Arabella Worsham's Gilded Age Dressing Room

A detail of the vanity cabinet door
by George Alfred Schastey
for Arabella Worsham's Dressing Room.
Photo: Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The Devoted Classicist is a long-time fan of museum period rooms.  For a time, these installations had fallen out of favor due to their cost and space required for a successful display.  But it is heartening to a Traditionalist to see a major institution step forward with a new installation with artifacts that have languished in storage for years:  The Worsham-Rockefeller Dressing Room at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.


A model of the Worsham residence
4 West 54th Street, New York City.
Photo by John J. Tackett for
The Devoted Classicist blog.

Commissioned by Arabella Worsham (later Huntington) as part of a comprehensive interior renovation of an existing brownstone townhouse, the room is a rare surviving Gilded Age commission from now-little known cabinetmaker/decorator George A. Shastey in 1881.  The room comes from Worsham's house at 4 West 54th Street, a property that also included the two flanking lots; the site is now the garden of the Museum of Modern Art.


Alexandre Cabanel's 1882 portrait of
Arabella Worsham, collection of
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.
Photo by John J. Tackett for
The Devoted Classicist.

Arabella "Belle" Worsham's background is a bit sketchy and possibly 'sanitized' to say the least.  Born Arabella Duvall Yarrington in Union Springs, Alabama, around 1850, she grew up in Richmond, Virginia, a tough but bustling town during the Civil War years.  Her widowed mother owned a boarding house and Arabella was said to have married John Archer Worsham when she was 18 or 19 and soon widowed before having a son.  But married or not, J.A.Worsham was already married and very much alive, owning a gambling card parlor in Richmond frequented by Collis B. Huntington leading up to his 1869 purchase of the eastern leg of his railroad empire which stretched coast to coast.  Although not a drinker or smoker, Huntington loved to gamble and he had an eye for young women although he was married with a wife living on Park Avenue at 38th Street, New York.  Soon Arabella, her son, several siblings and her mother were installed in Manhattan where they bought several properties financed by Huntington but always in Arabella's name, leading up to the purchase of this house.


The Worsham-Rockefeller Dressing Room.
Photo: Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Arabella had the house gutted to the exterior shell and set about having luxurious interiors installed in the latest taste, with expense not being an issue.  The house was one of the first private residences to have a passenger elevator, just one of many innovations for the time.


The Worsham-Rockefeller Dressing Room.
Photo: Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The Dressing Room is a high-style example of Aestheticism, a combination of European Renaissance, Islamic, Japanese and Modern styles mixed to create a luxurious private environment for the lady of the house. Satinwood and amaranth (or dark purpleheart) are used to create intricate marquetry in geometric patterns and motifs such as sewing implements and hairdressing tools as well as jewelry plus carved detailing with cherub heads, swags and garlands.


The Worsham-Rockefeller Dressing Room.
Photo: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

A wide, marble-topped lavatory is placed beneath a massive mirror and a secondary gaslight fixture.  The upper walls are covered in teal wallpaper stenciled in gold and silver quatrefoils that shimmer in the subtle lighting.


Built-in fittings in the Worsham-Rockefeller
Dressing Room as installed at
The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Photo by John J. Tackett for
The Devoted Classicist.

No detail was left without consideration.  Even the ceiling had elaborately planned decoration.  The silver toiletry set includes combs, hand mirrors, scissors, a needle case and a darning egg.  All the elements add up to create a single Gesamtkunstwerk, a total work of art.


The ceiling of the Worsham-Rockefeller Dressing Room
as installed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Photo by John J. Tackett for The Devoted Classicist.

