ELYSIAN "Art & Design" Spring 2022

ELYSIAN Women Inspiring Women

DISPLAY UNTIL JUNE 1, 2022

Back Study Gray Oil on Canvas 40h x 30w in

By Catherine Woskow

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Torso Frontal Mixed Media on Museum Board, 2020 39h x 20w in By Catherine design 2022 • readelysian.com Woskow •

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PAULA HIAN WHITNEY DRESS PICTURED PHOTOGRAPHED BY JULIAN LE BALLISTER

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PAULAHIAN.COM

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BOUTIQUE IN KING OF PRUSSIA MALL

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86 Entitled: Own.

The Passion of Isabelle vanZeijl

BY LAURIANNA DELLA ROVERE

ELYSIAN Volume 8 • Issue 1 • printemps 2022 • l’édition d’art et de design

Marilyn Monroe

Everyone loved Marilyn . . . except Marilyn. BY LAURIE BOGART WILES

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Art in the Eye of the Photographer Baroque and Beyond The remarkable photos of Leslie Williamson. BY SU WONG JONES

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The art & wonder of the Netherlands. BY GWENDOLYN KIPLING

Inspiring Women Carla Groh page 136 Breegan Jane page 148 INTERVIEWED BY KAREN FLOYD

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art&beauty The muse in art. BY VERITY GALSWORTHY

architecture

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Spanish architect and modern master Patricia Urquiola.

BY EMMA HAMILTON

food&dining

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The Psycho-Gustative Odyssey of Chef Paul Pairet. BY CORDELIA LEAR

shopping

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Artful editions. BY ANGIE THIRKELL

mind&body

The healing power of art for personal renewal. BY SIMONE BAUDELAIRE FARROW

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philanthropy

The National Museum of Women in the Arts celebrates women artists— across the years and around the world.

BY EVE ADAMS

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back story / the cover

Cover model, Interior Designer, Breegan Jane Photographed by Ryan Garvin

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Schiaparelli: High fashion under the influence of fine art. BY PEARL LUSTRE

E publisher

c r e at o r - i n - c h i e f

Ryan Stalvey

executive editor

Laurie Bogart Wiles chief media director

Rob Springer

editorial director

Rita Allison

s o c i a l m e d i a d i g i ta l d i r e c t o r

Kristin Streetman

d i g i ta l s t r at e g y

a n a ly t i c s

&

&

development director

Daniel Patton

d i g i ta l c o n t e n t s p e c i a l i s t

Jackson Ellett

director of web design

&

development

Elliot Derhay

women inspiring women

Karen Floyd

contributing writers

Eve Adams, Simone Baudelaire Farrow, Verity Galsworthy, Emma Hamilton, Su Wong Jones, Gwendolyn Kipling, Cordelia Lear, Pearl Lustre, Laurianna Della Rovere, Angie Thirkell

copy editors

Nancy Brady, Monya Havekost, Diane High, Hadley Inabinet inspiring women editor

Hannah Shepard Simpson . M a n a g i n g E d i t o r

Cathy Ellett

contributing editors

Hope Harvard, Kimberli Scott

social media specialists

Haley Hudson

c o n s u lt i n g e d i t o r

Jason Spencer

d i g i ta l s a l e s d i r e c t o r

Michael Uhrinek

advertising director

Nancy Cooper

c i r c u l at i o n s p e c i a l i s t

Greg Wolfe

post-production editor

Elise Rimmer

post-production graphics

Ty Yachaina

c h i e f d i g i ta l p r o j e c t s d i r e c t o r

Cory Loken

s p e c i a l p r o j e c t s c o n s u lta n t

Adam Piper

contributing photographers

Ryan Garvin, Chris Joriann, Michael Paniccia, Tanya Ptitsyn, Nathan Roe, Cassi Sherbert stylist

Olga Bailey

comptroller

Anna Christian

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ELYSIAN Magazine is published four times per year by Palladian Publications LLC, 113 W. Main St., Spartanburg, SC 29306.

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Art is defined as the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power. We at ELYSIAN are in an enviable position. It’s our pride and pleasure to celebrate the accomplishments of such creators from around the world—as we do in this, our annual “Art & Design” issue. Without a doubt, the “Art” issue is our favorite of the year to work on. And we do it with enthusiasm, commitment, and a responsibility that each member of the ELYSIAN team takes very seriously. It’s a passion for art—professionally and privately—which as colleagues at ELYSIAN we also share. Top: Creator-in-Chief, Ryan Stalvey, is also an accomplished photographer and painter. Comptroller, Anna Christian is the designated office art curator. Rob Springer, ELYSIAN’S Chief Media Director, is as talented behind the camera, as an award-winning cinematographer and producer, as he is in front as an accomplished television and movie actor. Executive Editor and internationally renowned author and writer Laurie Bogart Wiles is a collector of fine sporting art.

Karen Floyd

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YOU CAN’T USE UP CREATIVITY. THE MORE YOU USE, THE MORE YOU HAVE.” —MAYA ANGELOU

omebound, with the last dusting of snow covering the Carolinas before spring, I found much needed time to think. It is always in the quiet that childhood memories seep into my mind. My mother loved art, and on one occasion she explained to me that some people were “touched by the hand of God.” They had “gifts” she said, and they were important to the world.

It did not dawn on me until much later in life that those gifts were truly a collaboration between God and the “creative mind.” It is to the “gift receiver”—the innovator, creative, or artist—a responsibility to respect and honor that gift.

This Spring issue is dedicated to the gift of creative exceptionalism and spotlights the abundance of artistic achievement.

Whether we are the creators or the observers, in art there is energy and movement. Throughout the Spring issue, we have–through images and words–attempted to capture that energy. In “Art and Beauty” we explore through the ages the inspiration of the muse on renowned artists. “Modern Master” is a celebration of the most important woman architect in today’s world, Patricia Urquiola.

“The Psycho-Gustative Odyssey of Chef Paul Pairet” explores the culinary journey of one of the most inventive culinary visionaries in the world today. “High Fashion Under the Influence of Art” is a homage to couture designer Elsa Schiaparelli who used fashion as her way of expressing her art.“The Passion of Isabelle Van Zeijl” explores the photoartist who explores the deepest recesses of her spirituality as the model of her own work.

“Art in the Eye of the Photographer” allows us to see through the lens of photographer Leslie Williamson the heart of the homes and studios of famous Mid-Century artists and architects. “Baroque and Beyond” is a spectacular tour of the Netherlands through its art and museums.“The Power of Art for Personal Healing” shows the force of art as a method of revival and fresh focus. “For Women Only: The National Museum of Women in the Arts” cultivates, preserves, and champions women in the arts as a singular force in the arts.

And finally, our book review on some of the most beautiful books published today lauds the many nuances, platforms, and directions art can influence our lives. These artists and creators have all “been touched” with their remarkable and unique gifts.

With much love,

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Karen Floyd Publisher

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PHOTOGRAPH BY CHRIS JORIANN

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have also been privileged to interview many women for ELYSIAN that have been defined by their creative success. Artist, author, and sculpture Edwina Sandys is the first name to enter my mind. While her career as an artist started later than some, her work is acclaimed world-wide, with her mammoth sculptures displayed in front of the United Nations and beyond. Interviewing Breegan Jane, the cover of this issue, I saw a pattern, which started me thinking . . . Much like Edwina and many other artists and creators I have interviewed, Breegan triangulates her focus and time between (commercial and residential) design, home décor and authoring children’s books. Carla Groh an art collector, dealer, broker, and gallery owner also moves between different pursuits, with regularity. While their stories are unique, it is undeniable that these women “innovators and artists” toggle between distinct, unending interests and projects. It is as though their “flow” grows exponentially with purposefully “creative multi-tasking.” Within the soul of a creative woman is the strength to push through the impenetrable. But it is the awareness that allows the inventive mind the flexibility to multi-task and continue moving forward. What results from inner agility is self-actualization, a trait these women all share. It is their gift.

Nothing is more inspiring than beauty. And though she is no longer here to say the words, through this publisher’s letter, my mother encourages every innovator, creative and artist “touched by the hand of God.” Your gift is without end.

Thank you for joining us as we embark upon this life journey together.

DANCING HEELS, 2021 acrylic on canvas 55 x 55 in

by DALIA MONROY

EVEY FINE ART / PALM BEACH artevey.com

The Grande Odalisque by French Neoclassical painter J.A.D. Ingres. A defender of academic convention who opposed the prevailing Romantic style, his expressive distortions of human anatomy, form, and space influenced Picasso, Chagall, and Matisse, as an important pioneer of modernism.

