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30 April 2011
seeking Sargent
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The Spencer Sisters
daughters of the 9th Earl Spencer
the Wyndam Sisters, 1899 John Singer Sargent
other faces that are Sargent worthy here
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29 April 2011
28 April 2011
until tomorrow, His Coy Mistress
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Had we but world enough, and time,
This coyness, lady, were no crime...
This coyness, lady, were no crime...
We would sit down and think which way
To walk, and pass our long love’s day;
Thou by the Indian Ganges’ side
Shouldst rubies find; I by the tide
Of Humber would complain. I would
Love you ten years before the Flood;
And you should, if you please, refuse
Till the conversion of the Jews.
To walk, and pass our long love’s day;
Thou by the Indian Ganges’ side
Shouldst rubies find; I by the tide
Of Humber would complain. I would
Love you ten years before the Flood;
And you should, if you please, refuse
Till the conversion of the Jews.
My vegetable love should grow
Vaster than empires, and more slow.
An hundred years should go to praise
Thine eyes, and on thy forehead gaze;
Two hundred to adore each breast,
But thirty thousand to the rest;
An age at least to every part,
And the last age should show your heart.
For, lady, you deserve this state,
Nor would I love at lower rate.
Vaster than empires, and more slow.
An hundred years should go to praise
Thine eyes, and on thy forehead gaze;
Two hundred to adore each breast,
But thirty thousand to the rest;
An age at least to every part,
And the last age should show your heart.
For, lady, you deserve this state,
Nor would I love at lower rate.
Baron de Meyer
Now therefore, while the youthful hue
Sits on thy skin like morning dew,
And while thy willing soul transpires
At every pore with instant fires,
Now let us sport us while we may;
And now, like am’rous birds of prey,
Rather at once our time devour,
Than languish in his slow-chapp’d power.
Let us roll all our strength, and all
Our sweetness, up into one ball;
And tear our pleasures with rough strife
Thorough the iron gates of life.
Thus, though we cannot make our sun
Stand still, yet we will make him run.
Sits on thy skin like morning dew,
And while thy willing soul transpires
At every pore with instant fires,
Now let us sport us while we may;
And now, like am’rous birds of prey,
Rather at once our time devour,
Than languish in his slow-chapp’d power.
Let us roll all our strength, and all
Our sweetness, up into one ball;
And tear our pleasures with rough strife
Thorough the iron gates of life.
Thus, though we cannot make our sun
Stand still, yet we will make him run.
Andrew Marvell 1681
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26 April 2011
the Victorias: making more Magic-and Legend
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What makes magic?
There is always a secret trick to magic-sometimes magic happens and it becomes legend-as is the case of the life of the furnishings for a room at Elsie de Wolfe's Villa Trianon.
Maybe it was more Alchemy than Magic.
an advertisement from the Frederick P Victoria & Son archives
featuring one of a pair of Italian Blackamoors groups from the Villa's Ballroom
It all began when Stephane Boudin of JANSEN made a suite of pieces for a Circus Ball at the Villa Trianon hosted by Elsie de Wolfe, Lady Mendl. On the night of July 2, 1938-with the Lady as ringmaster, the Circus Ball gave way to one of Elsie's many memorable rooms.
Oliver Messel painting of Elsie The Ringmaster
Elsie in center- between Sir George Clerk (at l) & her husband, Charles Mendl the night of the Ball
(images from the Campbell & Seebohm book Elsie de Wolfe A Decorative Life)
In order to accommodate the 700 guests for the Circus Ball an entire wing was added to the Villa Trianon. Boudin-the alchemist- created a dance pavilion with green and white stripe "disappearing" walls opening onto the Villa gardens, matching curtains inspired by the Regency- and that was just the backdrop for the special pieces in the room: banquettes, ottomans, circular seating, blackamoors, parasols, lanterns & trees.
scenes from the original Ballroom at Villa Trianon, above and below
(above images from Andre Ostier, the Elsie de Wolfe Foundation-and the Sparke book)
(The complexities of the relationship between decorator-Lady Mendl to decorator -JANSEN & Boudin, to hostess -Lady Mendl to patron with the funds- Paul-Louis Weiller are another part of the legend-told best in the definitive book ELSIE de WOLFE The Birth of Modern Interior Decoration by Penny Sparke.)