Huntington's wife Elizabeth died in 1889 after a long bout with cancer, allowing Huntington to marry Belle and adopt her son Archer; the ceremony was performed in the home with Reverend Henry Ward Beecher, brother of Harriet Beecher Stowe, officiating.  They moved into Huntington's Park Avenue house (and then building a house in 1893 at Fifth Avenue and 57th Street on the site now occupied by Tiffany & Company) and the house was sold fully furnished to John D. and Laura Spelman Rockefeller.  The furnishings and decorations were kept intact until his death in 1937 when parts were distributed to museums before being demolished in 1938.  A Moorish-style Smoking Room was given to the Brooklyn Museum and this Dressing Room and adjacent (Master) Bedroom were given to the Museum of the City of New York.  After it became clear that the latter could no longer display the rooms, the bedroom was given to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and this dressing room was given to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Anabella Worsham's toilette set
as displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Photo by John J. Tackett for The Devoted Classicist.

After Collis Huntington's death, Belle inherited one-third of his estate, $150 million (about $3.1 billion today) making her one of the wealthiest women in the country.  Never really part of New York Society, she bought a 14 bedroom house in Paris that underwent a complete renovation and became even more interesting in collecting art.  Thirteen years later, she married her late husband's nephew, Henry E. Huntington, who had built a lavish estate in San Marino, California, some say to woo her.  But she did not care for the area and never spent more than a month there for the rest of her life.  That estate is now the Huntington Library, Art Collection and Botanical Gardens.  Arabella Worsham Huntington is buried in the San Marino garden in a classical mausoleum designed by architect John Russell Pope.

Manhattan Double Wide

128 East 73rd Street, NYC, began as two houses
dating from the 1880s faced in brownstone.
Architect A. Wallace McCrae put them together
in a 1928 Georgian Revival renovation.
Photo: Brown Harris Stevens.

While most of the clients of John Tackett Design have no interest in having their homes published, on-line real estate listings ultimately get around those objections.  In this case, the death of the gentleman soon after the house was complete and now the lady just last November has led to a former architectural project coming on the market complete with photos and floor plans.

More accurately, the lowest level would be the Cellar; it was further
excavated, the elevator service extended, and fitted for archival storage.
The level below the sidewalk would be the Basement; the clients were
not interested in the garden accessed through the butler's room.
Image: Brown Harris Stevens.

This was one of my first commissions after opening my own office.  The planning and construction for renovation was undertaken from 1987 to 1989 with help from my former Parish-Hadley colleague Paul Engel and Hannington Engineering Consultants.  The general contractor was Crawford Construction, one of the best builders in Manhattan at the time for high-end residential renovations. 


The Entrance Hall received a new marble floor but the
wall treatment of applied moldings was extant.
Photo: Realtor.

The interior designer was hired after construction was already underway, but some revisions were made to the drawings to meet the designer's demands.  Otherwise, the designer had complete carte blanche for the furnishings in terms of both concept and budget with the results as shown here.


The 30 ft wide Living Room is where the unusual
width of the townhouse can be fully appreciated.
The paneling dated from the 1928 renovation but
the lighting and climate control systems were new.
Photo: Brown Harris Stevens.

The clients and their two young sons brought only their clothes, their art, and a few recently acquired antiques from their previous residence, a contemporary penthouse that had been decorated by John Saladino.


The niches flanking the chimney had shaped shelves for display
that were removed to realize the designer's scheme.
The closed door opens to the Pantry.
Photo: Brown Harris Stevens.

The house is located on a particularly attractive block and had last been decorated by my former employer, Albert Hadley of Parish-Hadley.  The owners sold only because the new wife wanted a "fresh start" at a new address.  (A detail of their River House apartment appeared on the dust jacket of PARISH-HADLEY: SIXTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DESIGN, by the way).


The Pantry, between the Living Room and the Dining Room,
was fitted as a full kitchen with custom mahogany cabinets.
A rolling library ladder allows access to the upper
cabinets. A secondary stair, just out of view on the left,
allows direct access to a full kitchen on the Basement level.
Photo: Realtor.

Much of my design work focused on bringing the systems of the house up to date and the auxiliary spaces as the architectural design of the primary rooms remained unaltered.

The Dining Room with marble bolection chimneypiece
and paneling from the 1928 renovation.
Not seen are a pair of angled closets that, along with
the angled windows, give the room an unusual plan
for a townhouse.  The floor was supplied by the
interior designer.
Photo: Realtor.