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art&culture

muse /myoooz/

beauty in iconic art

BY VERITY GALSWORTHY

{noun}

1. A person or personified force who is the source of inspirationBY CHRISTY NIELSON for a creative artist.

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Alexandros of Antioch, an itinerant artist of the Hellenistic age, achieved perfection of the female figure in his statue of Venus de Milo, sculpted sometime between the second and first century B.C. She is on display at the Louvre Museum in Paris.

Opposite: Called “the best known, the most visited, the most written about, the most sung about, the most parodied work of art in the world” by John Litchfield, Paris correspondent of the London newspaper, The Independent, Leonardo Da Vinci’s masterpiece, Mona Lisa, is indeed the most iconic painting in all of art history. It is believed the subject in the half-length portrait is Italian noblewoman Lisa Gherardini of Florence. Whether her thoughts are sad, bittersweet, content, or amused is purely conjecture. Distinctive time eroded her eyebrows.

he encourages, inspires, engages, influences, or otherwise enthralls, captivates, and captures an artist on an intellectual, emotional, sensual, and almost always, sexual level, transcending her admirer onto a higher plane than he otherwise may ever have experienced. The word is derived from the Greek noun, mousa, which literally means “art” or “poetry” or “to excel in the arts” and to comprehend the power of a muse, we must hearken back to Greek mythology, for there you will find the “original inspiring women”—the Nine Muses, the nine lovely, alluring daughters of Mnemosyne and the great Zeus, each gifted with a unique artistic talent, conceived when their parents lay together in connubial bliss for nine consecutive nights. For this reason, a muse can be nothing more or less than a goddess to the artist she inspires.

Venus de Milo

Perhaps the earliest example of the muse in iconic art was created by Ancient Greek sculptor Alexandros of Antioch. His Venus (sometimes known as the Ancient Roman counterpart, Aphrodite de Milos), was sculpted from Parian marble sometime between 150 and 125 B.C., during the Hellenistic period. Who his model was we do not know but her perfection deems her a goddess, and even without her arms, she is stunningly, realistically exquisite—the perfect interpretation by Alexandros of pure beauty. She was lost for centuries until a peasant named Yorgos Kentrotas unearthed her in 1820, on the island of Milos, and she became the most iconic of muses.

Grande Odalisque

One of the most noted muses in the history of art is the Grande Odalisque (concubine) by French artist J.A.D. Ingres. A great admirer of the 16th century Italian High Renaissance painters Raphael and Titian, and the Baroque classicist Nicholas Poussin, Ingres, in essence, exploits beauty.

From an academic standpoint, his explicit nude reclining in an Orientalist setting was a giant leap by the artist from the Neoclassic style of the day to the burgeoning Romantic period. The thing is, such a woman could never exist.

Odalisque is a fantasy woman. Her pronounced curvature of the spine, distorted pelvis, five extra lumbar vertebra, and a significantly

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shorter left arm than her right does not indicate that Ingres, one of the greatest drafters in the history of art and a master of anatomy, was ignorant of the proper proportions of the female figure. It is quite the contrary. He purposefully painted the concubine suggestively lying on a divan for stylistic effect, her long, sinuous lines and skin bathed in diffused light is his depiction of a ‘reclining Venus,’ as is The Sleeping Venus (1518) by Giorgione, The Venus of Urbino (1538) by Titian, Madonna of the Long Neck (1535) by Parmigianino, and another reclining woman who looks over her shoulder at the viewer, Portrait of Madame Récamier (1800), by Ingres’s contemporary, Jacques-Louis David. But it is her gaze, her invitation to a sultan to take part in carnal pleasure with her, that conveys, through her alluring albeit distorted beauty, one of art’s greatest works.

The Birth of Venus

Early Italian Renaissance painter, Sandro Botticelli, was inspired by the 15-book continuous mythological narrative, Metamorphoses, by ancient Roman poet, Ovid (43 B.C. to 18 A.D.), to create his Neoplatonic-themed masterpiece, The Birth of Venus. The shy nude covers her private parts as a symbol of the birth of love and the driving force of beauty in spiritual life. Commissioned by the wealthy Florentine Medici family, the model is believed to be Simonetta Cattaneo de Vespucci, a great beauty and favorite of the Medici court. Apart from being Botticelli’s muse, it is believed she was also his lover.

The Madonna of Macerata

Carlo Crivelli’s muse for the tempera and gold Madonna of Macedrata is not known. On display at the Macerata Musei in Minzoni, Italy, it measures a mere 24- by 16-inches, and yet the power of sideways, pensive glance speaks volumes. Commissioned by the Franciscans and Dominicans of Ascoli, his work was so realistic at the time as to be considered disturbing.

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The Birth of Venus, by Sandro Botticelli, is one of the world’s most famous works of art. An Italian painter of the Early Renaissance period, Botticelli based his masterwork on a theme from Ovid’s Metamorphoses, in which he depicts Venus, the Ancient Roman goddess of beauty, love, desire, sex, and fertility, as she is born from the sea and blown by the West Wind, Zephr, and nymph, Chloris, toward one of the Twelve Horai, who prepares to dress her with a flowered mantle.

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Mona Lisa

She is the most famous woman in all the world of art—La Gioconda, wife of Francesco del Giocondo, better known as Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa . Her faint enigmatic expression and haunting eyes make her thoughts impossible to read. The great master’s use of chiaroscuro and his signature sfumato technique of soft, heavily shaded modeling add to her mystery, and the blurred, imaginary landscape of rocks and water that stretch to the horizon adds even more mystique to Mona Lisa’s graceful figure. So captivating is the portrait, which has hung in the Louvre since 1815, that Mona Lisa has, ever since, received love letters and flowers from her admirers. She even has her own mailbox. The Mona Lisa is an exception rather than the rule. It is doubtful that La Gioconda was Da Vinci’s muse and assuredly not his lover. “He had an almost clinical perception of heterosexual intercourse,” according to historian Elizabeth Abbott. Da Vinci himself wrote, “ . . . the sexual act of coitus and the body parts employed for it are so repulsive, that were it not for the beauty of the faces and the adornment of the actors and the pent-up impulse, nature would lose the human species.”

Girl with a Pearl Earring

She was a milkmaid swathed in an exotic turban and remains one of the most iconic beauties in art to this day. Her identity remains unknown though some believe Johannes Vermeer’s muse was Mary Beghtol, the daughter of Dutch painter Pieter de Hooch. Others believe she was Maria Thinshull, the wife of a merchant, and others say she may have been Vermeer’s daughter. Using a technique similar to Da Vinci and other Northern Renaissance painters, this candid, introspective, emotionless portrait has become known as “The Mona Lisa of the North.”

Ophelia

Portrayed as the drowning Ophelia in Shakespeare’s tragedy, Hamlet, the muse of John Everett Millais is Elizabeth Siddal (1829-1862), herself an influential artist, poet, renowned beauty. Among others she was muse of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, which included painters William Holm Hunt, Walter Deverell, and her husband, Dante Gabriel Rosetti.

Tragically, she suffered from tuberculosis and died from an overdose of laudanum, at the age of 33. “She suffered much from neuralgia, and the laudanum taken to relieve the pain had grown into a necessity,” wrote American philosopher and writer Elbert Hubbard. Though ruled accidental, it is believed “Lizzie,” as she was called—like Ophelia—took her own life.

Madame X

John Singer Sargent caused a scandal when his portrait of the young socialite, Virginie Amélie Avegno Gautreau, known as Madame X, was first exhibited at the 1884 Paris Salon. In countless ways, this painting over all Sargent’s others represents beauty in art in the eyes of the artist more poignantly than any he executed. As Sargent was one of the most sought-after and prolific artists of his day, (he painted 900 portraits in oil and 2,000 watercolors) he was commissioned to paint the portraits of some of the most illustrious men and women of the time, including U.S. presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson, writer Robert Louis Stevenson, and a bevy of British aristocrats, such as Lady Agnew of Lochnaw. Madame X was the one exception. Sargent chose to paint Virginie, to satisfy his own artistic appetite for beauty. The life-size portrait, which measures 82 by 43.25-inches, consumed two years to complete.

“I have a great desire to paint her portrait and have reason to think she would allow it and is waiting for someone to propose this homage to her beauty . . . you might tell her that I am a man of prodigious talent,” he wrote her family when he determined she would be his muse.

French poet and historical novelist Judith Gautier chronicled the reaction of those who attended the Salon at its opening. “Is it a woman? A chimera, the figure of a unicorn rearing as on a heraldic coat of arms or perhaps the work of some oriental decorative artist to whom the human

American artist John Singer Sargent (1856-1925) was the most successful Gilded Age portrait painter of his time. His most famous, Madame X, took two years to complete before it was first presented at the Paris Salon of 1884—where, amazingly, it received more ridicule than praise. Originally Sargent painted the right strap of the figure’s gown slipping from her shoulder, horrified Victorians thought it too risqué. He repainted the strap more demurely on her shoulder and kept the work for himself for over 30 years. When he eventually agreed to sell it to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, it was with the stipulation the name of the model, Madame Pierre Gautreau, would not be publicly revealed—hence, Madame X. Opposite: The Madonna of Macerta was painted by Carlo Crivelli (ca. 1430-1494), an Italian Renaissance painter of the conservative Late Gothic sensibility, who is less known today than his contemporaries, Giovanni Bellini and Andrea Mantegna but, to an art scholar, immediately identifiable by his signature style.

