A Trompe l’Oeil for the Mellons’ Living Room by Martin Battersby I
From the end of the 1950s to the beginning of the 1960s, two trompe l’oeils were commissioned by the Mellons for their estate at Oak Spring—the first presumably for Paul and the second definitely for Bunny. Like the genre itself, whose subject matter often contains tantalizing enigmas and obscure references, various points in the stories of these two works remain unclear, even to one such as myself who had the rare privilege of spending considerable time studying the collections in the extraordinary library at Oak Spring and passing many congenial hours in the company of Bunny and her husband. Because the documentation relating to these two episodes is meager, it will be necessary to make a few assumptions and use a touch of imagination in order to retrace how they came into being. There are a few dates that can serve as guideposts to the history of these commissions, which were completed within the space of about two years. One is a handwritten invoice from Martin Battersby dated April 26, 1958, and addressed to “Mrs. Paul Mellon” that reads “For painting on two panels for doors to television screen”; another is the fact that Fernand Renard signed and dated his work in the pavilion of the greenhouse “Renard 1959–1960.” Battersby’s note also specifies the amount due for “one painting…Tilly Losch…framed,” dedicated to Tilly Losch (1903–1975), an aristocrat born in Vienna who established a name for herself as a classical dancer, actress, and painter, but this work is no longer in the collection at Oak Spring.57 The fact that the invoice was addressed to Bunny suggests that the original idea to decorate the cabinet standing to the right of the entrance to the living room at Oak Spring may have come from her.
This piece of furniture contained the family’s television, and one can well imagine the couple feeling that such a modern device hardly fit with the decor of their living room, where they passed many hours when in residence, either in quiet intimacy or in the company of friends and guests, and always for an aperitif before lunch or dinner, and coffee afterward. It may be supposed that the couple discussed how they might keep the television out of sight when it was not in use and finally decided to commission a work of art for this purpose. The idea of concealing the television behind a painting, and what is more a trompe l’oeil containing allusions to the couple’s many interests— particularly those of Paul—must have seemed a particularly apt solution. As has already been noted, Paul was an Anglophile with a deep-rooted appreciation of English art, history, and culture, so it is not surprising that the couple’s choice for this commission should have fallen upon George Martin Battersby, an English painter who had already gained a considerable reputation for his eclectic talent, which he applied in areas ranging from the decorative arts to the trompe l’oeil. Both Battersby and his patrons were passionate collectors of art and objets d’art, and what is more, Bunny found in him a kindred spirit who shared her love of French culture and her interest in fashion, which drew her first to the work of the couturier Cristóbal Balenciaga (1895–1972) in the mid-1950s, and then to Hubert de Givenchy (1927–2018), who would become a close friend. A painter with an interest in the theater, as well as a collector, art historian, and author, Battersby was noteworthy for his exquisite taste, creative energy, and readiness to experiment with new art forms.58 Born
Martin Battersby, Trompe l’Oeil in the Living Room at Oak Spring, detail of left lower shelf, ca. 1959, diluted oils on canvas mounted to wood, Oak Spring Garden Foundation, Upperville, VA.
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