The next magician to possess the JANSEN CIRCUS pieces was the venerable house of Frederick P. Victoria & Son. Frederick Victoria-the alchemist- opened his legendary antique house in New York just a few years before the Circus Ball & today Frederick son's Tony-and Tony's son Freddie-carry on what began in 1933.
from their site:
Less well known was the fact that early on the company began to also offer full production capabilities to its top clients. These services included bespoke cabinetry, metalwork, finishing and upholstery to achieve the precise, and sometimes ambitious, results desired by its clients. After WWII, both the antique collections and the custom work of the company continued to earn a respected reputation. While clients included well respected families, artists and royalty, the company continued to focus on delivering the finest quality pieces and services, and for at least one client went so far as to keep the client’s actual name from its own workers.
A Conversation with Tony Victoria:
When did Frederic P. Victoria acquire the pieces from Elsie's legendary Villa Trianon pavilion? What were the circumstances of the acquisition?
TV:The house in Versailles was kept intact for years after she died by I believe a friend. Don’t remember his name. However in the early 80’s the Circus Room was offered for sale in one lot, if my memory serves, in Paris by Maitre Ader, I believe.
I heard about the sale, bought it and shipped all the elements back to my shop on 55th street.
images from Frederick P. Victoria & Son of archives of the Ballroom at their shop
showing the contents of the Ballroom after they were purchased at auction.
Everything minus the central planter,the planters on either side of the sofa & the “snail” stove behind the sofa, is from Elsie’s Villa Trianon room.
Did you purchase them with a particular client in mind or was it one of those –I just have to have those moments?
TV: I did not have a specific client in mind. I had heard Elsie’s name since my childhood. She would send these rather bizarre Christmas cards: a photo with her head resting like a sculpture on a small marble pedestal which itself was on usually a mantle piece with writing in white wishing my Father and Mother Merry Christmas. So when it came up, I was drawn to it. Besides, there were so many amusing elements that I felt I could find homes for all of them. And, I did.
Was it frenzied buying as I might imagine it would be today?
TV: I don’t remember too much about the auction itself. I don’t believe it was a “frenzied“ affair. Elsie de Wolfe’s name did not have the cachet in France then I don’t believe that is does, especially now, in America.
The room itself was quite expensive for the time, so after that lot I folded my own tent, as it were.
image from the Victoria archives
What was the condition of the pieces? What were the banquettes upholstered in? Was there a great deal of restoration to these and other pieces from the room?
TV: As I remember it all the upholstered pieces were upholstered in white canvas with green trim, a sort of signature combination for her. I did not recover anything, as for the most part everything was in presentable condition.
Freddie mentioned several things about the room in our conversation–the beautiful naturalistic lanterns and also mentioned of “Making that full-round tree for Michael Taylor . It has to have been one of my father's favorite projects.”
How did you do it?
Did you make the new one with the same materials-and what were they?
TV: As for making the tree for Michael, well one couldn’t say no to him, could one?
Plus he was buying a large chunk of the room, especially the trees which, while amusing, required a certain level of imagination, not to mention courage, to buy. As you know, he had both in depth.
As for favorite project, well I am not sure that I would use that term.
Certainly it was one of the craziest and most challenging of my career. I have always said that we, the firm, were ready to make anything for anyone. Little did I know that that would include a tree! The trunk was made in solid wood and somehow I was able to cajole my metal fabricator to make dozens of hand hammered leaves which he then affixed to metal stems. We then painted the leaves etc and then bent the stems and placed them we thought in more or less natural positions and groupings.
