just arrived:

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It's a delight to share the cover of  WALTER's debut issue with my Readers. The editor Liza Roberts  asked me to contribute to the magazine on a mostly monthly basis. While that is a delight-more so-is the beautifully revealed magazine Itself.
(Last night Raleigh's CAM was filled with WALTER well wishers celebrating the magazine launch.)
My dear friend Jesma Reynolds has put her infinite talents to handling the Art direction of the whole thing.

My story will have the recurring theme about Houses. Imagine!
Story of a House, it's called, and for my first outing I've shared one of my own projects. It's the story of a house but even more so- the story of a family I've grown to love. Luckily that is usually the case with my clients. Lucky Indeed.

I've read the thing from cover to cover and It's all Good.
If you don't know Raleigh -you'll find that Walter will remedy that and in case you wondered about the name?
Remember Sir Walter Raleigh? He swept the ladies off their feet and landed on the coast of North Carolina in Queen Elizabeth's name, Lost a Colony and ultimately Lost his head, but his bon vivant spirit is evident in the Raleigh today. Walter Raleigh was an aristocrat, writer, poet, soldier, courtier, spy, and explorer- Impressive.
Much of the magazine covers ALL That-and if not in its first issue-there's no doubt it's in the works!


You can find Story of a House here.

René Gruau-in Paris

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We don't always know what we'll get with an artist. Is his home the embodiment of his art?

the artist at work in his Paris apartment, 1951.

In the case of René Gruau there are no Surprises. His women would be quite at home.
Elegant, Soignee, Refined-All come to mind. Gruau was perhaps the illustrator of his times-and became inexorably linked to Christian Dior's 1947 debut collection of full skirts and cinched waists known as "The New Look." An exhibition at Somerset House in London a few years ago bears witness to the long partnering of Dior and Gruau.

A star emboldens his signature and his women mostly insinuate themselves across a white veneer of paper. That graphic white-black- red punctuate Gruau's drawings. A slash of Gruau's ink could represent Soignee, Mystery, Sex-or all three. That is the gift of Gruau's art. In a period where there were no Helen Gurley Brown's, Rene Gruau was selling-signaling that women were sensual and seductive.

The Paris apartment Gruau painted in was an ideal backdrop to his work. Can you imagine Gruau's women anywhere else?

the artist's atelier

his drawings- paintings hang amongst Classical objects, at far right, a masked bust, a recurring theme in his art

below, a Jean Desses, masked sphinx label, 1952.

The Salon and the Atelier flow into one another-French chairs, English tables, fresh flowers-blood red walls underlined by that all important Gruau white in fabrics, white moldings and statuary. True to his approach in Art-Gruau believed the Classic form, the elegant line. His home while quite beautiful- is the backdrop to his more alluring women. A Gruau women is confidently-nonchalantly on the edge-should we say? Why not?

Is it just a little reminiscent of Beaton's Reddish House?

Taking a line from the most elegant of all artists -René Gruau translates Lucien Lelong's Drapé a la Boldini evening gown, 1946.

A quintessentially English Dining Room with Chippendale chairs and couture colors-Shocking Pink & Malachite.

René Gruau illustration of Cristóbal Balenciaga & Marcel Rochas Evening Gowns, 1942.

The bedroom lined with paintings and dominated by a lady in black along with bookcases, comfortable chairs and a fur bed cover. Another masked lady-this time in a portrait.

the Gruau woman of Mystery

another view of the bedroom with its wall to wall paintings

the artist in 1986

René Gruau, son of an Italian count-and the aristocratic French Maria Gruau-Renato Zavagli Ricciardelli delle Caminate began drawing at the age of 14 to support himself and his mother & worked well into the 1990's. He died in 2004 at the age of 95.




footnotes-

all images of the Gruau apartment are from PLAISIR de FRANCE, Septembre 1951.

Gruau illustrations 1 for Dior. 2 for Dior,1949 & 3 Maggie Rouff, from 1947. Gruau Sphinx-4 Jean Desses, 1951 & 5 for Dior, 1950. 6 illustration for Lucien Lelong,1946. 7 &  8 Evening gowns, from the 1940's. 9 & 10,11,12, illustrations by Gruau.

original pieces from the artist are offered here

at Sea: with Nina Simone

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I would like a man now who is rich, and who can give me a boat - a sailboat. I want to own it and let him pay for it. 
My first love is the sea and water, not music. 
Music is second. Nina Simone

Edward Hopper, Rooms by the Sea, 1951.

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Surprise,

the darling   Lycoris radiata has arrived. Here long before I moved in. The flowers likely preceded the house. I like to think so. I don't have any red in the garden-but these-alongside the basement steps-appear every year around this time-though a bit early this year-and I love them. They are treasured.

 

 They tell a someone's story-in the garden.

their story, from The Southern Bulb Company-
In 1854 Commodore William Perry opened the ports to Japan aboard some of the U.S. Navy's first steam powered ships while under orders from President Millard Fillmore. Aboard one ship in the fleet was a certain Captain William Roberts, who had a keen eye for horticultural treasures. While in Japan, Captain Roberts acquired three bulbs of a plant with red spidery type blooms. His niece would later described the bulbs as being, "in such a dry condition that they did not show signs of life until the War between the States." These three bulbs survived and eventually thrived in their new North Carolina home before spreading across the Southern U.S.(text linked)

Vertes Children

you didn't know?

 all the magical drawings of Vertes, and you hadn't seen his children?

baby Winston, age 1

 toddler Cocteau, age 2

 dreamer Schiap, age 7

the master in repose, Picasso, age 8

 & my favorite, playing dress up:

Edward and Wallis, age 11

dressing down?