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Ophelia by John Everett Millais was inspired by Act IV, Scene vii of the Shakespearean tragedy, Hamlet, in which Ophelia falls into a stream after she is driven out of her mind when she learns her lover (Hamlet) has murdered her father. Completed in 1852, the painting hangs at London’s Tate Gallery.

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Girl with A Pearl Earring by Johannes Vermeer. Only measuring 17-1/2-inches high and 15-inches wide, Johannes Vermeer’s sublime, sensual 17th century portrait of a girl in an oriental turban with a large, pear-shaped earring inspired the 2003 motion picture of the same name, starring Colin Firth and Scarlett Johansson, and the 1999 novel

by American author Tracy Chevalier, among other cinematic and literary treatments.

Opposite: Pablo Picasso depicted one of his many works of one of his many lovers, Dora Maar, in gouache, ink, and colored chalk on paper in Seated Woman (Dora).

form is forbidden and who, wishing to be reminded of woman, has drawn the delicious arabesque? No, it is none of these things, but rather the precise image of a modern woman scrupulously drawn by a painter who is a master of his art.”

Perhaps that defines a muse. Is she a unicorn? Forbidden fruit? An ornament? Then again, perhaps it is something much deeper . . . for a muse has an exceptional, spiritual power that can illuminate an artist’s soul—and arouse him to produce his greatest work.

Seated Woman (Dora)

Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) was an art movement unto himself and one of the most recognized artists in history. He learned about women at an early age when his father took him to brothels as a means of giving him a solid sex education. In consequence, he was never without a woman, and each was his muse and lover. There were six, all-in-all, who were the most influential: green-eyed, auburn-haired, curvaceous Fernande Oliver, his first great love and muse, who enjoyed making love with him, smoking Opium with him, and being unfaithful to him.

His second great muse was Olga Stepanova Khoklholva, a UkrainianRussian Ballets Russes dancer whom he married and who bore him his son, Paulo. When she refused to model for him when his work emerged into the Cubist style (she felt it was unflattering to her), he started seeing 17-year-old Marie-Thérèse Walter who got pregnant by Picasso, then 45. The birth of their daughter, Maya, led to his separation from Olga.

Picasso and Olga never divorced but after her death, in 1955, Picasso proposed to Marie—and she declined, perhaps because she could not tolerate his frequent philandering. She seemingly couldn’t live without

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him because four years after his death, she hung herself.

Dora Maar was a tall beauty who became Picasso’s ultimate muse.

Very much involved in Left-Wing politics, she herself was a talented painter, poet, and photographer who, it is believed, assisted Picasso in painting his masterwork, Guernica. After Picasso left her, she suffered a mental breakdown and was forced to undergo psychiatric treatment until her death in 1997, of natural causes. However, Françoise Gilot was Picasso’s most famous muse, and lover from 1944 until 1953. but Picasso’s habitual unfaithfulness ended that relationship, even though they had two children together, Claude and Paloma. Jacqueline Roque was working at Madoura Pottery in France, where Picasso created his ceramics, when they met. She was his lover, muse, loyal assistant, and, in a secret wedding ceremony in 1961, his wife. They remained together until his death.

Distraught, she slept outside in the snow, lying on his grave, the night he was buried. She committed suicide by shooting herself in 1986—proving that art—and being an artist’s muse—comes at a price.

The Portrait of Wally Neuzil

Wally Neuzil was born in 1894 into a lower-middle class family. She was a paid model to numerous artists, including Gustav Klimt, but when she began modeling for Schiele, Egon fell under her spell, and they became lovers. “She’s not just a model,” observed Diethard Leopold, a major collector of fin de siècle paintings. “She motivated his self-reflection and was a catalyst for his work.” Whatever time they spent together was cut short. Wally died of scarlet fever in 1917, age 23, and Egon failed to reach his full promise as an important artist when he succumbed to the Spanish Flu the following year, age 28. ■

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Austrian Expressionist painter Egon Schiele’s 1912 Portrait of Wally Neuzil. “Art cannot be modern. Art is primordially eternal,” said the artist whose life, and enormous talent, was cut too short. Born in 1890, he died young, age 28, in 1918.

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The exhibition Colori unfolds a narrative outlined by the use of colour in design, surprisingly revealing a bold expression in the past, woven by the modernists Daciano da Costa, Jorge Zalszupin, Lina Bo Bardi, Zanine Caldas, Oscar Niemeyer and Joaquim Tenreiro, while it dialogues and provokes a reflection on the use of colour in the present, pointed out by Patricia Urquiola.

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architecture

MODERN MASTER

BY EMMA HAMILTON

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Patricia Urquiola, photographed here with Venus Power. Venus Power is a collection of rugs she created for Italian design company cc-tapis. The collaboration between designer and maker surveys the idea that all people—regardless of gender—carry a level of femininity within them, and encourages it to be embraced, listened to and accepted.

Opposite: This exhibition examines Castiglioni’s work in a transversal manner, ranging from design to architecture to exhibition displays. The curation and installation was created by Patricia Urquiola in collaboration with Federica Sala. The aim was to showcase Castiglioni’s bestselling products—most of which are still in production today.To give a clear picture of this timeless icon, the curators decided not to adopt a chronological or schematic approach but to show his work through a series of overlapping and intersecting aggregates of content. The idea was to create a map of recurrent macro and micro concepts in his designs, in a non-hierarchical, nonlinear manner. The designs are thus grouped in twenty clusters and placed in relation to each other, in order to illustrate Castiglioni’s approach to design and the method he adopted in his work, from product design to large-scale architecture.

hiaroscuro is the contrast of light against shadow. It is a centuries-old technique in art used to create a sense of threedimensionality in two-dimensional art forms. Rembrandt, the master of chiaroscuro, employed the technique to create emotional and psychological tension in his paintings, drawings, and etchings. Sixteenth century High Renaissance artists such as Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Titian, and Michelangelo utilized chiaroscuro to achieve visual focus on the key subjects of their paintings.

And seven centuries later, contemporary designer Patricia Urquiola applies the technique of chiaroscuro to capture light and shadow in the three-dimensionality of her work. The 61-year-old, Spanish-born designer is an academic scholar who has cultivated her trademark brand by employing the basic principles of art in the areas of color, texture, line— yes, and chiaroscuro—in the furniture, lighting, products, architecture, and spaces she creates. Minimalist, ultramodern, Dada, high-tech, or even avant-garde, whatever style her work may be labeled, more than anything else it is purely Patricia Urquiola.

THE MAKING OF A WOMAN OF VISION

In her younger years, Patricia Urquiola studied architecture and design in Spain at the prestigious Universidad Politécnica de Madrid and completed her postgraduate studies in Italy at the Architectural School of the Politecnico di Milano under the mentorship of architect, urban planner, and industrial designer Achille Castiglioni, a pioneer of contemporary Italian design and one of the most influential and prolific creators of functional furniture and lighting.

In 2001, she founded Studio Urquiola with her partner, Alberto Zontone, building upon Castiglioni’s “fundamental element” of building an empathetic connection with the end-user of her designs. Today, the company numbers over seventy, consisting of 18 nationalities with a staff of 43 architects and interior designers, 15 product designers, textile designers, and model makers. The

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Singapore’s culture—diverse, dynamic, tropical— directly inspired Urquiola’s design of the Oasia Downtown Hotel’s interiors. Located in the lively Tanjong Pagar neighbourhood, the 314-room tower is divided in four zones and a public ground floor, each with their own characteristics. Bespoke furniture and an extensive use of colours confer the entire hotel a strong, contemporary identity. The voids offered by the tower’s architecture are transformed into spaces creating a new way of living: sky-terraces, restaurants, cocktail bars and gardens enable the hosts to experience the vivid attitude of Singapore, without hiding behind an anonymous glass facade.

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Patricia Urquiola designed the Nuez Lounge BIO®. It features the characteristic shape of a three-dimensional and enveloping shell, which folds like a sheet of paper. Representing another stride in the sustainability applied to a design, the lounge chair is created from a thermopolymer of natural origin, not fossil, generated by living microorganisms, making it biodegradable and compostable.

