

how they must have shown just a bit brighter in holiday's waning candle.

memory that glows to crackling when a December day closes-

memory that comes cautiously close-peering through the tinsel and lights.

caressing Us down that old wooded path to Love.

it is right to remember.

it is good to find these loving spirits stirring you.

remembering a day when nothing else mattered but Love.

in loving memory and celebration of my father-February 4,1930-December 19, 2004, my parents wedding anniversary of December 23, 1951, & my grandparents anniversary of December 24, 1918.

this post was originally published under the title Spirits on December 19th 2010

Holly Jolly

2019-12-03T19:37:00.000-05:00

Pierre Balmain embroidered cocktail dress, 1955.

Black velvet by J Leonard, Embroidered by Lesage with Scarlet Velvet Berries,

Embroidered Green Leaves spangled with tiny gunmetal sequins

flawless host ALEX HITZ

2019-11-22T14:56:00.001-05:00

Alex Hitz's book The Art of the Host—is really a memoir. His success as host and chef certainly derive from his family tree. As he presents his beautiful traditional table settings and recipes he tells his readers backstories and mostly it's family and friend related. That's really where recipes, linens, sterling, and china should come from. From the heart—from family.

Alex Hitz with his team, which includes dear friends and his "food family"
Center front, Mary Boyle Hataway, who he dedicates the book to—along with his Aunt Laura.

Recipes are sprinkled with names like My Mother's French Silk Pie (below), and the book, along with delicious photographs of table and food, adds another ingredient—photographs of the people who inspired them. For "The-Absolutely-Perfect-Every-Time-Thanksgiving" chapter Hitz fills his reader's plate with recipes like Aunt Betty's Orange Cranberry Sauce, Dorothy's Cornbread Dressing, Connie's-and-Audrey's-and-Alex's Apple Confit, as well as the Pie. Aunt Betty, pictured as an Atlanta deb, Dorothy, the Hitz family cook, and Connie Wald (Alex's dear friend) pictured with Audrey Hepburn (Connie's dearest friend).

Hitz with his parents—and his mother's French Silk Pie

Connie Wald and Audrey Hepburn,

Hitz captions this photo of friends saying "Connie always said she stole this recipe from Audrey—I added the onions, but the foundation is theirs."

Onions? What would Audrey say?

Since Hitz is referred to as "the very best host in the world," I will have to try this one.

It's all very Southern—Hitz is an Atlanta native and his recipes remind me of my own menu for Thanksgiving: Gramma Bess's Chicken Salad Casserole, Nancy Pass's Frozen Cranberry Tarts, and Mrs. Clyde Bowen's Japanese Pie. Alex's mother loved all things French, I've no idea if Mrs. Clyde Bowen loved and traveled to Japan but she made a mean pie, easy too. My other dishes have no name names that hardly deserve a mention. It will be a small gathering, my mother, brother, and I gathered around mother's bed with all the trappings of a formal table but on trays.

Hitz gives readers his absolute loves, his ALWAYS, and his NEVER.
Included here are some of my absolute FAVORITES:
ABSOLUTELY LOVE (from page 17)
"on BUTTER: This is self-explanatory and, certainly, no secret to fine cooks. Don't ever be afraid of it. (Never) And always use SALTED BUTTER. (I don't) It's the secret to delicious food in France, where I learned it, and I do not care what the sneering purists say." (I don't care either and thank you Alex for freeing me from this myth! From here on out— always SALTED BUTTER.)
ALWAYS (page 18):
"Use salted butter and table salt for my recipes—they are written for it. I've already said this but I want to make sure you didn't miss it."
NEVER (page 19) His best?
(never) "Have a cocktail hour that is any longer than forty-five minutes."

These Hitz lists are worth the price of The Art Of The Host, but the recipes are too.

the Remarkable RBG

2019-10-01T14:58:00.001-04:00

Last week, I had the honor of being one of 1600, to hear the lady herself in conversation at an event sponsored by my alma mater Meredith College.

This is a link to the conversation ( I've set the video to when she enters at around 13:44 minutes)

https://youtu.be/P5Amfcu2vAA?t=835

on Beauty

2019-06-13T09:33:00.000-04:00

Rich men's houses are seldom beautiful, rarely comfortable, and never original. It is a constant source of surprise to people of moderate means to observe how little a big fortune contributes to Beauty. ~MA

photographs by Beaton

CAMP, too far? The MET GALA 2019

2019-05-07T12:27:00.000-04:00

how can I resist opening the pages of little augury to bring my favorite CAMP looks from the Met's pink carpet?
many looks just seemed a bit too far, lost was the idea of style—

can CAMP be too tacky? I think yes, is the answer.