The Stair Hall gives an idea of the limitations of the original house.  Because of the width, there would have been only a primary room at the front and back with the stairs in between.


The Stair Hall on the Parlor Floor.
The clients' collection of bronze sculpture by Aristide Maillol
required planning for structural support in the old timber structure.
A crane brought in the sculpture before the painting, etc., was
complete and sat in place inside its crate.
Photo: Brown Harris Stevens.

Although it may be difficult to determine in this photo, the Master Bedroom had been handsomely detailed in a revival of the Louis XVI style during the 1928 renovation and a wide opening breached the party wall of what had been the two separate houses.

The Master Bedroom with a sitting and sleeping area.
Photo: Brown Harris Stevens.

The Master Dressing Room was an existing space that was updated with new closets as mirror glazed French doors.


The Master Dressing Room millwork dates from the
late 1980s renovation.
Photo: Brown Harris Stevens.

The Master Bathroom was also an existing space with a pair of gilded mahogany lavatories supplied by the interior designer who also provided the black and white marble floor.  (Despite my warning that the effect would be optical, the installation went ahead; it was immediately covered with a rug).


Master Bathroom with the bathtub flanked by a
water closet on the left and a shower stall (beyond the
shirred curtained door) on the right.
Photo: Realtor.

The Library on the same floor as the Master Suite serves as a Family Room.  The Tudor Revival oak paneling dates from the 1928 renovation.


With the exception of the television, the Library retains the
late 1980s décor.
Photo:  Realtor.

The wonderful frosted glass lens over the skylight, a detail that I have repeated over the years, was a feature dating from the 1928 renovation.  Exterior flood lights were added on the roof so that it becomes a recessed light fixture in the evening.


The top floor Stair Hall.
Photo: Realtor.

The top floor was reserved for use by the sons.  The front had been a suite that was reconfigured into two bedrooms, both with mahogany trim and inset panels upholstered in fabric.


The front, west bedroom on the top floor.
Photo; Realtor.

The boys' bathroom was also mahogany.  In the photo, the French door on the left opens to a closet and the one on the right opens to reveal the shower stall. 


The boys shared this bathroom on the top floor,
benefitting from the natural light of the skylight.
Photo: Realtor.

Not shown in photos, but seen in the plan was a playroom/sitting room created for the boys.  A structural steel beam was hoisted up by a crane to allow a wide doorway in the central structural wall.  French doors that are hinged to fold back on each other was devised to give privacy to the grandmother to sleep over on occasion in the space to the east.


The pin marks the property in this aerial view to the south.
Although the garden faces south, the tall apartment buildings
on the next street block the sunlight.
Image:  MapQuest.

The house is offered for sale at $42 million by the agent who specializes in the best Manhattan listings, Paula Del Nunzio, of Brown Harris Stevens.  Additional photos were provided by the listing at Realtor.com.  In some cases, the images are distorted, sometimes compressed or stretched to fit the real estate company's template, so try to take that into account when the proportions seem off.  And it was intentional that the interior designer's name does not appear in this blog.  See the regular web version of The Devoted Classicist, if this is being read in an alternate format, to scan the Labels categories for posts on other Manhattan townhouses.

Mellon-White Townhouse, Another Manhattan Landmark For Sale

The Mellon-White townhouse
entrance from the sidewalk
125 East 70th Street
as it appeared in 2013.
Photo:  Sotheby's International Realty.

The most popular of all the posts of The Devoted Classicist is a selection of fabulous New York City private residences titled Landmark Manhattan Townhouses For Sale.  This post is a sequel, one might say, presenting one of the most remarkable townhouses for sale, highly suitable for anyone wanting "a little place in the city."


The Mellon-White townhouse
at 125 East 70th Street
as it appeared in 2013.
Photo:  Sotheby's International Realty.