Opposite: Raiz and Cascas, designed by Urquiola for the debut of ETEL International, the Brazilian furniture company’s first opening towards non-Brazilian designers, are the result of an innovative research on materials and high craftsmanship. The two collections are made out of ETEL’s FSC certified Amazonian wood with bold designs underlining the use of this precious material, combined with once-waste-leftover. The smooth roundness of the Cascas side table and the tea trolley is thought to show the quality of the wood used whereas the top trays are exclusively developed by ETEL by using natural resin and leftover wood chips from production.

Below: Hope is a candle holder, designed for ‘A flame for Research’ charity project, made possible by Mingardo, in support of the Mario Negri Pharmacological Research Institute. Materials, surfaces and above all the game of light communicate the message of a positive flame against the disease. Simple and totally demountable, the structure is made of mauve-colored anodized metal. A cylindrical base, decorated with a ribbon, supports the custom-made candle, whose light is filtered by a perforated panel that multiplies the flame and colors the environment in shades of purple.

company was contracted by such companies as Moroso, BMW, Boeing, and Ferrari for industrial product design; residential and commercial furniture design for Driade, Andreu World, Kettal, and Haworth, among other furniture manufacturers; lighting design for Flos; accessories for Glas Italia; and textiles for Kvadrat. Luxury hotels predominate Studio Urquiola’s architectural clients, which include GAN SRL, the Marriott Group and most recently, Il Sereno Hotel in Como, the Room Mate Giulia Hotel in Milan, the SD96 yacht for Sanlorenzo, Marienturm and Marienforum Towers in Frankfurt, the spa of the Four Seasons Hotel Milan, The Jewellery Museum in Vicenza, the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Barcelona, Das Stue Hotel in Berlin; showrooms and installations for Gianvito Rossi, BMW, Cassina, Missoni, Molteni, Officine Panerai, H&M, Santoni, and the general concept of Pitti Immagine in Florence.

Urquiola has been the creative director of the Italian luxury home furnishings and interior design company, Cassina, since 2015. Louis Vuitton, Starbucks, Agape, Alessi, Axor-Hansgrohe, B&B Italia, Baccarat, Boffi, Budri, De Padova, CoEdition, Ferragamo, Georg Jensen, Kartell, Listone Giordano, Molteni, Mutina, Rosenthal, Verywood, and Swarovski are among the growing list of companies that seek Urquiola’s unique approach to design as “the intersection of challenges and breaking prejudices, finding unexpected connections between the familiar and unexplored” in a humanistic, technological, and social amalgam.

Urquiola sits on the advisory board of the Politecnico of Milan University and the Triennale Milano Design Museum. She has taught interior design at the Domus Academy in Milan and lectured at Harvard University, University of Michigan, Shenkar School of Engineering and Design in Israel, the Alvar Aalto Academy in Finland, and Bocconi University in Milan. She has been a featured speaker at Design Shanghai, Design Week in Istanbul, the Expressive Design Conference at the Vitra Design Museum, Germany’s Weil am Rhein, the Bloomberg Design Conference in San Francisco, Festarch Perugia, the Mind Festival in Sarzana, the Mantova Literature Festival, and numerous events in Italy.

Among her many accolades are Designer of the Year by Wallpaper,

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Inspiration for the design of the Igniv restaurant in Saint Moritz is the concept of nest –its name in the local Raetho-Romanic language. The nest, and more precisely the feeling of conviviality it immediately evokes.

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Missoni’s flagship store in Manhattan opened on Madison Avenue in 2019. The store concept reflects a reinterpreted, contemporary vision of the brand, hosting all its collections in an intimate and luminous environment. The 355 square-meter space plays on the brand’s iconic elements, channelling the surrounding urban moods. Materials evoke the intricacies of Missoni’s motifs, made from recycled materials. Texturized resin walls juxtapose the Celosia brick; open ceilings expose colourful crisscrossing pipework; eco-friendly cement flooring creates a worn vintage effect; chevron fabric wallpapers adorn vertical surfaces. Grey oak wood, bespoke textured rugs, retro- display cases mingle throughout the space.

Elle Decor International, AD España and Architecktur und Wohnen magazines. Highest among Urquiola’s honors is the Golden Medal for Merits in Art, awarded to her by the Spanish government, and the Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic, presented to her

by His Majesty Juan Carlos I, King of Spain. Her work has been exhibited at MOMA in New York, the Decorative Arts Museum in Paris, the Triennale Museum in Milan, the Design Museum in Monaco, the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, the Vitra Design Museum in Basel, the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, the Design Museum in Zurich, the Stedelijk Museum of modern and contemporary art in Amsterdam, the Design Museum of Barcelona, and the Philadelphia Art Museum. A retrospective of Urquiola’s work entitled “Patricia Urquiola. Nature Morte Vivante” was held at the Madrid Design Festival.

“Exploring the mind of Patricia Urquiola offers many surprises, among them, discovering the unexpected themes that feed her voracious curiosity: virtual reality, economy, politics, artificial intelligence, the theory of color, the Anthropocene, robotics, ecology, sustainability, gender issues, man and machines, and so on. They are the foundation of an entire way of thinking that is imperative to the responsibility and coherence of a person that carefully introduces each new object of her creation into this agonizing and ill-treated planet. Patricia Urquiola´s career reveals a “rhizomatic” attitude towards projects, a type of mindset that is also her work method. Thus, all the elements involved have the same importance and influence each other horizontally, without imposing hierarchies.” explained Ana Dominguez Siemens, the curator of the exhibition.

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panish by birth, Italian by choice, the work of this international visionary forces us to reconsider our relationship to our environment and make us wonder, and question, why. She contemplates our footprint and our handprint and follows Italo Calvino’s Six Memos for the Next Millennium as a template for living: Lightness: how to be light in the heaviness of living. Quickness: and yet to take time to enjoy the process.

Exactitude: how to be precise yet flexible in your life, and the concepts of visibility, multiplicity, and consistency. The search for answers to such eternal questions stimulates and empowers the international rock star of architecture and design known as Patricia Urquiola. ■

Editor’s note: Studio Urquiola is found at via Bartolomeo Eustachi, 45-20129 in Milan, Italy. www.patriciaurquiola.com.

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Passeig de Gràcia is an iconic street in the heart of Barcelona, home to some of the world’s most vibrant examples of modernist architecture. The Mandarin Oriental hotel is housed in the former Banco Hispano-Americano, an elegant mid20th century building. The 2010 project entailed the renewal of the interiors, by creating a surprising space on different levels. A bright, hanging access ramp crosses a courtyard, leading to the hotel entrance. Separated by metal grids, it still allows a glimpse into the hall and lobby. 3D textured walls confer the space a sense of depth. Most of the furniture is custom designed for the hotel, produced by leading Italian and Spanish manufacturers.

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“Lunar Mushroom,” one of the desserts in UVC menu.

PHOTOGRAPH BY SCOTT WRIGHT OF LIMELIGHT STUDIO

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food&dining

the Psycho-

Gustative Odysseyof Chef Paul Pairet

BY CORDELIA LEAR

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Paul Pairet, Chef de Cuisine, Partner-Founder of currently three restaurants in Shanghai: Mr & Mrs Bund (since 2009), Ultraviolet (since 2012), and Polux (since 2019). Opposite: “Crunchy Fierce Salad,” a dried and chilled salad, one of the dishes in the Ultraviolet menu, composed of different dried and crystallized ingredients including vegetables, herbs,cheese and bread.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY SCOTT WRIGHT OF LIMELIGHT STUDIO

has been called “masterful, turbulent and totally unpredictable” by author and food critic François Simon.

French-born chef and restauranteur Paul Pairet honed his unique approach to the art of cuisine through a global journey that began at Paris’s Café Mosaic, and took him to Istanbul, Hong Kong, Sydney, Jakarta, and other exotic places. With the world as his oyster, the Phineas Finn of food set out in 2008 to travel ‘round the world: to San Sebastian’s Lo Mejor de la Gastronomia and Madrid Fusion where, at both, he was the only non-Asia-based chef invited to speak; to the 2008 World Gourmet Summit in Singapore; in 2009 to Salzburg, where he participated in the most acknowledged and cosmopolitan “Guest Chef Concept” by Ikarus of Hanger-7 then on to the Omnivore Food Festival in Paris; and the Identità Golose Milan Congress, all the time unreservedly sharing his near-religious belief in the art, study, and science of food.

Eventually he landed in Shanghai where, for two decades, the vibrant Far Eastern city has provided him with a force of energy in his own constant development, in every aspect of his work, and through many great opportunities. Pairet got the support he needed to build his team and develop his career. There he opened Jade on 36, the flagship restaurant of the Shangri-La Hotel Pudong, and in less than three years, created the city’s first cutting-edge restaurant, where he established his inimitable reputation for original, personal, highly technical cuisine that embraces texture, temperature, flavors, and presentation, provoking preconceived expectations of traditional cuisine and raising it to a new, surprising, highly exaggerated level. Said Joanne Harris of The Times (UK), “I know that for my last meal on earth, nothing but Jade on 36 will suffice.”