Subtly is my preferred CAMP, tongue in cheek...

Curator Andrew Bolton says why "camp is impossible to define."
just so...

Carey Mulligan in Prada

Gal Gadot in Givenchy

Edie Campbell with Molly Goddard wearing Molly Goddard

unCamp, & incredible,
a deep cleansing breath...

an ethereal Billie Lourd in Zac Posen

no apologies, Katie Holmes in Zac Posen masterpiece

VICTOR & ROLF #messageinadress

2019-01-25T14:43:00.000-05:00

...from Paris, Spring/Summer Haute Couture 2019

Mary Poppins Returns & Chairish~

2018-12-16T14:37:00.000-05:00

PACKED FOR HER RETURN TO No. 17 CHERRY TREE LANE

(top row l. to r.) Edwardian pearl handle umbrella (SOLD), Chinese majolica parrots (SOLD), early 20th c.wooden horse sculpture, Pearlware sponged spirits flasks,
(middle row l. to r.) vintage Italian weekender, Emily Blunt as Mz. Poppins, Victorian style mirror, (lower row l. to r.) Viennese bronze pigeon bowl, sterling overlay tea service, sheep sculpture ottoman in the style of Lalanne
all items are linked to chairish

A ROOM OF HER OWN~ PRACTICALLY PERFECT IN EVERY WAY

(top row l. to r.) 19th c. umbrella stand, Olive Rush oil portrait, 1920's chandelier, Joshua Smith oil portrait, bronze parrot incense burner
(center l. to r.) hand blocked silk pillows 1of a pair , iron French daybed c.1810, Ralph Lauren velvet pillows
(lower row l. to r.) 1940's chaise longue, vintage floral kilim, antique tray table, Napoleon III ebonized chair (1 of a pair)
all pieces available on chairish and linked.

LINEN CLOSET & SPA

(top row l. to r.) 1940's cupboard, bronze umbrella, hooked pigeon rug, Aesthetic Movement brass chandelier, English bamboo cabinet 19th c.,
(lower row) Pierre Paulin tongue chair, Roberta Roller Rabbit quilts, Spode bowl, Roberta Roller Rabbit twin quilt, 1 of 4 Antique Gebruder Thonet chairs, c. 1850's
(center) Mary Poppins makes magic for the Banks children
all linked to chairish.

DIORISSIMO! Dior & His Decorators

2018-12-07T23:35:00.000-05:00

We like nothing better than looking at the past through new eyes. It's like seeing the thing we have seen, a thing we are seemingly familiar with—anew.
We take a New Look.

Maureen Footer's second book Dior and his Decorators opens our eyes to the world of the great Christian Dior in a way we haven't considered—through his decorators. Tracing the paths of Georges Geffroy and Victor Grandpierre, Footer threads the finest skeins of silk through Postwar Europe's beau monde for her readers, unearthing the rooms of these two decorators and their influence on Christian Dior. The decoration of Dior's first couture house was Grandpierre's vision. The antisceptic chic established in the fifties still defines the house today—in appearance and in branding—testimony to his unerring eye. Of course, Dior's chic was his inspiration, there's nothing quite like Dior, as Dior and his Decorators affirms.

Victor Grandpierre—A Study in Elegance and Understatement.

As witnessed here in one of his clients' chateau, Grandpierre, Christian Dior's decorator, was consistent in his personal design aesthetic, swanning from room to room reiterating elegance and understatement with impeccable French furniture, couture details, and subtle color. This 'Blue' Room even hints of that gray— Dior Gray. Both decorators were asked to decorate Dior's Paris townhouse and the results reflected the soigne of Dior's New Look.

Rene Gruau's evocative illustration for perfumes Miss Dior and Diorama, 1955.

Dior's perfume counter at 30, ave. Montaigne,

—the first year of the House of DIOR was in residence.

In Christian Dior's Georges Geffroy decorated Drawing Room, all of Grandpierre's rules applied. There is an undisputable Elegance, coupled with discipline. Nothing more—Nothing less.

Both decorators were asked to decorate Dior's Paris townhouse.

In Dior's Winter Garden room, a ball gown from his 1953 collection dominates.

It is difficult to fathom the impact that Christian Dior made on couture during his brief tenure at the helm of Dior. The New Look debuted in 1947, and in just ten years Dior would be dead. His decorators continued their work as seen in the rooms Footer presents in the book and their rooms are the greater for having encountered Dior.