Long one of this writer's favorite townhouses, 125 East 70th Street, is the dream home for the most discerning traditionalist city dweller.  Completed in 1966 for the philanthropist, art collector and banking heir Paul Mellon and his second wife, Rachel "Bunny" Lambert Mellon, a noted gardener and philanthropist in her own right, still alive at this writing at age 103, the French style townhouse was an instant landmark.  It was their pied a terre in Manhattan, their main residence being a 4,000 acre estate in Upperville, Virginia where Mrs. Mellon still lives (to be featured in a future post).  Architect H. Page Cross designed the house that replaced two typical late 19th-century brownstones.  It was an usual project at the time when affluent families were relocating to the fashionable suburbs.  "Storm" shutters were concealed within the thickness of the exterior walls, pulling down inside the coquina stone trim around the French doors and casement windows;  a steel plate can automatically slide to block the front door to make it difficult to penetrate the urban fortress.


The Basement, Ground Floor and Second Floor
Plans as they appear in the 2013 real estate
offering by Sotheby's International Realty.

One of the distinctive features is the wall along the sidewalk that creates a south-facing garden at the entrance, as seen in the first image.  A second gate is the service entrance, originally tended by a concierge that also served as a security guard (with quarters marked Guest/Staff Bedroom on the plan).


View to the Entrance Foyer
of the Mellon-White townhouse
as it appeared in 2013.
Photo:  World of Interiors.

The scale and architectural detailing, along with the original decoration, is exceptional, providing the "quiet quality" that the Mellons desired.  For example, that the wood floors are painted to resemble stone is an artistic statement rather than a budget compromise.


The lattice covered vestibule leading to
the rear garden, as it appeared in 2013.
Photo:  Private Collection.

A more distant view to the Entrance Foyer,
from a lattice covered vestibule.
The cove lighting is not illuminated.
Photo:  World of Interiors.
 

Treillage is used as an effective wallcovering to establish a mood, here as a transition to the rear garden.  Lattice also currently covers some of the walls in the basement.


A Powder Room on the Ground Floor
retains its original painted fretwork decoration.
Photo:  World of Interiors.



The Library at 125 E 70th Street
as it appeared in 2013.
Photo:  Sotheby's International Realty.

What might appear to be a peculiar detail today was originally intended as a special consideration to show the Mellons' magnificent art collection to full advantage, but in an understated way seldom seen in new residential installations now.  Note the absence of recessed spotlights or other specialty art lighting, for example. The lighted bookcases were added by the current owners.


The rear garden of the Mellon-White
townhouse in 2013.
The lily pool was added by the current owners.
Photo:  Sotheby's International Realty.

The wide rear garden is an unusual treat in Manhattan.  The Library, Drawing Room, and His Bedroom are among the rooms that benefit from the outdoor space.


The Main Staircase at 125 E 70th Street
as it appears in 2013.
Photo:  World of Interiors.

According to the November, 2013, issue of World of Interiors, the wrought iron stair balustrade of the main staircase was copied from a Jack Lemmon film.  Four Bonnard paintings once hung on the walls now covered with toile de jouy.


The Kitchen/Breakfast Room in 2013.
Photo:  Sotheby's International Realty.

The whole second floor was originally dedicated to service and staff areas.  This floor appears to have been completely renovated by the current owners, making it more family-friendly.


The Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth
Floor Plans as they appear in the 2013
offering by Sotheby's International Realty.

The Third Floor is luxuriously devoted to two principal rooms and a large south-facing terrace.


The Third Floor Gallery in 2013.
Photo: Sotheby's International Realty.

From the stairs or the elevator, when arriving at the Third Floor, one first enters an enchanting Gallery. acting as an orienting space before entering the Drawing Room, Terrace or anteroom to the Dining Room.  The wood floor painted as faux marbre is exceptional as are the walls painted as trompe l'oeil boiserie.  Note the frieze of tassels painted below the cornice.


The Drawing Room of 125 E 70th Street
as it appeared in 2013.
Photo: Sotheby's International Realty.

