29 September 2013

thanks LADY





Dear Claudia Alta, 

as I drove across the Triangle-through the Piedmont and to the Mountains of North Carolina last week-I thought about Birds-Flowers-and you. It was hard not to-you were popping up in my thoughts as often as- mile after mile of glorious wild flowers amassed the highway. 



At moments-I was even a bit distracted. 





The rows of Lady Bird Sun Flowers are dazzling- "Helianthus annuus" -heady.  Seed heads lolling, heavy-but not at sleep, rather soldiering their way along a ribbon of highyway.



As your yellow flock whirs by, your optimism-vision, and resilience is unmistakeable. 
For the seeds you planted-it is a brilliant legacy-
With gratitude, 
Yours, A fellow traveler


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26 September 2013

stage presence


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BEST Director...BEST Production...BEST Costumes...BEST Set Design in a magazine OCTOBER 2013 VOGUE


Grace Coddington styles Harold Pinter’s Betrayal -a tribute to the soon to be revived play on Broadway... 

the Players
model Karen Elson and actors Hugh Dancy and Michael Shannon


 Photographed by Annie Leibovitz


 
see the entire Production HERE



23 September 2013

as CY saw It

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the astronomical Fall  in the Northern Hemisphere began Sunday, September 22, 2013





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19 September 2013

Tar Baby vs. St. Sebastian

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 Michael Richards, sculpture in resin and fiberglass, at the NCMA

The artist as a Tuskegee Airman, with his body pierced by airplanes- Richards was referencing the Christian martyr St. Sebastian, 1991. 
Richards was in in his studio on the 92 floor of Tower One, World Trade Center, Sept 11, 2001.









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09 September 2013

wall to wall

COLOR


when today's POP of COLOR just isn't enough,
consider
Celebrating COLOR with CONFIDENCE-

like Mr. and Mrs. Gardner Cowles did in their New York apartment, c.1971-with the assistance from architect and designer Paul Rudolph-

where Picasso, Stella,Twombly, Dine, Lichtenstein and Warhol make up the COLOR-full canvases- so new and different in 1971.

Mrs. Gardner Cowles-Jan-in front of a pair of mirrored shutters reflecting the spacious Living Room.



 Just off the entry-a long gallery opens up with a Picasso on the wall-amongst other modern works of art.



In the Living Room modular pieces abound and are done up in a white matte silk-while an imposing Stella hangs on an aubergine wall-


and a Twombly dominates the stark fireplace wall.




The curved Library Wall is amassed with book shelves and a chocolate suede sofa is fitted into the curve. The floor is covered in a sable colored cowhide square rug. The room was designed to cater to Mr. Cowles'-founder and publisher of LOOK magazine, needs. This collection of photographs was shot by HORST for Vogue's October 1, 1971 issue- also the month LOOK ceased publication.




Dining Room walls go to a deep brown-with three glass tables surrounded by side chairs in a cinnabar lacquer-this room and Mrs. Cowles' rooms were decorated by Mark Hampton.



Parquet floors were painted white to create a modern sweep from top to bottom in Mrs. Cowles room-and soft petal peach walls warm the space filled with Warhols.



Jan Cowles' own Andy Warhol

image from here



Daughter-Virginia had a modern room with stark white walls-deep canary yellow shag carpet and pink accented tulip chairs and white ball chairs by Eero Saarinen.





A glamorous dressing area and bathroom for Mrs. Cowles is set off by a red robe from Jim Dines' Bathrobe series.


The apartment was the talk of the city that fall-as was the art the couple collected. Their collection continues to draw interest forty years later.
 Read more about the recent selling of Jan Cowles Collections
at Blouin Art  here & here
Warhol sells- here
and
Gardner Cowles- NYTimes here
Jan and Charles Cowles- at the Real Deal here and at Curbed here
take a tour of the 1971 apartment with designer William Pahlmann in the Toledo Blade here

all images are photographs by HORST, the original article in VOGUE was written by Valentine Lawford, and published in VOGUE October 1, 1971. images from my own original VOGUE.
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06 September 2013

04 September 2013

Gibbons' Repose

..

A visionary-Cedric Gibbons found the perfect place to kick back and relax.



Noted for his art direction and production design at MGM, Cedric designed the Academy's Oscar-and went on to win 11 of the gold statues himself. His work influenced the interiors of  theaters and houses- and the style he practiced in- Art Deco-was his personal choice too. He and his glamorous movie star wife- Delores del Rio created what might be the epitome of the style with an accent on Hollywood style during the 1930's.


I think Gibbons designed the perfect sofa-and I can't imagine why there isn't more Gibbons Glamor in rooms today-more depth, more style. The Gibbons sofa-something akin to a daybed perhaps- has the proportions of a twin mattress-and gets covered in some sumptuous fabric (suede maybe) with loads of pillows piled up for repose.



SET STYLE


Garbo perfect -and the perfect sofa.

Cedric Gibbons design for the apartment of John Gilbert in "A WOMAN OF AFFAIRS"




On the set of "Men Must Fight" Gibbon's sofa goes deep with a high back and tufting by the inch.





AT HOME-IN REPOSE


Cedric Gibbons & Dolores del Rio in their Santa Monica Art Deco house, that Gibbons and architect Douglas Honnold designed.



Today the house is pristinely preserved with Gibbon's oh so smart built in sofas.










INSPIRED


No doubt taking off on Gibbons, designer Anthony Cochran goes deep with his own corner built in.









go to see more of the 1930 Gibbons-del Rio House here
photographs of the house by Val Riolo and Jeff Elson





02 September 2013

that's LIFE:

September 3rd 1951


 Charles Beistegui's  Le Bal Oriental, at the Palazzo Labia.




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