Dior offered this on Elegance in his book Le Petit Dictionnaire de la Mode, "This is a word that would need a book to give it its right definition!... "

For us, fortunately, we have Dior and his Decorators, undeniably elegant.

Cabana Curated

2018-11-16T10:51:00.001-05:00

If for nothing else than the singular covers each CABANA issue wears, the magazine itself is a design voyeur's dream.
Am I a voyeur?
Yes—a design voyeur and my dream would be to curate an issue of CABANA—or even a few pages.

The latest covers of CABANA are fabrics from my favorite fashion designer Dries Van Noten. Past covers are from the Dedar, Kravet, Pierre Frey & the F. Schumacher fabric libraries, and Gucci and Ralph Lauren's fashion house fabric collections.

INSIDE? Classic interiors, Classicism, Chintz, French Lampas, Baroque, Americana, Nomadic tents, Monticello. It's the way editor Martina Mondadori Sartogo lays them out—the pages of Cabana blur all the lines of design. The sacred becomes profane and then turns back on itself.

images above in no particular order, Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema -Townshend House 1885, Louis Comfort Tiffany-Near Eastern Interior, Portrait of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu detail, paper cutting of flower urn from the American Folk Art Museum, Mantua from the Victoria & Albert Museum, Portrait of Dorothy Quincy by John Singleton Copley,18th c. Traditional Dress of Holland, Anthony Van Dyck self-portrait, Leonard Campbell Taylor-The Sampler, Dinka Mans beaded Corset- Southern Sudan, Ladies Album-signatures of textile cut-outs, Eileen Agar-Woman reading,cut-out 1936, Quilted Petticoat 18th c., Patchwork Caraco 17th c., Ellsworth Kelly, Ghirlandaio detail from the Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints, French Textile Sample book 1825, Armenian bride, 19th c. Marble Paper, Portrait of Polish nobleman Kazimierz Ossoliński1720s, Gheeraerts Detail from a Portrait of Anne of Denmark,1614.

the State of Design -Fall Design Books

2018-10-26T23:20:00.001-04:00

from American Originals by William Abranowicz

Fall and Spring bring a spate of design books to my attention, and this season there are some well worthy of your attention!

CABANA ANTHOLOGY

If you missed the first inaugural issues of this stylish biannual—Cabana Anthology will get you caught up. Founder Martina Mondadori Sartogo has compiled the best and most beautiful from the magazine's first five years. Evocative— every Cabana issue is an orgasmic design journey. Pick up the 488-page book that celebrates a monumental achievement in bespoke publishing, and you'll see what I mean.

INSPIRED DESIGN

A compendium of interior designers of the past 100 years, Inspired Design includes designers that were happy to be known as "decorators" for decades. Everyone is here under one big roof for the first time. I couldn't for the life of me think who was missing save one or two.
It's a keeper thanks to the editing skills of Jennifer Boles and Stephen Drucker!

AMERICAN ORIGINALS

One of the freshest, most original book out this season is—American Originals. The photographs of William Abranowicz takes a look at many never before seen (leastwise by me) interiors. John Derian writes the foreword, and it's beautifully written. At the end of the foreword, he reminds us of To Kill a Mockingbird's Scout compassion for the recluse Boo Radley—and finds Abranowicz's photographic eye to be "honest—offering "intimate portraits of the human soul."
Largely true, rooms like Darien's, Valerie von Sobel's, Sean Scherer's or Daniel & Thanos Kamiliotis are a breath of fresh air—life-giving & joyous. Peering into their rooms, thanks to Abranowicz, I find myself to stay for a weekend.

all books are published by Vendome, available now.
all photographs are courtesy of Vendome.

(1st published the Summer 2011) MARIO BUATTA- a 1 in a Million $ Decorator

2018-10-18T19:00:00.000-04:00

"Good night sweet Prince: And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest!" ~Shakespeare

Requiescat in pace Mario Buatta October 17, 2018

image from House and Garden

"A house should grow in the same way that an artist's painting grows. A few dabs today, a few more tomorrow and the rest when the spirit moves you. When the painting is completed (as no room ever should be), it never reflects the artist's original conception. A room should come together through this process, as the people living in it grow, and where their needs and paths take them, in order to achieve the ultimate timeless undecorated look." Mario Buatta

cover of The Best in Decoration, House and Garden, 1987.

Buatta's client said 'Make it English'-of her New York pied-a-terre

from New York Apartments Private Views, by Jamee Gregory

So here is an important part of the education I received this is the invaluable part.

