C'est Inspiré is simply that - what is inspiring. Where the words end, images continue to speak. Seeing all that is around us, we seek some aspect of something that is life enhancing... something that you would like to be reminded of - to revisit. Something to capture and bring into your world, not leave behind... . That is why I take a camera everywhere; have spent countless hours organizing images in scrapbooks and pouring over them later to revisit the place, the people, the memory.
So, C'est Inspiré may be a single photo - or it may be 50, it may mean one thing to me, another to you - the meaning isn't important. Did it inspire? Did it make you smile? Did it bring back a pleasant memory? One or all of the above will do.
During a brief period of his life, the legendary art historian Bernard Berenson kept diaries where he wrote about how to see - and what he saw. These diaries were published under the title The Passionate Sightseer and edited by Raymund Mortimer.
Anyone, anywhere, anytime can be a passionate sightseer - just look.
Credited by Diana Vreeland with “banishing Victorian gloom,” Elsie de Wolfe made a name for herself as a pre-eminent interior designer in the early 1900′s with some of America’s most famous families as clients. Hilariously enigmatic, Elsie was famous for her morning exercises, her fresh, feminine and often outlandish sense of beauty, and her surprising marriage to Sir Charles Mendl following a lengthy “Boston marriage” to heiress and New York theatrical agent, Miss Elizabeth Marbury. Elsie’s motto, “Never complain, Never explain,” later appeared embroidered on pillows, but made her no less desirable of a dinner guest, nor subject of gossip.
The prolific life of Elsie de Wolfe changed more than just the dark interiors of the late nineteenth century. She was a trailblazer and an inspiration to women. Her homes in Beverly Hills, New York, Paris and Versailles were fantastic, and well published even at the time, but it was her own richness of charm that made them so remarkable. Among her circle were many of the creative personalities whose legacies shaped the 20th Century.
Today marks 60 years since her death. Once again, we celebrate Elsie.
July 12, 2010
The current exhibition at the Pierpont Morgan Library (running from April 2nd to August 1st, 2010) is the first time original drawings by Palladio have been exhibited in New York and the first time in the United States since 1982. The exhibition of 33 original drawings clearly illustrates not only how Palladio translated the architecture of antiquity into his own language, but how his influence traveled and was adopted in England and the United States. Charles Hind, exhibit curator says, Palladio “combined theory and practice in publications and buildings as no other Renaissance architect.”
The villas of the Veneto built by Palladio are based on the principles of simplicity and proportion. A simple notion, it might seem, but Palladio proceeded in making architecture more democratic.
It would follow that Thomas Jefferson owned several editions of Palladio’s I Quattro Libri dell’ Architecttura (published in 1570), what he often referred to as “the Bible.”
Many of Palladio’s drawings were acquired by Inigo Jones and carefully studied by him. Jones was a stage designer until that time, and then became England’s first architect and responsible for Anglo-Palladianism. Lord Burlington, another Palladian enthusiast, brought more original drawings into England. His property passed to his daughter and heiress Charlotte and into the family of the Dukes of Devonshire. In 1894, the drawings were given to RIBA – the Royal Institute of British Architects, whose Trust is organizing this exhibition in association with the Centro Internazionale di Studi di Architecttura de Andrea Palladio, in Vicenza, Italy.
This exhibition illustrates how Palladio’s design principles of proportion, harmony and beauty made the journey from Vicenza to North America: from Colonial times to the current day, through southern domestic architecture, to Jefferson’s design for the White House and the Virginia State capital. Models for the exhibitions were made by Timothy Richards and examples of his work can be purchased in the Morgan Library book shop, a must stop on the way out.
“The Villas of Palladio also mark an important moment in the history of the home, the beginning of domestic architecture – that is, the beginning of architects’ interest in the private house.” Witold Rybczynski. (The Perfect House, Scribner 2003.)
The weekend after visiting the exhibition, I had a business trip to Virginia which included Monticello. Much more on that in a story in June… Before leaving the area I went to visit the ruins at Barboursville; Jefferson’s adaptation of Villa Barbaro in Treviso was the inspiration for Governor Barbour’s mansion. Tragically, on Christmas day 1884 the house burned to the ground. Its brick ruins currently protected by the owners, the Zonin family, of
Barboursville Vineyards.
Jefferson’s design embodied a number of his renowned signatures — the integration of the structure into an elevated knoll, the dome (not erected), and an octagonal room at the focal point of the wings of the house. Here, the octagon forms a core for the three stories of the house; from the main level it rises as one room, 2 stories high. The grandeur of this room, projecting from the south facade, lends power and elegance to the house.