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hen Pairet opened his restaurant, Mr & Mrs Bund, in April 2009 on the historic Bund in Shanghai, he planned a modern “French but not so French” eatery that specialized in French and universal favorites. It was an immediate success as “One of the first to bring international attention to the Bund food scene, and his mix of glamour and playfulness set the tone for what came after.” Ever the perfectionist, he popularized the concept of uncomplicated, well-executed dishes and immediately was met with both critical and popular acclaim. Within four months, That’s Shanghai pronounced Mr & Mrs Bund to be the best French restaurant in Shanghai and international recognition spread with accolades and awards virtually overnight. Observed Alice Béguet, food columnist for Le Figaro, “Paul Pairet breaks the rules, has fun in reinventing the meal, updates the social concept of food, and keeps on climbing to the top of the most incredible chefs of his time.”

Then came Ultraviolet—and Chef ’s unparalleled concept: “psycho-taste.”

Pairet originally conceived the concept of offering “a bold and exclusive dining experience that engages all the senses to create the ultimate luxury: emotion” in 1996. His idea was quite simple and primal, but he didn’t know if the concept of multi-sensory, high-end technology merged with fine dining would work and pondered over the concept for some time before he was convinced that he could create a fully immersive dining experience. It was not until 2010 that he presented the concept to the world at the Omnivore Food Festival in Deauville, France and another three years before he finally opened Ultraviolet in Shanghai, in May 2012. When Luc Dubanchet of Omnivore

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One of the scenarios/ambiances of the Ultraviolet experience, for a dish called “Pop Rock Oyster,” with pop-ups of some French icons in show business, culture, and lifestyle.

PHOTOGRAPH BY SCOTT WRIGHT OF LIMELIGHT STUDIO

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journeyed to Shanghai to experience Ultraviolet the winter after the restaurant opened, he wrote, “Ultraviolet finally breaks the rules, reinvents the restaurant, not to mention the cuisine . . . this crazy work on rhythm, image, surprise, is a complete rewrite of what can be the hospitality, the service, the cuisine of the 21st century.”

The presentation was stringent and unorthodox: a single table of ten, a 20-course avant-garde a la Pairet menu, a total immersion of the five senses using multi-sensorial technologies: a ‘taste-tailored” atmosphere created by revolving lights and a sublime audio course designed as an “olfactory symphony” in a dining room dressed-up by lights, sound, scents, and color, each course enhanced with its own, unique, revolving taste-tailored atmosphere. Shanghai—and the world—was wowed. Reviews described Ultraviolet as “the best dining experience ever.” Raved Thibaut Danancher in Le Point, “Ultraviolet is certainly much more than a restaurant. This is a unique tasting getaway magnified by digital technology.

A moment where time stops . . . the illumination from Paul Pairet is, by itself alone, worth the trip.”

Howie Kahn of The New York Times traveled halfway around the world to dine at Ultraviolet. “With sights, sounds, scents, and a secret location,” he reviewed, “Chef Paul Pairet’s immersive dining experience could be the next great leap in culinary evolution.”

“Food was the only way I could express myself, my single language.” Chef Pairet explained. “I wanted to deliver my own best; I needed to find a way to speak. I had in mind to make something small, very personal . . . a revival of the 17th century table d’hôte. I would mastermind the cooking, then trigger the ambiance to match, contradict, and influence one another. In 15 years, I have come close to opening this small table project three times. When you look at Ultraviolet today, the core of the project remains the same, although everything has been pushed to the extreme. The technology, the staff, the expectations.”

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cclaimed as one of “Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants” and one of “The World’s 50 Best Restaurants,” Ultraviolet is the culinary canvas that Paul Pairet, the artist, has created with the zeal, wit, and the eye of a Picasso. As Monica Liau described in That’s Shanghai, “Ultraviolet (is) an odyssey into the psyche of Paul Pairet, (who) is an OCD perfectionist with the soul of an artist.” “The dishes’ conception is frequently playful and witty, their presentation theatrical in the extreme:” wrote William

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This Ultraviolet scenario is keyed into the dish called “Lunar Mushroom” and paired with the popular song, “Fly Me to the Moon.” Below: The pastoral scene that serves as the inspiring backdrop for, “Picnic” and its main course session. The dining table is set up with astro turf and fresh flowers, paired with music from a portable radio, and filled with the scent of freshly cut grass.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY SCOTT WRIGHT OF LIMELIGHT STUDIO

Drew in The World’s 50 Best Restaurants. “Chef Paul Pairet takes the idea of the multi-sensory consumption of food—blurring taste with emotion—to an unprecedented and inspirational level.”

Since 2018, the avant garde restaurant has appeared in Michelin Guide Shanghai with three stars, the ultimate hallmark of culinary excellence, and three diamonds in the Black Pearl Guide. That same year, the restaurant placed 24 in the “World’s Top 100 Chefs’ Restaurants” by Le Chef, won an “Art of Hospitality Award” as one of Asia’s 50 best restaurants, rated No. 1 by “OAD (Opinionated About Dining) among “Asia’s Top 100 Restaurants,” and was identified by Time Magazine as one of the “World’s Greatest Places.” And in 2013, Chef Paul Pairet received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants and its Chef ’s Award in 2016; and in 2018, Les Grandes Tables du Monde bestowed upon him their Restauranteur of the Year. establishing the creative genius of Chef Paul Pairet as, “provocative and innovative, his creative flair, daring experimentation, and inspired dishes will continue to influence chefs around the world.”

In

March 2019, he expanded his footprint in Shanghai when he opened his third restaurant, Polux, a casual eatery with a Parisian flare combined with industrial décor. “Pairet’s simplest joint so far,” opened in the heart of Xintiandi, the car-free shopping, eating, and entertainment district of Shanghai. Polux is a French café, bar, and bistro with an outdoors terrace. Today it’s a popular, informal hangout for diners who just want to drop-in and relax over a hearty brunch, afternoon snack, or cozy dinner. “Eternally untrendy and forever in fashion,” Polux has Pairet’s trademark touch, embodying understated luxury and simplicity…just stripped down to the core.

Ever pursuing his ideal, Chef Paul Pairet is open to the idea of developing outside of China. It will be exciting to see just where he lands next. ■

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“Micro Fish No Chips” is an Ultraviolet take on classic English fish & chips. A caperberry is stuffed with anchovy tartar, coated with beer batter, and deep- fried till crispy.

PHOTOGRAPH BY SCOTT WRIGHT OF LIMELIGHT STUDIO

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fashion

SCHIAPARELLI Inspired by “combining a little Manet, a little Lacroix, a little Ingres, a little shimmer and a lot of color, “The Matador Collection” by House of Schiaparelli is a tribute to her vision.

Embroidered and highly embellished pink and orange silk taffeta accent this black wool crepe, midi fuseau dress.

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I

HIGH FASHION UNDER the INFLUENCE of FINE ART

BY PEARL LUSTRE

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Elsa Schiaparelli at her home in Paris, France, 1960. Along with Coco Chanel, her greatest rival, she is regarded as one of the most prominent European figures in fashion. Schiaparelli’s designs were heavily influenced by Surrealists like her collaborators Salvador Dalí and Jean Cocteau.

PHOTOGRAPH BY KEYSTONE-FRANCE/GAMMA-RAPHO VIA GETTY IMAGES

Opposite: Black wool-crepe sheath dress accentuates the fabric-wrapped, metal-formed “gazelle horns” that extend from the shoulders and frame the face. Embroidery, gold filigree and thread, pearls, and other intricate handmade decoration is a Schiaparelli hallmark. Trompe l’oeil “nipples” buttons in gilded brass and black satin mules with golden toes and silver toenails are a homage to Dali’s influence.

a perfect starlit evening this past November, the world’s most acclaimed singer, Adele, emerged from a two-year, self-imposed absence from performing and recording to appear in Adele One Night Only, a primetime television special filmed at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles in front of an intimate, celebrity-studded audience. She wore a spectacular gown designed by the House of Schiaparelli. Since the legendary label re-emerged a decade ago after a hiatus of more than a half-century, A-list stars such as Lady Gaga and Beyoncé have flocked to 21, Place Vendôme in Paris to be measured for a one-of-a-kind creation. And it is nothing short of magnificent that the legacy of one of the most iconic, artistic, visionary designers in the history of haute couture, Elsa Schiaparelli, has been revitalized.

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ur story takes us to Paris before and after the two world wars, when Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel (1883-1971) set the standard for haute couture while her contemporary and greatest rival, Italian expatriate Elsa Schiaparelli (1890-1973), dynamically defied the norm. That Coco was born in a charity hospital to a French laundress and itinerant street vendor, and Elsa at the Palazzo Corsini in Rome to an aristocratic Neapolitan family, is important if you are to the understand the genesis of modern fashion.