Yes, I do believe in the idea of a higher education-but I would never have turned down an offer to work for someone the likes of Mr. Buatta in 1980 versus Drafting 101, 1980.

The Philosophy of Mario Buatta, you might say--is what I cut my design teeth on and it still rules today.

This photograph of Mario Buatta is etched in my memory as I was graduating college and moving into a career-Mario Buatta is what one might now be called-Hot. I don't think he would say so-nor would he want to think anyone else had said it-Anyway-apologies to Mr. Buatta!

MARIO MASTER CLASS

For readers of my blog-one knows I live a bit in the past— with most of the design features coming from rooms created years ago-or centuries ago. I like it that way. I prefer these rooms, the decor, the elegance, the timelessness, the quality of a good sofa and pair of chairs. How many times have I used such words and phrases to make a client understand where they should be going in a project?

a Buatta bath

This spring the New York School of Interior Design renamed its materials library after Mr. Buatta pronouncing it the Mario Buatta Atelier. Being titled, that lofty phrase will please Mr. Buatta. Known in circles of practical royals themselves as The Prince of Chintz, Mario Buatta has been in the business for about 50 years.

"Chintz is coming back in fashion. "Mario Buatta

This set of rooms for a home in New York is one of Mr. Buatta's most wildly successful. From these images, I fell in love with the idea of head to toe use of a single chintz.

from House and Garden Best in Decoration, above & below

another view of the room

This year Mario Buatta has been celebrated, but where does he fit into today's ModPodge of decorating. Thank God he doesn't.

THE PRINCE

a Buatta designed Chintz

Today's mantle seems to be more about Millions-something I don't think Mario Buatta would like to be dubbed-but for the sake of this little title- that's what I'm going with. A list of his clients-Henry Ford II, Malcolm Forbes, Barbara Walters, Nelson Doubleday, Mr. and Mrs. S.I. Newhouse, Charlotte Ford, Mariah Carey , nd Billy Joel- proves his worth- though he is known to 'repurpose" curtains from redecoration to redecoration. His public commissions have been equally high profile: From 1985 to 1988, Mr. Buatta and the late Mark Hampton collaborated on the restoration of Blair House, the 1824 White House guest house on Pennsylvania Avenue, an $ 8.6 million project involving more than 100 rooms.(NYTIMES)

The Lee Dining Room at Blair House

images from Blair House here

BUATTA TRADEMARKS

One of his decorating devices I admire most is his use of the banquette in rooms to create always important additional seating.

LOTS OF SEATING

a glass-enclosed sitting area looks out to the formal garden
from AD

Houston, 2007.

image from House Beautiful

These little jewel like spaces are perfect for tete a tetes- glamourous women with legs crossed seated side by side- teenagers courting- a bedtime story- You get the picture.

"Decorating today is dysfunctional. A chair here, a lamp here and a sofa over there—how do you read? How do you have a conversation? Rooms are set up for a camera, not for living. There's nothing personal, no relationship to the past." Mario Buatta

photograph from AD here

“I like all the chairs to talk to one another and to the sofas and not those parlor-car arrangements that create two Siberias.” Mario Buatta

Faux-tortoiseshell wall covering highlights the art collection in the card room, image from the NYSD. 

ACOLYTES

Designers that equally admire and are in many ways adhering to the Buatta dictates of using the sofa banquette in their spaces are Miles Redd, Charlotte Moss, Todd Romano and Alessandra Branca.

Redd

Moss

Romano

Branca

LUXURY & COMFORT

these gorgeous photographs from the New York Social Diary

a leather & nail-head front door opens up to a silver-papered elevator entrance

above and below, the Rooms of Hillary Geary by Mario Buatta

PAST CONNECTED

Allusions to the rooms created by Nancy Lancaster and John Fowler are alive and well & front & center in most of Buatta's work.

Lancaster's Rooms

"My style icons are [decorators] John Fowler and Nancy Lancaster.

Nancy was a great woman, a real character. They don't make them like that anymore.
They're all blondes. They all look alike, dress alike, nobody has any personality." Mario Buatta

Derry Moore photograph of Nancy Lancaster

 The  Salon at Hambleden by John Fowler

COLOR

"Roll on, deep and dark blue ocean, roll." Lord Byron

Some of Mario Buatta's most beautiful rooms are heavy-handed in BLUE.
Could it be his favourite color?