Four ionic columns announce the porticos front and rear, flanked by symmetrical wings revealing time worn brick and an octagon standing roofless. Ruins have a haunting romantic quality. They are also intellectually puzzling as you attempt to reconstruct the house in your head, what was the floor plan, where was the staircase, what was the view from the porticos and on…
Photos of the ruins are on C’est Inspiré.
Websites and Info
The Morgan Library & Museum
Palladio and His Legacy: A Transatlantic Journey
225 Madison Avenue at 36th Street
New York, NY 10016
Ph. 212-685-0008
Exhibition runs April 2 through August 1, 2010.
Timothy Richards
Model maker
Different types of models and each can be adapted to the customers’ needs. It is possible to produce a small limited edition run of models or one piece. Models may vary in size between six inches high to three foot high. Costs will vary depending on size, complexity and the number to be made.
Models available for purchase in the Morgan gift shop.
Barboursville Vineyards
17655 Winery Rd.
Barboursville, VA 22923
Winery and Visitors center
Ph. 540-832-3824
M-Sat 10:00am-5:00pm
Sun 11:00am-5:00pm
Books
Palladio and his Legacy: A Transatlantic Journey, Editors Charles Hind and Irena Murray (Available at the Morgan Library and Museum.)
Palladio, by Giovanni Giaconi
The Four Books of Architecture, by Andrea Palladio
Palladio Beltramini, by Howard Guido and Burns
Palladian Style, by Steven Parissien
The Perfect House, by Witold Rybczynski
May 14, 2010
As part of its 20th anniversary celebration, Traditional Home magazine has named the top 20 design icons of our time, and included Charlotte among them. While we can only agree with their sound judgment, we are pleased to find ourselves in such esteemed company!
This is something to aspire to, encouraging young designers to stay the course.
The Complete List:
Ralph Lauren
Barbara Barry
Margaret McCurry
Mario Buatta
Charlotte Moss
Nina Campbell
Oscar de la Renta
Dan Carithers
John Saladino
Clodagh
Michael S. Smith
William Diamond & Anthony Baratta
Robert Stern
Jamie Drake
Kelly Wearstler
David Easton
Bunny Williams
Mariette Himes Gomez
Vicente Wolf
Albert Hadley
***
More information is available on the Traditional Home website.
August 5, 2009
I am always glad to see a fresh take on something ordinary, especially when under my tutelage! The dorm room of my decorating protégé, Max Sinsteden, was just featured in New York Magazine – and it is anything but the usual dorm room. With all the trappings of a gentleman bachelor’s apartment, Max has proven that one need not lower their standards, no matter what their square footage might be. Bravo, Max! See below for some of his decorating tips….
MAX’S TIPS FOR DECORATING SMALL SPACES…
1. Small should not be underrated!
2. For someone like me, who is immaculate but not necessarily tidy, a small space is the perfect answer! Everything has its place – making it easy to whisk away the day’s mess in five minutes.
3. STUDIO – By its very meaning, it begs for someone with creative juices to make something of it quickly and instinctively, without a lot of planning. It’s an opportunity to try something you might not attempt on a gigantic scale! Practice, practice, practice.
4. One lives in a dorm room, usually, for five months to a year. Show up with the basics!
- One can of paint, in a color you love (Thanks, Charlotte!).
- A carpet is essential. I had to cover the linoleum floor!
- Some art you like. In my case some great vintage prints, and one enormous painting by my friend Stephanie.
5. A college town thrift shop can be all you need! I bought a great chest of drawers, a mirror, and fabulous gilt frame (for my bulletin board).
6. Call in some favors. Not everyone has access to Charlotte’s leftover tid-bits, but surely you have a friend who can sew! My friend Margaret’s mother, upholsterer M.L. Glover, made the tartan cloth for me and the whole room came together!
LESSONS I HAVE LEARNED…
- Be bold.
- Observe everything.
- Find what you love, and do it ithe best you can.
- Multitasking is key.
- Edit, edit, edit.
- Learn to appreciate “decorating serendipity,” not everything is planned!
- Spontaneity is a good thing.
- Be true to yourself.
THE TWO GREATEST THINGS I HAVE LEARNED FROM CHARLOTTE MOSS…
- Appreciate everything and everyone around you.
- Realize and appreciate that inspiration is everywhere.
May 29, 2009
Fabric designer and stylemaker Michael Devine produces some of the best printed linen designs on the market, available through John Rosselli here in New York. Recently I received a swatch in the mail, with a note from Michael informing me that he had named a print ‘Charlotte.’ Well, flattery aside, a gorgeous pattern cannot be denied – it is simply DEVINE!