Born into poverty, Coco’s currency for success was the French franc while Elsa capitalized on fashion as art. Both women exploited their empyrean eye for fashion—Coco’s, classic and understated. Elsa’s . . . not

so much. For the purpose of this article, we focus on vibrant, defiant, independent Elsa Schiaparelli, whose uninhibited bravado and fearless defiance of the acceptable established her among the great artists of the Surrealist Movement—and cost her the recognition Chanel usurped in the annals of 20th century fashion history.

Rebellious even as a child (prone to pranks, she caused an early end to an important dinner party her parents were giving when she hid under the table and released a large jar of fleas) she resisted her mother and father’s pressure to marry a Russian aristocrat and fled to London, never again to return home. There, within days of their meeting, she married a Polish-Swiss lecturer of spiritual mysticism and together they immigrated to America. Shortly after, Elsa gave birth to her only child but the marriage didn’t last. The couple separated in 1922, and Elsa relocated to Paris with her young daughter. In time, she opened a small atelier on the rue de l’Université, where she specialized in hand-knit, geometrically patterned sweaters of her own design. Her singular European style captured an American flare that appealed to affluent fashionistas and by November, her signature black-and-white, square collar sweater with a trompe l’oeil red bowknot woven in became all the rage on both sides of The Pond. It was so successful, that Elsa expanded into a full line of sportswear and soon she was offering daytime and evening wear.

The decade between 1930 and 1940 was Elsa’s most creative period. She was firmly ensconced among the Paris circle of Dada and Surrealist artists that included artists Jean Cocteau, Leonor Fini, Alberto

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A sombrero-inspired hat of black Duchesse silk is embroidered with pearls, black Swarovski crystals, and trimmed with pompoms. The white denim fitted Basque jacket is heavily embroidered, embellished, and fringed.

Oppoiste: Embellishments such as volute in gold strass, gold lurex thread, rhinestones and pearls are applied with the same vision and manner of perfection as the great Elsa utilized in her own artinspired haute couture creation from her beginning as a designer almost a century ago.

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Giacometti, Marcel Duchamp, most intimately with Salvador Dalí, who would become her lover, and photographer Man Ray, with whom she had a long-term association. Inspired by her friends, she interpreted her art with fashion as her canvas, creating thematic collections, such as “Stop Look and Listen” (1935), “Music” and “Paris” in 1937, “Pagan” and “Circus” in 1938, and “Commedia dell’arte” (1939).

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y 1932, Elsa had 400 seamstresses in her employ with an annual output of 8,000 garments at her new salon, on 4 rue de la Paix. In 1935, she relocated to the prestigious heart of Paris, at 21 Place Vendôme, where ready-to-made orders—thanks to enormously successful commercial arrangements with American department stores and specialty shops— now exceeded 10,000 garments a year. She expanded her collections to include hats, furs, accessories, and—coveted today by collectors— magnificent costume jewelry. She launched a perfume line in 1936 with “Shocking.” The bottle was fashioned in the shape of a curvy woman’s torso by artist Leonor Fini, who took her inspiration in her friend’s workroom when she came upon the tailor’s dummy of one of Elsa’s best clients—Hollywood bombshell Mae West.

Among her most notorious creations was the “Lobster Dress” (1937), a simple white silk evening dress on which a giant lobster was painted

by Salvador Dali below the crimson waistband almost to the hem of the floor-length skirt. The dress was photographed at the Château de Candé by legendary photographer Cecil Beaton, where it was worn

by Wallis Simpson shortly before her marriage to Edward VIII of England, who assumed a backseat in history when he abdicated the throne for “the woman I love.” That same year Elsa collaborated with her friend, French poet, novelist, and filmmaker Jean Cocteau, to create an evening coat with shoulders and bodice covered with hot-pink (Elsa’s signature color) appliqued roses and, along the back, the embroidered profile of two lovers puckering up for a kiss.

This masterpiece that combines art with fashion is now part of the permanent collection at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.

The “Tears Dress” followed in Elsa’s 1938 “Circus Collection,” a pale-blue column-style evening dress made of fabric printed with a Dali trompe-l’œil pattern and worn with a thigh-length veil with pink appliqued “tears” lined in magenta. And that same year, in another collaboration Elsa designed the demur “Schiaparelli suit” between 1938-1939, featuring oversized statement buttons sculpted by Swiss sculptor Alberto Giacometti.

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lsa had forged strong ties in the United States during her six years living there and as the storm clouds of World War Two gathered upon Europe’s horizon, she decided to leave Paris and return to New York. There she devoted her time to the war effort as a nurse’s aide at Bellevue Hospital. After the War, she returned to Paris to resume business but by now, a younger generation of designers led by Cristobal Balenciaga and Christian Dior had taken over the fashion limelight. Dior proclaimed his style the “New Look” but in actuality the young designers collections were more conventional. Nonetheless, the new generation in fashion overtook Elsa’s creations in popularity and in sales. Unwilling to adapt to changes, the House of Schiaparelli declared bankruptcy in 1954 and Elsa retired to the home she had built in Tunisia. At that same point in time, Coco Chanel, the keen businesswoman, had grown her fortune to $15 million—the equivalent of over $150 million today.

Elsa Schiaparelli died, age 83, in Paris. But her label did not.

In 2007, Italian businessman Diego Della Valle acquired the Schiaparelli brand. Through a carefully constructed revival and hyper-exclusive business strategy under the direction of Marco Zanini, The House of Schiaparelli was nominated for a return to the most elite of elite trade associations, Le Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture in January of 2014.

Illustrated here is The House of Schiaparelli’s “Matador Couture” Fall-Winter 2021/2022 Collection. “I found myself wondering, again and again: What if you combined a little Manet; a little Lacroix; a little 1980s; a little 1880s; a little matador; a little space alien; a little Ingres; a little shimmer; a lot of color? The answer is this, my fourth couture collection, ‘The Matador’: A collection that honors Elsa’s vision but isn’t in thrall to it,” Daniel Roseberry, artistic Director of The House of Schiaparelli explained. The palette is iconic Elsa—black, gold, her signature pink, a wave of sky-blue, and flashes of gold and silver. The unabashed Dali-esque applications of gilt breasts accentuating a stylized matador’s jacket or corset, the reprisal of Giacometti-inspired buttons on a fitted tunic coat with Elizabethan sleeves, and boughs of appliqued roses forming like a trellis over the bodice and sleeves of a black wool crepe minidress with duchess satin insert; the insanely exquisite attention to detail, embroidery, and tailoring and fabrics patterned with Dali eyeballs that stare right through you are purely Elsa. The energy, the courage, and the bravado that was hers has been captured in this collection as much as the fashion. Roseberry may be her living protégé, but he is also a master in his own right. He has added his own hallmark to the Schiaparelli crown and with it, an excitement, creativity, and a style that is clearly his own. Indeed, to speculate that Elsa Schiaparelli would be proud is the highest compliment—and well deserved. ■

Fitted jacket is contrasted with exaggerated sleeves made from vintage denim that is embroidered with gold strass and thread and embellished with rhinestones. Anatomical elements cast in resin, three-dimensional applique flowers, and spiral “breasts” demonstrate Surrealist art as inspiration for haute couture. A “lip” clutch with removable gilded brass chain is lined in Elsa Schiaparelli’s trademark color, Shocking Pink.

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Strapless black wool crepe dress with plunging heartshaped neckline serves as a “column” for exaggerated, cascading gold metallic, hand-pleated fabric in this statement haute couture creation by House of Schiaparelli.

Black satin mules with gold “toes” and silver “nails” complete the Daliesque look.

Long-sleeve midi-dress with bared shoulders is accentuated with an oversized, trompe l’oeil rose in silk faille, in Schiaparelli’s trademark color— Shocking Pink.

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shopping

artful editions

.1

BY ANGIE THIRKELL

2.

a

book that celebrates the work of an artist, a period in history; a book about interiors, antiques, classic cars, or any multitude of subjects, the pages bound between two covers are meant to transform, transcend, and transport. It opens your mind, fills your soul with wonder and your eyes with awe. For in the end, a fine art book is not a book at all. It is an immersion. It is an experience. ■

3.

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1. THOMAS LAIRD. MURALS OF TIBET Hardcover volume signed by the Dalai Lama - ($12,000) 2. MARIO TESTINO. PRIVATE VIEW Hardcover in plastic case - ($ 1,500) 3. LINDA MCCARTNEY. THE POLAROID DIARIES Hardcover signed by Paul McCartney - ($3,000) 4. VALENTINO GARAVANI. UNA GRANDE STORIA ITALIANA Hardcover in clamshell box - ($3,000) 5. DENNIS HOPPER. PHOTOGRAPHS 1961–1967 Hardcover in clamshell box - ($3,000) *ALL TITLES AVAILABLE AT TASCHEN.COM.