Gypsy Rose Lee, age 4

Exhibited in 1951-Stanley Marcus bought the lot of Marcel Vertes' fanciful imaginings of famous personalities of the day for his Dallas store, Neiman Marcus.  the story of Marcus' purchase here

Bianchi's softly tinted walls awash in Vertes Flesh Pink

& her collection of Vertes

and for real Vertes, these alas, are just postcards Neiman Marcus produced- go see Penelope Bianchi's collection here and read her personal remembrances of growing up with Vertes-his paintings, that is. I always love to get comments from Penelope, her enthusiasm is infectious and she enriches us all at her own blog-linked just above.

EDITH

said-

Whatever the uses of a room, it should be a world unto itself. 

 photograph by Victoria Thorne

(go to Vogue.com to see their take on The Custom of the Country and Edith Wharton here)

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at Thomas Jayne, House of Details

This week I am writing a post for Thomas Jayne, designer and author, at his blog Decoration-Ancient and Modern. His House of Details series examines a noteworthy house in depth. I'm delighted to feature a pristine historic home just a hop-skip- and a jump away from me called AYR MOUNT.

I've mentioned the house before-and it was easy to select this incredible house when asked to contribute a guest post at Decoration-Ancient and Modern.

photograph of the front porch at Ayr Mount

the post is here
Thomas has a new book out in the fall. His book, The Finest Rooms in America-is just one of the best written in recent years. Long overdue, it is a book that celebrates the most beautiful-the most opulent, the most elegant-and the most timeless rooms in the country.

Combining history & design-what could be better?
Nothing-as far as I'm concerned.
In fact-the book was another reason for my choice of AYR MOUNT. If you don't already have a copy-get one, then you'll be caught up with American Decoration coming in the fall.


All the details are at Thomas' blog-here
the Classical American Homes Preservation site here
the Jayne Design Studio site here

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Easy-

on the eyes. 

Vladimir Kagan’s Erica chaise in Madeline Weinrib's lavender Edgerton Jacquard

At the moment, Sebastian & Barquet’s Southampton gallery is exhibiting Madeline Weinrib's collaborations with the finest mid-century furniture designers.

Madeline Weinrib makes it look Easy-but there is an Art to such a marriage as this. Her often exotic textiles-and the sinuous lines of a sculpted piece like Kagan's chaise are paired right on the edge-a fine line.
In this case it's the perfect line-the perfect marriage.

Madeline is an Artist-in the truest sense of the word, but while visiting Madeline in her studio last fall, I observed an editor along with her artistry. It shows. Madeline said “I wanted to pay tribute to the original designs,while simultaneously introducing them to the viewer in a way they’ve never experienced the pieces before.”

Edgerton jacquard caught my eye on that visit to the studio. Its soft hand- its color (of course) - its border-seen winding  around the edge of the Erica chaise.

while I saw the Edgerton jacquard with Ease here-

Madame Récamier, Jacques David

my vision pales in comparison.

see what I mean.

While lovely, its not Erica.

If you're there.
Go.
Sebastian & Barquet



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at sea: Vita Sackville-West

 There are no signposts in the sea. Vita Sackville-West 

 Jean Droit, 1929 Nude Bathing Beauty

 

ALL at Sea:

with Joaquín Sorolla

All loose things seem to drift down to the sea, and so did I.- Louis L'Amour 

 

But let there be spaces in your togetherness and let the winds of the heavens dance between you. 

Love one another but make not a bond of love: 

let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls. -Kahil Gibran
 

The sea, the great unifier, is man's only hope. 
Now, as never before, the old phrase has a literal meaning: we are all in the same boat. -Jacques Yves Cousteau

The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever. Jacques Yves Cousteau 
 

There is one knows not what sweet mystery about this sea, whose gently awful stirrings seem to speak of some hidden soul beneath.  Herman Melville

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back

&
never far from mine design mind, nor should it be from yours, SISTER.

I do read lots,
& lots of books. I do read books again-
& again. One I am reading at the moment I devoured in 2000
& now in it's about to be released in paperback SISTER PARISH, The Life of the Legendary American Interior Designer.

Did she have another name?
Yes, but None so noted and used as SISTER, (it's all in the book), & perhaps it is SISTER who was the most noted interior designer of her day.
Her work has staying power-today.

 One of the many incarnations of Sister Parish's New York apartment, my favorite I think.

Any glossy today would die to get this on it pages-perfectly of the moment, yet timeless, SISTER's touch.

Words like, Classic, Traditional, American, Tasteful-ah-that's a word that needs to be reinstated into today's design lexicon and this new edition should go far to put SISTER & Taste back.

SISTER &Yummy
by Aaron Shikler

I'm not one for re-reading the mystery novels I clip through-or the thrillers-but the Classics, Yes.
This is a Classic- SISTER herself, the book, the decorating-all of it.Written by Apple Parish Bartlett (boy did Apple chose her husband well) and Apple's daughter and principal at Sister Parish Design, Susan Bartlett Crater, the book is the full story of Sister's life of privilege and her ascendance.

Though I have the 1st edition-the new book's cover alone is worth the buy. It's illustrated by Mita Corsini Bland and jauntily captures the best pieces from Sister's repertoire of  much loved and well placed objet d'art & furniture.


fortunately I received an advanced copy of the book, and recommend it, Highly, regardless. you can get yours at Vendome or your favorite bookseller starting in September. there is an excerpt from the book at Vendome so you can take a peek.


LINKS

Vendome here
Mita Corsini Bland here
do a warm up at the Devoted Classicist on Sister Parish here 

Sister Parish Design here

& Zetta's next collar here at Sister's online shop- how could any dog resist Burmese blue? 
not to mention the Sister dustpan, come on! dustpans for everyone this Christmas!








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