Evidence from a House Beautiful Favorites Things point to it-Excerpted below---

STATIONERY: Dark blue from Smythson
CAR COLOR (EXTERIOR/INTERIOR): Navy/tan
EVERYDAY DISHES: Blue and white anything
COLOR YELLOW- So there goes that color theory-
but still, there is a lot of incriminating evidence here.
ALL-PURPOSE GLASS: Royal Blue glasses from Ralph Lauren
TOWEL: Porthault's blue-and-white seashell
SCENTED CANDLE OR ROOM FRAGRANCE: Rigaud "Blue"SHEETS: Blue-and-white checks like Ralph Lauren's gingham
WORKHORSE FABRIC: Sunbrella indoor/outdoor, especially navy

am I BLUE? IS MARIO?

WELL -On second thought-in another House Beautiful piece the Prince said:

I'm blue, I'm blue! I'm a happy guy but I have always loved blue, in all its shapes and sizes. For libraries and dining rooms, I like this deep Mediterranean blue. I'd use it glazed and shiny, and bring in reds and greens and pinks. Every color looks fresh against blue. Put lemon yellow with it and it will look like a Matisse painting." -Mario Buatta: BENJAMIN MOORE BAINBRIDGE BLUE 749 -here at HB

Anemones and Woman, Harmony in Blue by Henri Matisse

image from WSJ.com, linked in footnotes

The essence of Buatta, 2005, with drop-dead elegance & blue walls

Cool blues in a bedroom using a Manuel Canovas print, from the pages of AD

One of the most memorable and beautiful rooms I can remember is Buatta's 1984 Kips Bay Showhouse bedroom. In a post about the fabric used in the room I wrote: Buatta lavished the room in the B&F Verrieres and the results were stunning. I think this is Buatta's best-published room hands down. It captures a mood, a spirit, an energy that makes a room timeless- of course Verrieres helps out loads. The Brunschwig motto " GOOD DESIGN IS FOREVER" echoes in this beautiful room. The August 1984 issue of House Beautiful is filled with pages of the Buatta room & an interview with Buatta. Mario Buatta started with Verrieres-it is the room's inspiration. "This is a timeless room. There's no date on it because nothing is faddish. It's a forever kind of decorating.

“I must have visited this room 1,000 times before painting it,” artist Jeremiah says of his 1980 rendering of the Buatta room. “It was done from mental notes.”

another blue bedroom with Mr. Buatta's suggestion that yellow makes it like a Matisse.

(image from HB)

WALLS OF BRILLIANT LACQUER

deepest aubergine lacquer walls in the Geary rooms, AD 2005.

the Geary Residence in AD 2005, with another Buatta Banquette,

the eggplant shade on the walls resembles porphyry.

images above & below from: AD, Nov. '89 Inside New York

a room designed at the request of Barbara Walters for a Charity Event, 1990.

these are the things that make him the authentic Million Dollar Decorator.

take a crash course-from the Prince, you'll be brilliant!

Some things should change, Some things should never change. ~Buatta

the Wall Street Journal 60 Seconds with Mario Buatta here

& a slide show at the WSJ here

The NYTimes story here

Tory Burch here

1st dibs here

NY magazine here

.

Carolyne Roehm- A Constant Thread

2018-09-26T10:52:00.000-04:00

photograph by Victor Skrebneski

The latest book from Carolyne Roehm is a fulsome look at her 45 years in fashion, interior design, entertaining, floral design, and most recently—as artist. An incredible talent—a true polymath, Roehm has found the constant thread to it all in her love for color, nature, quality, and classicism.
In every discipline, Roehm excels.

Color: her floral arrangements often burst with it, and when using a single color she indulges.
Nature: her watercolor botanicals are just incredible, intricate, pristine.
Quality: from her beautiful clothing collections in the 80's & 90's to the simple act of wrapping a package, which for Roehm becomes an art, Quality is unmistakable.
Classicism: just look at her body of work.
In fact, this book is that. With a wealth of photographs documenting her career, Roehm who always considered herself a career woman resisted William Safire's phrase "trophy wife," coined for Roehm in the 80's.
Beauty has defined her life and just over 300 pages are devoted to it all,.

There are many books that focus on entertaining and floral design in Carolyne Roehm's oeuvre. I have most of them. This book unifies those subjects with her career in fashion, and as a backdrop to that—the interiors of her homes in New York, Connecticut, Colorado, and Charleston. Within the book, Victor Skrebneski's portraits of Roehm, some of them just seen for the first time, are breathtaking. Roehm acknowledges him in the last pages of the book writing, "you were the first photographer to make me look pretty in a photo." Indeed, that's an understatement.