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Marilyn everyone loved

...except Marilyn

by Laurie Bogart Wiles

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Two-year-old Norma Jeane Mortenson with her mother, Gladys Baker, at Santa Monica Beach, California. It is one of a handful of photographs ever known to have been taken of mother and daughter.

DOM SLIKE / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

Opposite: Marilyn before she became a blonde bombshell, photographed at the Don Lee Television Studio in Los Angeles.

The aspiring star was around 19 when this was taken.

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is

She the world’s most enduring iconic female figure, the inspiration behind more than 1,000 books, countless articles, songs, and innumerable films; the muse of Andy Warhol, and the model for such great photographers as Eve Arnold, George Barris, Cecil Beaton, Milton Greene, Bob Henriques, and the last to capture her on film, LeifErik Nygards, two months before her death. In 1962, at the age of 36, she was no closer to understanding who she truly was than on June 1, 1926, when she was born to Gladys Pearl Baker Mortenson Eley, a 24-year-old divorcee diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, in the charity ward of Los Angeles County Hospital. Unable to care for herself let alone a child, Gladys was committed to the state mental hospital and was institutionalized until her death in 1984, 22 years after her daughter’s. The identity of Norma Jeane’s biological father remains unknown. To the scarlet letter of illegitimacy in those days, Gladys gave the name of the father on the birth certificate as Martin Edward Mortensen (misspelled Mortenson) who, according to urban legend, bought a motorcycle and headed north to San Francisco after Gladys told him she was pregnant and was never heard of again. According to the timeline and birth certificate, however, Mortensen could not have fathered the child. Though he and Gladys had briefly been married for seven months, Norma Jeane was conceived three-and-a-half-months after the couple separated and ten days after their divorce was final. It is believed that Norma Jeane’s biological father was Charles Stanley Gifford, a shift foreman and Glady’s boss when she worked as a film-cutter at Consolidated Film Industries before she gave birth to the child—speculation that nears the truth when you compare Marilyn’s striking resemblance to Gifford and impossible likeness to Mortensen. In adulthood, Marilyn believed Gifford was her father from a photograph she remembered her mother showing her as a child, telling her “This is your father.” Even after she was a star, Gifford

rebuffed her attempts to contact him.

This was the beginning of a tumultuous, cruel, Dickensian childhood rampant with physical and sexual abuse in orphanages and foster homes until she was 16, when a 21-year-old Merchant Mariner named James Dougherty agreed to marry her rather than have her face a return to the orphanage.

He was posted to the South Pacific when he received news Norma had divorced him. One of Hollywood’s biggest film studios, 20th Century Fox, offered her a contract on the proviso the 19-year-old aspiring starlet was unmarried. Years later Dougherty became a detective with the Los Angeles Police Department and the first officer trained for the newly created Special Weapons and Tactics Group (he broke a plot to kidnap actor James Garner).

In a 2002 interview with Associated Press, he said of his ex-wife, “Fame was injurious to her. She was too gentle to be an actress. She wasn’t tough enough for Hollywood. And once someone starts getting into pills—uppers and downers, the way she was—people can go downhill. They can’t sleep, so they take more and more pills.” Dougherty more than anyone else in her life would come closest to knowing the tormented creature, because he and he alone in her life, knew her as a teenager who grew into adulthood, and as Norma Jeane, who transformed herself into Marilyn Monroe.

“There is a crack, a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.”—LEONARD COHEN

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intsugi, or “golden joinery,” is the ancient Japanese art of taking a broken tea bowl or other piece of treasured pottery and putting it back together with lacquer dusted with powdered gold, silver, or platinum. It is a metaphor

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A rare black and white contact sheet of images of Marilyn Monroe taken in the early 1950s, possibly above Redondo Beach pier.

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Opposite: Marilyn Monroe sitting with Lon McCallister at a dining table on board a train.

Monroe was in New York City to promote her new film Love Happy and was travelling, along with McCallister and Don Defore, to Warrenburg to present Photoplay Magazine’s ‘Dream Home’ contest winner the key to a new house.

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for self-development, resistance, and a symbol of healing, and that imperfection and fragility should be celebrated. Rather than disguising the breakage, the repair becomes part of the object’s essence. “Our bodies and minds have an innate drive to repair, and this forces us to keep going, and to recognize that this repair is as important as the break itself,” wrote Candice Kumai in her book, Kintsugi Wellness: The Japanese Art of Nourishing Mind, Body, and Spirit (2018.)

Marilyn Monroe was broken throughout her childhood. Had she known the concept of kintsugi, she might have been able to put back the broken pieces, heal, and see her beauty as something other than perfection—but alas, she did not. She was intelligent, however, with a consummate desire to improve herself. Indeed, when she left her first marriage she owned 400 books, each of which she had thoroughly read.

As Marilyn Monroe, she was a hard-driven, insecure woman with no self-confidence and a consummate need to achieve acceptance, perfection, and love. She diligently kept a diary she called “Red,” which was not discovered until sometime after her death. These passages reveal the flawed woman the world saw as flawlessly beautiful. The progression of her entries corresponds with her development as an actress. Always the sexy, dumb blonde, she played bit, usually uncredited parts in a back-to-back string of forgettable films, such as Dangerous Years and The Shocking Miss Pilgrim in 1947, Sudda Hoo! Scudda Hay, Green Grass of Wyoming, and Ladies of the Chorus in 1948, Love Happy in 1948 with the Marx Brothers, and in 1950, A

Ticket to Tomahawk, Right Cross, and The Fireball. That same busy-crazy year, however, she took on small but important roles in two movies that would change her—and the world’s—appreciation of Marilyn Monroe as a bonafide actress: director John Huston’s film noir, The Asphalt Jungle, and director Joseph L. Mankiewicz sizzling cat fight, All About Eve, pitting Bette Davis against Anne Baxter with Marilyn smack in the middle. Acting among greats made her determined to become a headline star and not just a backlot beauty.

She filmed nine unremarkable films between 1950 and 1951 but things changed up exponentially for Marilyn in 1952, when she was cast opposite Hollywood heavyweights Cary Grant and Ginger Rogers in the Howard Hawks comedy, Monkey Business. Now the movie-going public demanded more and more of the smoldering blonde and her cleavage.

The studio went full throttle to exaggerate her as Hollywood’s greatest sex goddess. In 1953, she got top billing in two back-to-back hits, How to Marry a Millionaire and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. But it was that very same year that Marilyn ventured upon her first departure toward becoming a serious dramatic actress, taking on the role of Rose Loomis in Niagara, opposite one of motion pictures’ most enduring actors, Joseph Cotton.

And the following year, she starred opposite one of the few actors who could withstand the heat of Marilyn’s seething, on-screen sexuality— Robert Mitchum, in Otto Preminger’s River of No Return.

However, Hollywood and her infatuated public would not allow Marilyn to venture into deeper waters and she continued to play the sex goddess in

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Marilyn Monroe with her third husband, playwright Arthur Miller (Death of a Salesman) arriving at London’s Heathrow Airport in 1956 to film The Prince and the Showgirl, opposite Sir Laurance Oliver. Offcamera, the two barely hid their mutual dislike for one another.

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Opposite: Contact sheet of black and white images of Marilyn in costume as Sugar Kane Kowalczyk for Some Like It Hot (1959), directed by Billy Wilder, in which she famously starred opposite Hollywood heavy-hitters Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon.

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The Seven Year Itch (1955) and Some Like It Hot (1959.) But between the two comedies, in 1957, she filmed The Prince and the Showgirl opposite an aging Sir Laurence Olivier and something happened: unwilling to stand in the shadow of the great Shakespearean actor, Marilyn stole the show. Now she was determined more than ever before to become a great actress. Her chance did not come in 1960 when she starred with French heartthrob Yves Montand in the lukewarm George Cukor comedy, Let’s Make Love.

It did come, however, in 1961 when she starred opposite her alltime idol, Clark Gable, working again with director John Huston in The Misfits and also staring Montgomery Clift. Marilyn, who was usually late or AWOL for her scenes and frustratingly difficult to work with, had been experiencing deep and reoccurring bouts of depression over her deteriorating third marriage, to writer Arthur Miller. As a result, the production experienced lengthy delays, was physically grueling and difficult to make, taxing everyone involved in front of and behind the camera beyond endurance. The day after the film wrapped, Clark Gable died of a massive heart attack—just months shy of the birth of his only child, a son. Marilyn blamed herself for Gables’ death. It was the last motion picture she would ever make.

In her own words

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he said of the notebooks she began writing as “not exactly a diary… sometimes when things used to happen, I used to write it down.”