The Drawing Room overlooks the rear garden to the north and the Terrace with the Gallery seen on the right in the photo above.  Although the original decoration was done in consultation with legendary designer John Fowler of Colefax and Fowler, many Devoted Readers will know that Fowler never visited the United States.  Instead, the Mellons sent painters Paul Leonard and William Strom to London for two weeks of training, the magazine article states, and the decorating was carried out by mail.  Although the yellow walls of the Drawing Room are an homage to Nancy Lancaster's famous room at 22 Avery Row, the glazed walls as they appear here were done as specified by the current owners, the article also says.  A long list of decorators had a hand in the designs for the Mellons over the years with the last being Bruce Budd.  (Some might object that the townhouse lacks one critical amenity, a garage.  This was not really a problem for the Mellons who owned a handsome old limestone-fronted carriage house nearby that had the capacity for 12 cars.  Budd had a chic apartment above, making him available for decorating consultation as needed.  Designed by architect C.P.H. Gilbert, the East 70th Street carriage house sold for $13.5 in 2009;  read more about it here).


The wood floor in the Anteroom
of the Mellon-White townhouse
at 125 East 70th Street in 2013.
Photo:  Private Collection.

One of the most charming of these wood floors painted by Paul Leonard is in the Anteroom leading into the Dining Room.  Note that the pattern follows the joints of the planks in the length with scored lines across the width to give the effect of tiles.  It is an excellent example of appropriate scale, pattern and color to link the adjacent Gallery and Dining Room.


The Dining Room as it appears in 2013.
Mellon-White townhouse.
Photo:  World of Interiors.

When the real estate photos of the townhouse starting appearing in the blogs a few weeks ago, there was speculation about many things, especially the walls and floor of the Dining Room.  Being somewhat familiar with the house and the contributions of Colefax & Fowler and Paul Leonard, The Devoted Classicist offered some factual information, only to later receive notice that speculators thoroughly disputed my comments on the other blogs; so much for trying to educate the "experts."  In any case, the floor is indeed painted to resemble marble as is the baseboard and dado (difficult to see in this photo).  The walls are painted with a blue cross-hatched glaze that was formulated to compliment the major painting by Homer that the Mellons owned.  Legendary decorator Billy Baldwin added the sheets of beveled mirrors.  An adjacent pantry acts as a serving kitchen and a small staircase gives access to the main kitchen below.


The Front Master Bedroom
of the Mellon-White townhouse in 2013.
Photo:  World of Interiors.

There are two Master Bedrooms on the Fourth Floor with the front assumed to have been used by Mrs. Mellon.  The walls are lined with painted wood paneling in the transitional Louis XV/XVI style and the floor has a Colefax & Fowler carpet, a replacement of the same during the Mellon occupancy according to the article.  An east-facing balcony overlooks the terrace below with the lattice on the common wall extending to filter the view beyond.


The view in 2013 from the balcony down to the
Third Floor Terrace of 125 E 70th Street.
Photo:  Sotheby's International Realty.

Fortunately, the current owners kept many of the bathrooms intact.  This, assumed to have been Mrs. Mellon's, is exceedingly charming.  Of special note are the antique Delft tiles facing the bathtub.  The walls, including concealed doors, are covered with printed fabric especially hand-blocked in Wales for Colefax & Fowler, according to the WoI article. 


Views in 2013 of the bathroom assumed to have
originally been used by Mrs. Mellon
at 125 East 70th Street.
Photo:  World of Interiors.

The bedroom on the rear of the Fourth Floor, then, was assumed to have been used by Mr. Mellon.  It is a handsome space with a coved ceiling and a fireplace (not shown) opposite the bed.


The Rear Bedroom on the Fourth Floor
of the Mellon-White townhouse, 2013.
Photo: Sotheby's International Realty.


According to various on-line reports, Stribling & Associates listed the Mellons' townhouse for sale for $26.5 million in August 2005 and it sold early in 2006 for $24.5 million or $22.5 million with reports varying.  The buyers were Clare and Tony White.  The Whites had bought their townhouse across the street at 118 East 70th Street in 1998 for $6.05 million and sold it in 2006 for $25.6 million to actor/director Woody Allen.  Mr. White is an Irish businessman who founded Abacus Direct, a consumer data company that he sold for $1.7 billion.  The Whites hope to repeat their success in real estate by selling their present home at 125 East 70th Street for $46 million.  The listing through Sotheby's International Realty, including more photos and a video, may be viewed here.

