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The day before I left New York I visited Rosemary Hallgarten at her home and studio in Westport, CT.
These stools remind me of a conversation I had years ago with someone who had a houseful of oak. I was a guest with some friends at her home and she was a delightful hostess full of vitality and humor. Being in her home, I wished I could paint out all the wood: moldings, cabinets, paneling and doors as it would have enlivened the space and the quality of light.
Painting out wood can be difficult to do, “Just take a deep breath and don’t think about it!” The designer said to the painter pointing to the mahogany trim. I’m not saying that one should never have wood. It can be appropriate when the wood is beautiful and it enhances the space and the quality of ones life there!
But wood for wood sake, is not always the best option. A great paint job can work wonders.
As an elementary example, the Swedish rococo stools 18th c. reupholstered in glazed linen from Evergreen Antiques, NY. Paint and gilt enhances the taper and curve of the leg making it ever more gracious and delightful to the eye.
It started out with me thinking of Florine Stettheimer. She sold nothing in her life time; had only one opening in 1916, and said that she set her prices high because she couldn’t stand the thought of one of her paintings ending up hanging in someones living room above their sofa. When a Williamsburg hipster offered me “10-15 dollars” for my dresser, I thought of Miss Stettheimer; smiled and said, “I’d rather take a hammer and break it up in tiny pieces and shove it in a black garbage bag rather than sell it to you for 10 or 15 dollars.” Well, I at least thought that when I answered, “Sorry, can’t do it!”
Beige silk box pleat shade with conical wood beaded trim. Obvious ornament, the cone in this case is the ornamental motif that appears at contrasting scales. The bead trims the edge of the shade and helps to create an overall rhythm of the piece. It has an obvious utility and it reminds me of what one might see in a European drawing room c.1900. Although in which case, it would more likely be a bullion fringe rather than a simple beaded tassel which would take it out of the area of ornament and into the area of decoration. Center 44, NYC
The c 1960 T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings bench’s precedent is the ancient Greek form of the saber leg. I think the R-G bench is more attune to a simplified deer hoof which can be seen in the last picture. R-G enhances the flare of the leg much more than than this regency influenced American chair.
Nelson Antiques on 9th Ave. next to Billy’s. Sweet display, here. I love the butterfly in the background (see cliffnotes; thoreau’s butterfly). Dogs in their little cage like display.