(Tony Victoria graciously answered these questions after a story I published on designer Michael Taylor here about the Garden Room he designed for Mrs. Stanley Dollar)
Frederick P Victoria & Son, Inc. their own blog here
Michael Taylor stories at little augury here
Elsie de Wolfe stories here
Frederick P Victoria & Son stories here
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25 April 2011
Silk Pirates: Abraham & Gustav Zumsteg
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Zumsteg on his craft:
By 1955 Abraham started cutting four metres of their most beautiful fabrics to preserve in their archives.Fastidiously kept , the archives hold silk samples, press cuttings, and photographs pasted in scrap books.
The books have the tactile quality that Abraham silks had- pages of the scrapbooks - silk samples paired with photographs of runway shows- stars like Catherine Deneuve in YSL and Audrey Hepburn in Givenchy bring the book's pages to life.
Art was his Muse & his passion for Art drove all of his textile designs. As well as being an artist-he collected. His art was displayed on the walls of his mother Hulda's famed Zurich restaurant-Kronenhalle.
The restaurant was a gathering place for designers and celebrity thanks to Zumsteg's client list-Pablo Picasso, Coco Chanel, Christian Dior, Richard Strauss, Igor Stravinsky, Plácido Domingo, Catherine Deneuve, and Yves Saint-Laurent. Decorated with paintings by Chagall, Matisse, Miro, Kandinsky, Bonnard and the list goes on.
Fine tuning was Zumsteg's secret-he was an absolute perfectionist. He would study a painting, travel to see exotic flowers just to nuance his designs-that is what set him apart. Wisely, with their concentration on design, Abraham did not produce their silks- discreetly outsourcing that aspect to other firm. One of its best-kept secrets was the Ratti Company in Como, Italy. Zumsteg travelled to Como almost every week to collaborate with owner Antonio Ratti. Their partnership thrived for more than thirty years.
of Gustav Zumsteg Donatelli Ratti-Antonio Ratti's daughter remembers:
"His gaze was penetrating, and his eyes were a brilliant shade of blue... He would cry when moved-when he came into contact with something that was exceptionally beautiful."
Zumsteg's collaborations with haute couture and his artistry elevated the business of textiles and the Abraham company as well. The archives serve as a validation of that and as a treasury for couture's greatest era.
"Times have irrevocably changed, The way we once worked hasn't the same sense. It's not meaningful today." YSL
more about Zumsteg here
swiss info here
Images from the books & Images from these sites
christies Zumsteg's art
kultur-online
soie pirate
couleurblind
photointern
fashion affair.com
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“ART IS A WELLSPRING OF INSPIRATION THAT NEVER RUNS DRY” Gustav Zumsteg
Sommer of 1971
This is one of the must have books for your library if you are serious about Textiles- Soie Pirate. The History of Abraham Ltd (volume 1) and Soie Pirate. The Fabric Designs of Abraham Ltd. (Volume 2) .The set of books covers the important Abraham Textile archives that were donated to the Swiss Museum by the Hilda and Gustav Zumsteg Foundation in 2007. The archives were exhibited at the Landesmuseum Zürich this winter 2011.
Abraham's bold graphics at the exhibition
MATISSE
from Gustav Zumsteg's Private Art Collection
Abraham Ltd. began with Jakob Abraham in 1878, but the story here is the dynamic Gustav Zumsteg-an integral part of the legendary company. Partnering with Ludwig Abraham in 1943, after serving as an apprentice, Gustav Zumsteg's innovations and artistry established the company's reputation as the premiere maker of luxe fabrics to the couture houses of Paris. His artistry is stamped in Zumsteg's painterly abstract designs, exotic florals and butterflies and graphic checks.
MIRO
from the Zumsteg Collection
from the Abraham Archives
from the moment Christian Dior launched his New Look-Zumsteg had Abraham right there on the pulse-supplying the designer with the sumptuous fabrics of the moment.