Mark Hampton and the Single Fabric Scheme

A double-height Drawing Room
decorated by Mark Hampton.
Photo by Peter Vitale for Architectural Digest.

Having worked with a number of 'name' interior designers, I am often asked if there are formulas for decorating.  Yes and no.  There are some themes that are often used in developing an interior décor and one is what I have termed the Single Fabric Scheme.  Popular for years and still used today by both professionals and amateurs alike, the concept is based on choosing one particular fabric for a room and then using it on just about everything.  Success largely depends, as you might imagine, on the fabric.  Also, all of the furnishings and the architecture of the room must be able to be compatible with the unyielding effect of the material.  An example of the Single Fabric Scheme may be seen in this project decorated by Mark Hampton.


The Drawing Room of a townhouse
decorated by Mark Hampton.
Photo by Peter Vitale for Architectural Digest.

Featured in the April, 1983, issue of Architectural Digest, this Beekman Place, New York City, townhouse belongs to Dr. and Mrs. Lorenzo Mendoza of Caracas, bought by his parents in the 1940s.  Blessed with a big, double-height Drawing Room, the article said the house served as a family meeting place for the six children who were in school in the U.S.  Following the Sister Parish practice of providing three seating groups - themes of furniture arrangement will follow in future posts - a sofa faces the fireplace while two others flank the chimney breast.


The seating group opposite the fireplace
in the Drawing Room.
Photo by Peter Vitale for Architectural Digest.

The same silk damask from Brunschwig & Fils covers two of the sofas, two upholstered club chairs, a set of four slipper chairs, a pair of folding screens, a tufted pouf, the walls above the chair rail, and the swagged curtains of an enormous window.  Welcome relief is provided by a suite of nineteenth-century, gilded, Louis XVI style chairs and canapé covered in Aubusson tapestry.  Silk of a creamy pink color is used for a pair of round, draped tables and fringed accent cushions.  A rug made from multi-colored, patterned Stark carpeting also offers some variation in the scheme.


The Library of the Beekman Place townhouse
decorated by Mark Hampton.
Photo by Peter Vitale for Architectural Digest.

The Library overlooking the Drawing Room has walls painted with a glazed lacquer effect in dark green to match the linen velvet upholstery.  This would be considered a variation of the Single Fabric Scheme.  A patterned Stark carpet in dark green and cream also coordinates with the cream painted millwork and cabinetry.  Hampton's associate Lino Correia was credited in assisting in the additions and changes to architectural details.


The Master Bedroom decorated by Mark Hampton.
Photo by Peter Vitale for Architectural Digest.

The Master Bedroom is another variation of the scheme.  Although the same floral chintz is used for all the upholstery and bedspread, another fabric - a subtle strie - was used for the curtains.


The Dining Room decorated by Mark Hampton.
Photo by Peter Vitale for Architectural Digest.

It appears that the same bedroom curtain fabric was used for curtains in the Dining Room.  And it also appears that the same carpet from the Library was used again here.  Although the text makes no mention of the wall decoration, The Devoted Classicist guesses that it is the work of noted decorative painter Robert Jackson.  The elements of the fretwork pattern work out too perfectly not to have been custom painted for the room.


The Entrance Hall painted by Robert Jackson.
Photo by Peter Vitale for Architectural Digest.

The text does reveal that Robert Jackson painted the walls of the Entrance Hall with the Chinese-inspired design.  Robert was one of this country's best decorative painters in the second half of the century, and his work is always a delight to see.  (For a look at a room painted by Robert Jackson for two of my own projects, click here and here).

Is the Single Fabric Scheme a good approach to interior decoration?  As seen here, it cannot be carried through a whole house or apartment without at least some variation, room after room, but it can be an effective solution for one space in a residence.  The advantages of this approach are many; it is relatively easy, and if the designer's fee is based on a mark-up, bolts of an expensive fabric rack up a big commission fast.  But whether it is the best approach is a matter of preference.