Dedicated to the preservation of Long Island's 'gold coast' estates and other things old.
Monday, January 28, 2013
'Box Hill'
'Box Hill', the Stanford White estate designed by McKim, Mead & White from 1886-1906 in St. James. Click HERE and HERE for more on 'Box Hill'. Click HERE to see the estate on google earth and HERE on bing.
He really was the Tony Duquette of his day, wasn't he? Take a few interesting things, some humble materials and some glue, throw it all together, and make magic. These interiors are so good and imaginative they hurt.
DED- "The Tony Duquette of his day". That is a genius analogy. I wonder, though, if White thought that his raw materials were humble? He seems to have scoured the market for the treasuers of the world and while time may not have been kind to his scholarship, it certanly has been to his artistic genius.
I don't know if you saw my blog post three weeks back about the Bliss house on E 68th St, which incorporated materials purchased at the auction of Stanford White's townhouse (some of which are in turn now here in Maine). It was while researching that post that I had my 'Eureka' moment about White & Duquette (which I will be posting about in a couple of weeks).
White indeed sought out treasure, but he also made pastiches---of fragments, of found objects, making the whole into a rich presentation. If you look at the interiors at Box Hill, you will see many fine things---the mantel of antique fragments, the twisted columns---but you will also see bamboo matting used as wallcovering---its texture and golden color setting off the more glamorous objects. Likewise in the dining room---salvaged delft tiles, oriental porcelains chosen more for shape and color than provenance. In the living room, not pictured, a supporting steel beam is left exposed, painted a luscious French green---it's all very Duquette.
and of course, let's not forget that the degree of separation between White and Duquette---who, like White, planned parties, dressed his friends, etc.---is Elsie deWolfe.
in 1989 I had the great fortune to have a personal tour of Duquette's home in Hollywood, I dont recall, maybe it was BH..Anyway, up close and personal, it was mind blowing.
Zach - A great followup to Box Hill would be the a post on the house and memorial to White's brother-in-law, James Clinch Smith. Smith's story ties together White's infamous murder and the Titanic disaster. Clinch Smith's house - with alterations by White - is one of 2 Smith family homes owned by the Smithtown Historical Society. In 1906, Smith was seated at the same table with Harry K. Thaw just minutes before Thaw shot White in the face. When Smith saw his brother-in-law's shattered face he couldn't recognize it. He fled Madison Square Garden undetected and sailed to France to minimize scandal to the Smith family. At the murder trial in 1907it appeared that Thaw would get off on an insanity defense. Fearing an aquittal, Smith returned to the US and appeared as a surprise star witness for the prosecution. This led to a hung jury at the first trial. Five years later Smith went down on the Titanic. He was a hero who helped the crew with the collapsible life boats. The memorial to Smith and his death on the Titanic is in the sanctuary of St. James Church, adjoining the cemetary where Stanford White is buried. A photo of the memoiral would be of interest to many. Titanic Bill
7 comments:
He really was the Tony Duquette of his day, wasn't he? Take a few interesting things, some humble materials and some glue, throw it all together, and make magic. These interiors are so good and imaginative they hurt.
DED- "The Tony Duquette of his day". That is a genius analogy. I wonder, though, if White thought that his raw materials were humble? He seems to have scoured the market for the treasuers of the world and while time may not have been kind to his scholarship, it certanly has been to his artistic genius.
Magnus, I'll clarify:
I don't know if you saw my blog post three weeks back about the Bliss house on E 68th St, which incorporated materials purchased at the auction of Stanford White's townhouse (some of which are in turn now here in Maine). It was while researching that post that I had my 'Eureka' moment about White & Duquette (which I will be posting about in a couple of weeks).
White indeed sought out treasure, but he also made pastiches---of fragments, of found objects, making the whole into a rich presentation. If you look at the interiors at Box Hill, you will see many fine things---the mantel of antique fragments, the twisted columns---but you will also see bamboo matting used as wallcovering---its texture and golden color setting off the more glamorous objects. Likewise in the dining room---salvaged delft tiles, oriental porcelains chosen more for shape and color than provenance. In the living room, not pictured, a supporting steel beam is left exposed, painted a luscious French green---it's all very Duquette.
and of course, let's not forget that the degree of separation between White and Duquette---who, like White, planned parties, dressed his friends, etc.---is Elsie deWolfe.
in 1989 I had the great fortune to have a personal tour of Duquette's home in Hollywood, I dont recall, maybe it was BH..Anyway, up close and personal, it was mind blowing.
Jealous I am of that tour, Wooded Bliss. It's always fun to see gossamer sparkling
Zach - A great followup to Box Hill would be the a post on the house and memorial to White's brother-in-law, James Clinch Smith. Smith's story ties together White's infamous murder and the Titanic disaster. Clinch Smith's house - with alterations by White - is one of 2 Smith family homes owned by the Smithtown Historical Society. In 1906, Smith was seated at the same table with Harry K. Thaw just minutes before Thaw shot White in the face. When Smith saw his brother-in-law's shattered face he couldn't recognize it. He fled Madison Square Garden undetected and sailed to France to minimize scandal to the Smith family. At the murder trial in 1907it appeared that Thaw would get off on an insanity defense. Fearing an aquittal, Smith returned to the US and appeared as a surprise star witness for the prosecution. This led to a hung jury at the first trial. Five years later Smith went down on the Titanic. He was a hero who helped the crew with the collapsible life boats. The memorial to Smith and his death on the Titanic is in the sanctuary of St. James Church, adjoining the cemetary where Stanford White is buried. A photo of the memoiral would be of interest to many. Titanic Bill
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