Dior 1955, Fotograf Forlano
Zumsteg was friend and collaborator to the haute couture designers-Balenciaga, Dior and Givenchy and an intimate of designer Yves Saint Laurent. Imagine juggling the desires of those legends and seeing to it that each had Abraham's best-and of course That Best did not overlap. He considered his friendship with Saint Laurent a "coup de foudre" with a shared love for books and music. The two phoned every Sunday to catch up and share stories as friends do-however there was a formality to their working relationship. Their closeness did intensify the design process and their collaborations were always inventive & original.
above images from the exhibition
Zumsteg on his craft:
"I feel instinctively what is happening in fashion; it's a process that almost never stops. My work and its realization in practice, the supervision of the designers, the contact with the dyers and weavers...are a logical continuation of this process, this instinct, this vigilance, this identification of myself with everything we call Fashion." (from the book quoted from Die Weltwoche,1955)
Pierre Balmain, Sommer 1952. Fotograf André Ostier-Heil
By the mid 1950's Zumsteg was crowned-"the eminence grise of haute couture" with Dior's collection from 1955 featuring 30 of the Abraham silks alone. Neue Zurcher Zeitung qualified this title with the following-" It is the quality of this Zurich silk that delights the great couturiers-a quality that makes the most subtly nuance & radiantly exquisite color schemes possible."
more from the Archives
from Yves Saint Laurent upon Zumsteg''s death:
"Gustav Zumsteg was my ally, my friend and my collaborator for some 45 years, I used his fabric in my most beautiful dresses. His talent was a never-ending source of inspiration. I owe him many unforgettable moments."
scene from the exhibition in Zurich of the archives
By 1955 Abraham started cutting four metres of their most beautiful fabrics to preserve in their archives.Fastidiously kept , the archives hold silk samples, press cuttings, and photographs pasted in scrap books.
The books have the tactile quality that Abraham silks had- pages of the scrapbooks - silk samples paired with photographs of runway shows- stars like Catherine Deneuve in YSL and Audrey Hepburn in Givenchy bring the book's pages to life.
“ART IS A WELLSPRING OF INSPIRATION THAT NEVER RUNS DRY”
G.Zumsteg
a BONNARD painting from Gustav Zumsteg's Collection
also from the Zumsteg Collection -
Jean Tinguely
Art was his Muse & his passion for Art drove all of his textile designs. As well as being an artist-he collected. His art was displayed on the walls of his mother Hulda's famed Zurich restaurant-Kronenhalle.
The restaurant was a gathering place for designers and celebrity thanks to Zumsteg's client list-Pablo Picasso, Coco Chanel, Christian Dior, Richard Strauss, Igor Stravinsky, Plácido Domingo, Catherine Deneuve, and Yves Saint-Laurent. Decorated with paintings by Chagall, Matisse, Miro, Kandinsky, Bonnard and the list goes on.
The restaurant reflects the elan & elegance of Gustav Zumsteg.
Chanel with company and Zumsteg dine at Kronehalle
Fine tuning was Zumsteg's secret-he was an absolute perfectionist. He would study a painting, travel to see exotic flowers just to nuance his designs-that is what set him apart. Wisely, with their concentration on design, Abraham did not produce their silks- discreetly outsourcing that aspect to other firm. One of its best-kept secrets was the Ratti Company in Como, Italy. Zumsteg travelled to Como almost every week to collaborate with owner Antonio Ratti. Their partnership thrived for more than thirty years.
of Gustav Zumsteg Donatelli Ratti-Antonio Ratti's daughter remembers:
"His gaze was penetrating, and his eyes were a brilliant shade of blue... He would cry when moved-when he came into contact with something that was exceptionally beautiful."
Gustav Zumsteg
a George ROUAULT from the Zumsteg Art Collection
BONNARD
Zumsteg's collaborations with haute couture and his artistry elevated the business of textiles and the Abraham company as well. The archives serve as a validation of that and as a treasury for couture's greatest era.
Yves Saint Laurent's collaborations with Zumsteg
Sommer 1994, Yves Saint Laurent
YSL 1971
"Times have irrevocably changed, The way we once worked hasn't the same sense. It's not meaningful today." YSL
more about Zumsteg here
swiss info here
Images from the books & Images from these sites
christies Zumsteg's art
kultur-online
soie pirate
couleurblind
photointern
fashion affair.com
.
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