Skrebneski photographs

With a wealth of photographs documenting her career, Roehm who always considered herself a career woman resisted William Safire's phrase "trophy wife," coined for Roehm in the 80's. Carolyne Roehm Design & Style A Constant Thread, is proof that the label did not apply. While the book is a keeper, as are her other books, it's certainly not anything remotely like a swan song—rather a debut.

BRAVA!

Zac Posen + Liberty of London = Chic

2018-09-25T11:33:00.001-04:00

Zac Posen's Liberty prints are a new favorite, it's an alchemy of tradition and style.
Add Youth—his newest collection is modeled by Maya Hawke, actress & daughter of Uma Thurman & Ethan Hawke, and the magic is complete. Chic.

Elegance & Ease- Nina Campbell

2018-09-07T21:10:00.002-04:00

Interior designer Nina Campbell came to my attention in the late 80's when she was tapped to do the interior decoration for the Duke and Duchess of York. She appeared on the cover of House & Garden dressed in red and holding a porcelain apple. She had "arrived" in terms of her introduction to the States. My admiration for the designer began with that cover.
Beautiful, British, and ready to swath the royal residence of Sunninghill Park in passementerie.

Campell is still attuned to the fine details almost thirty years later. NINA CAMPBELL INTERIOR DECORATION ELEGANCE AND EASE, written by Giles Kime, is a fresh glimpse of her past and present personal residences in London, illustrating the arc of her work —work steeped in tradition, elegance, & ease.

With her love of fabric covered walls, use of passementerie, and her mastery of the ingrained beauty of English decorating, Campbell has opened the doors to her private spaces, revealing interiors that as fresh as ever, and thoroughly English. Other interiors from Campell's oeuvre revealed in the book include a hotel in Germany, pieds-à-terre in New York, Rome, & a townhouse in London.

In New York

Above
Whimsy— a bit.
This is Campbell at her most eclectic. Two special and different chairs are covered in a Scalamandre silk velvet, and Cole and Son's wallpaper, Gondola, covers the wall. The Foyer is reminiscent of the glamorous rooms of the 1930's—one imagines a bias cut silk charmeuse gown trailing across the ebony floors—glamour a la film star Constance Bennett.

Below Campbell's own fabric Cantabria for Osborne and Little covers a sofa tucked neatly into the Study. A graphic Pierre Frey rug adorns the floor. Luxury & comfort (elegance & ease) are essential when Campbell decorates. The smaller space makes possibilities endless rather than limiting.

In Rome

This drawing room in Rome is signature Campbell. The fabric covered walls are intricately detailed with a braid outlining the doors, corners of the room, and windows. An extensive collection of Giovanni Battista Piranesi etchings of Rome and other Italian views highlight the walls of this room and the dining room. The entire apartment is filled with the same elements that Campbell incorporated in the drawing room—sophistocation, Classicism, every i dotted, every t crossed; her instincts always right.

In London

Built during the age of William Morris & William De Morgan, Nina Campbell decorated the house by repeating shades of peacock and cobalt throughout. Colors indicative of the era, Campbell uses it subtly—and with abandon. Her knowledge of periods and styles allows her to deftly introduce these details, never using cliched overt references that might dominate rooms that are first and foremost meant to be lived in.

In addition, an essay and pictures following the life of Ms. Campell are included in the book. A born Londoner & worldwide traveler, the decorator has never lived anywhere but the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Her career began at Colefax and Fowler—where better to be schooled, and later she was sought out to design a collection of papers and textiles for Osborne and Little. Reinterpreting themes from dated patterns and archives, many of Campbell's fresh wallpapers have adorned the walls of my client's homes over the years. In fact, I recall doing one house strictly in Nina Campbell papers alone—the results amped up the client's traditional furniture & antiques, making a traditional 40's colonial come to life. One could say—filled with elegance & ease.

© Nina Campbell by Giles Kime, Rizzoli New York, 2018

REVISITING: Fairy Hills

2018-08-15T14:30:00.000-04:00

.
First Published April 15, 2014
Surrounded by her beloved airedales, Baldur, Undine, and Siren-at first glance Christian Waller looks like a fairy princess. Her life -less so. An artist in her own right, she married fellow student Napier Waller, and both studied at Melbourne's National Gallery School.

"Christian Waller with Baldur, Undine and Siren at Fairy Hills" 1932 by husband Napier Waller

oil and tempera on canvas mounted on composition board 121.5 x 205.5 cm

She was 38 at the time.

Hanging over a massive fireplace in the Waller's Melbourne dining room, the painting is her husband's only major canvas work and mural size (4 feet x almost 7 feet wide). Experts interpret the painting's composition in hindsight, noting five years after the portrait was completed Christian had a breakdown and the couple's marriage suffered estrangement though the pair remained married til Christian's death in 1954.

There must have been moments of sweetness though when Christian was sitting on the lawn of her Arts and Crafts bungalow, fashionably dressed in white, amongst her dogs and some of her own illustrated books. She fidgets with her coral beads -a habit or a possible response to Baldur's barking. The other two airedales are at rest and at attention-completing the framework of the portrait. A heavy draping of willow leaves cools the scene-perhaps casting a shadow on unnamed auguries .

A Study of Christian Waller for the painting

"There is often greater martyrdom to live for the love of, whether man or an ideal, than to die"

Helena Blavatsky, on the Mahatmas

Christian Waller's "Destiny", 1916

Christian's own work was influenced by the Pre-Raphaelite and Art Nouveau in the early 1920's. She studied both Classical and Medieval works as a student- all contributors to her maturing style. In the 1930's Art Deco dominated her work-her prints, book designs and stained glass. After her breakdown, she turned deeper into Theosophy-shutting herself off from the world at large.

Studio portrait of 20178 Private (later Bombardier (Bdr)) Mervyn Napier Waller, of Hawthorn, Vic,1915.

Napier Waller was a World War I war hero -giving his right arm on the Western Front to the cause. Self taught afterwards-with his left hand, the city of Melbourne has been described as "a gallery of Napier Waller’s work." Working in stained glass and mosaics, Waller completed works for the Hall of Memory at the Australian War Memorial, Canberra, completed in 1958. Along with these compelling works there are eleven monumental Waller murals in the central business district in Melbourne and at the University.

Mosaic and Stained Glass at the War Memorial by Napier Waller

From the naming of their dogs-to Christian's deeply personal work, she devoted herself to Theosophy for the most part her doctrine held to its turn of the century spiritual leader Helena Blavatsky. Blavatsky's basic tenets are:

There is an omnipresent, eternal, boundless, and immutable reality of which spirit and matter are complementary aspects.

There is a universal law of periodicity or evolution through cyclic change.

All souls are identical with the universal oversoul which is itself an aspect of the unknown reality.

While critics have proven Blavatsky was part a charlatan and her supposed experiences with the paranormal faked- in the world Christian Waller inhabited they were real.

Christian's book The great breath; A Book of Seven Designs (1932), is testament to her beliefs.

the entire book can be viewed here

"all aspects from the cutting and printing of the linoblocks to the manufacture of the distinctive gold-painted emerald green cover was done by hand. She printed the blocks on her 1849 hand-press in her studio at Ivanhoe, each book taking about four days to make, hand-bound with green cord. Although it was intended to produce an edition of 150, it seems only about 30 were made.

"Everything lives and perishes through magnetism; one thing affects another one, even at great distances, and its "congenitals" may be influenced to health and disease by the power of this sympathy, at any time, and notwithstanding the intervening space." Helena Blavatsky

The charms of the Waller bungalow are only hinted at in Waller's portrait of Christian, but we can imagine it must be so-and are compelled to wander just beyond the willows inside the house...

Designed by the Wallers as home and studio, Napier Waller lived in the house fifty years and examples of his art and work, Christian's work, that of his second wife, and Christian's niece, famous studio potter Klytie Pate, remain suspended in time-just as Napier left them. Today the house is a private residence maintained and lived in by a Melbourne antique dealer.

The Great Living Hall

detail of Waller's airedale's from his portrait of Christian

From Steven Miller's book Dogs in Australian Art, we are told visitors to the Waller home remember the first thing they heard was 'Baldur's deep bark and the scuttering of claws on the polished wood floor.' Napier Waller would feature his Airedale in several allegorical murals- the breed seemed to lend itself to Waller's Art Deco palette-so with the Waller's home.

"Pastoral Pursuits of Australia"

Mural was originally commissioned for the Menzies Hotel, Melbourne (now demolished).

(more here)

Waller's "The Labours of Hercules" a mural with a self portrait of the artist

in The Blue Room of the Waller House, a guest room with built in glass topped furniture.

Study for “The Five Lamps of Learning" by Napier Waller

Once acting as their Studio when the house was built, the living room holds Waller's Study for “The Five Lamps of Learning" and "Peace After Victory." The room is panelled and floored in Tasmanian hardwood, the walls are plastered and finished in a combed wood pattern, and the raftered ceiling is in a marble pattern of gold leaf. There is a musician's gallery overlooking the whole. A coolness pervades in the house-the dark timbers, well worn leather and simple crewelwork curtains echo the Art Deco palette of both Napier and Christian.

"Peace After Victory"- A Study by Napier Waller

(interior photographs for the most part from an extensive tour of the house linked below)

Christian Waller's Morgan Le Fay

colour linocut on brown card

here

Like Christian's Morgan Le Fay, her life is veiled in conjecture. That they were alike-not so much, but today both remain fixed by the artist in magical worlds unlikely to be disturbed by the hand of humankind.

Resources and interesting articles.
There are extensive and detailed photographs of the Waller home and an in depth bio of the couple and the house-highly recommended HERE. Several of the images of the interiors can be found there.
more about the house HERE
Steven Miller's Dogs in Australian Art HERE
Christian Waller bio HERE
Napier Waller bio HERE
Napier Waller's mural HERE
The Australian War Memorial HERE
Napier Waller's murals on Pinterest HERE

requiscat in pace

2018-07-30T18:17:00.003-04:00

Christopher Gibbs

mercurial aesthete

(July 29, 1938- July 28,2018)

in his rooms—Albany, London

in Tangier

photograph by Miguel Flores Vianna from Haute Bohemians

"I rather like the idea of a whole new phase of life, with fewer possessions.''-Christopher Gibbs

requiscat in pace

2018-07-26T12:23:00.000-04:00

may she begin to rest in peace

I am certain of nothing but the holiness of the Heart's affections and the truth of the Imagination.-John Keats*

Lucy Helmore Birley

(1960-2018)

* a favorite poet of Lucy Birley

photograph by Robert Mapplethorpe of the then Lucy Ferry

The Times here

Hamish Bowles poetic remembrance at Vogue here

a tale of 2 houses

2018-07-23T14:47:00.001-04:00

ONCE UPON A TIME...
they were design partners at VALENTINO, Pierpaolo Piccioli & Grazia Chiuri parted ways with Chiuri off to DIOR, and Piccioli remaining at Valentino.
For their recent respective Couture shows, they converged—and diverged...

IN RED

they barely parted.

VALENTINO DIOR

WITH FEATHERS

they effortlessly flocked together.

DIOR VALENTINO

IN FLOWER

they idled together for an hour.

DIOR VALENTINO

but alas IN HUE...

they bid adieu,

DIOR VALENTINO

Valentino turned out in bonny bleu
while at Dior in blanc— achieved a coup.

VALENTINO DIOR

the She perfected 'soft' Hard Chic—
while the He fantasized the Aristocra-tique.

DIOR VALENTINO

each to his own, they evermore are parted,

happily ever after, alike—regarded.

paint by number, 2 to Know

2018-07-05T09:31:00.000-04:00

Mary Katrantzou, Spring 2018

Gustav Klimt Portrait of Friederike Maria Beer, 1916

tied up in erdem

2018-06-13T22:39:00.000-04:00

Lucy Locket lost her pocket

Kitty Fisher found it

Not a penny was there in it,

Only ribbon ’round it.

never could I resist a ribbon.

all fashions by ERDEM, Resort 2019 here

the story behind lucy and kitty... here

another dress

2018-05-20T12:27:00.003-04:00

Cate Blanchett wears Givenchy Couture by Brit Claire Waight Keller gown in Cannes

CAPITAL! CAPITOL!

2018-05-15T23:49:00.002-04:00

The charms of the South are evident in this dynamic collaboration from the embroiderer extraordinaire Olympia Le Tan, and fashion guru & Capitol founder Laura Vinroot Poole!

In celebration of 20 years of fashion at the noted destination CAPITOL~ Charlotte, Laura has commissioned Le Tan to create a limited edition clutch. Le Tan is famous for her literary clutches and this one honors North Carolina writer Thomas Wolfe's seminal novel, Look Homeward Angel.

“Each moment is the fruit of forty thousand years.” Thomas Wolfe

Look, Homeward Angel

“His feeling for the South was not so much historic as it was

of the core and desire of dark romanticism--that unlimited and

inexplicable drunkenness, the magnetism of some men's blood that

takes them into the heart of the heat, and beyond that, into the

polar and emerald cold of the South as swiftly as it took the heart

of that incomparable romanticist who wrote The Rime of the Ancient

Mariner, beyond which there is nothing." Thomas Wolfe

Read about Laura's big celebration in Atelier Dore here and here.

photo from Atelier Dore by Veronica

Capitol's Capsule Collection here.

read two previous stories about Laura and Capitol on the blog here.