“As a small child, my first desire was to be an actress,” Marilyn confided, but as the years and parts evolved, so, too, her desires: “I would like very much to be a fine actress. I would like to be happy but trying to be happy is almost as difficult as trying to be a fine actress.”

Completely controlled by the studio system, she wrote, “I am not

permitted problems, nervousness, humanness, and my own thoughts,” and in defiance of her unhappy reality, added, “Dare not to worry. Dare to let go.” Starving for some sense of security, she wrote, “There’s nothing to hold onto but to realize the present.”

In 1955 she left Hollywood to work closely with legendary acting coach Lee Strasberg in New York. If her dream to become a great actress was to come true, she had to return to her childhood fears, he explained.

She called him the “best, finest surgeon. Strasberg cut me open, which I don’t mind, since (like a doctor) he has prepared: an operation to bring me back to life and to cure me of this terrible disease, whatever the hell it is.” To accept herself fully she could no longer repress her painful memories. She started psychoanalysis, reliving the episodes of sexual, physical, and mental abuse she suffered in foster homes and orphanages in her childhood. Of one woman, a strict Evangelical Christian named Aunt Ida, with whom she lived on and off, she wrote: “Life starts from now. Ida—I have still been obeying her. It’s not only harmful for me to do so, but unreality because life starts from now. Inhibits myself, inhibits my work, inhibits thoughts. In my work I don’t want to obey her any longer and I can do my work as fully as I wish since, as a small child, (my) intact first desire was to be an actress and I spent years play-acting until I had jobs. I will not be punished, or try to hide it, enjoying myself as fully as I wish or want to. I will be as sensitive as I am without being ashamed of it.

Trust in the faith in the simple objects and tasks. Sense memory, outside and inside objects, I haven’t had faith in life, meaning reality—whatever it is, or happens, there is nothing to hold on to but reality, to realize the present, whatever it may be because that’s what it is and it’s much better to know reality or things as they are than not to know, and to have few illusions as possible. Train my will now.”

Living at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, she spent hours poring over her

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Monroe with her idol, Clark Gable, on the set of John Huston’s 1961 film, The Misfits. It would be both stars’ last major motion picture. Gable died the day after the film wrap. A disconsolate Marilyn blamed herself for his death.

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President John F. Kennedy’s brother-in-law, Steve Smith, with Marilyn at an evening reception at the residence of Arthur B. Krim and Dr. Mathilde Krim in New York City, wearing the same iconic dress she wore earlier that evening when she sung “Happy Birthday” in 1962 to Kennedy at Madison Square Garden for his upcoming 45th birthday.

The dress was so form-fitting she had to be sewn into it.

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Opposite: Marilyn with her husband, Arthur Miller, between scenes on the set of The Misfits.

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diary as she tried to understand herself and lay to rest her fears: “Working doing my tasks that I have set for myself on the stage I will not be punished for it or be whipped or threatened or not be loved or sent to Hell to burn with bad people feeling I am also bad or be afraid of my genitals being . . . or ashamed, exposed, known and seen so what? Or ashamed of my sensitive feelings? They are reality or colors or screaming or doing nothing and I do have feelings, very strongly sexed feelings since a small child. I think of all the things I felt then. I do know ways people act unconventionally, mainly myself. Do not be afraid of my sensitivity or to use it. For I can and will channel it, and crazy thoughts too. I want to do my scene or exercises, idiotic as they may seem, as sincerely as I can knowing and showing how I know it is, no matter what they might think or judge from it. I can and will help myself and work on things analytically no matter how painful. If I forget things, the unconscious wants to forget, and I will only try to remember. Discipline, concentration. My body is my body, every part of it. I feel what I feel within myself that is trying to become aware of it, also what I feel in others. Not being ashamed of my feeling thoughts or ideas realize the thing that they are. When I start to feel suddenly depressed, what does it come from? In reality, trace incidents, maybe to past times. Feeling guilty realize all the sensitivity aspects, not being ashamed of what I feel, don’t dismiss this lightly. Not regretting what I said if it’s really true to me, even when it is not understood. Don’t even try to convince anyone too much as to why unless I really want to, or really feel it. Tension. Where do I feel it? Be aware of it. What and where do I think it comes from? Make effort to be aware, like when feeling sick. Try to stop chain reaction before it gets started if it does start. Don’t worry, realize it. Be aware of it, consciously making the effort; consciously making the effort to relax brows, temples, area around mouth, collapse cheeks, shoulders, jaws hanging loose, having sense of myself.”

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The Canvas Wiped Clean

he front page of the New York Mirror on August 6, 1962, blared: “MARILYN MONROE KILLS Self—found Nude in Bed. Hand On Phone . . . Took 40 Pills.” The Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office, assisted by the Los Angeles Suicide Prevention Team, investigated. Her doctors stated that Marilyn “had been prone to severe fears and frequent depressions [with] abrupt and unpredictable mood changes” and had overdosed several times in the past, possibly intentionally.”

There was no indication, at first, of foul play.

Her final diary entry illustrates the very soul of this beautiful, complex, woman as if it was her last—and, for this writer, at least, surely must be: “That silent stirring river, that river which stirs and swells itself with whatever passes over it—wind, rain, great ships—I love the river . . . I love the river, never unmoved by anything. It’s quiet now and the silence is alone except for the thunderous rumbling of things unknown. Distant drums very present but for the piercing of screams and the whispers of things, sharp sounds, then suddenly hushed to moments beyond sadness. Terror beyond fear. The cry of things dims, and too young to be known yet. The sobs of life itself. You must suffer to lose your dark golden when you’re covering up; even dead leaves leave you strong and naked. You must be alive when looking dead, straight though, bent with wind and bare the pain and the joy of newness on your limbs: loneliness, be still. I stare down at you like a horizon—the space, the air is between us beckoning. O, Time, be kind. Help this weary being to forget what is sad. Lose my loneliness, ease my mind, while you eat my flesh.” ■

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Pop artist Andy Warhol’s silk-screen Marilyn Diptych (1962) is considered the American artist’s greatest work and one of the most influential 20th century works of modern art. Consisting of 50 images, each image of the actress is taken from the single publicity photograph from the film Niagara (1953). Completed just weeks after the movie legend’s death in August 1962, critics interpret the colorful left side of the canvas as it ebbs into the monochromatic right side of the canvas as symbolic of her life and death.

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Entitled: She Is.

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HER WORK SOOTHES THE EYE AND TOUCHES THE SOUL, INSPIRING VIEWERS TO RECONNECT WITH THEIR OWN HIGHER CALLING, THEIR SOULFUL LONGING . . . TO REMIND THEM TO DEEPEN THEIR COURAGE AND HUMILITY, EMPOWER SELFINQUIRY, AND ASK THEMSELVES TO REACH INTO THEIR SOUL FOR GREATNESS—AND FIND THAT BEAUTY IS ALWAYS THERE.”

nternationally acclaimed Amsterdam-based artist Isabelle van Zeijl, reaches into the very depths of her soul to materialize her spirit in modernist photographic self-portraits that hearken to Dutch Golden Age artists such as Rembrandt van Rijn, Vermeer, and Franz Hals, and earlier still, to the Renaissance, when great masters such as Da Vinci and Botticelli captured feminine beauty on canvas as something divine and ethereal.

The raven-haired, strikingly beautiful artist aspired to be an actress when she was a young girl but lost her voice to the violence she was exposed to in those formative years. “So, I started to speak through my work,” she explains. “My work became my voice. In order to survive troubled times, I decided one day to turn my eye to all the beauty around me.” Fifteen years ago, Isabelle began exhibiting at exclusive shows, such as the London Art Fair and Art Miami and immediately captured the attention and enthusiasm of the international art scene. The Royal Opera Arcade Gallery and the Cynthia Corbett Gallery in London, the Christopher Martin Gallery

in Dallas, the Sponder Gallery in Miami, and other prominent art houses began representing her work; likewise, Brown’s Hotel in London and the Four Seasons Hotel George V in Paris.

“Isabelle is an extraordinarily talented fine art photographer whose artwork subverts conventional ideals of female beauty which is a theme we feel very passionate about at Harper’s Bazaar,” observed Frances Hedges, associate editor Harper’s Bazaar UK. “In a contemporary art world that condemns beauty as camouflage for conceptual shallowness, championing high aesthetics is nothing short of rebellion. Van Zeijl takes female beauty ideals from the past, and sabotages them in the context of today,” noted Wall Street International Magazine.

The essence of a woman in any expressionistic milieu—whether art, music, or dance—can effuse power, and transcend time and place. This is what Isabelle aspires to achieve, independently and alone, as she serves as model, creator, object, and subject of her own creations, reveling in the unadorned loveliness of her own nudity in almost every work she produces.

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Entitled: Oneness.

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Entitled: I Am.

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Entitled: Her. Opposite Entitled: I Love Her.

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Entitled: Resource.

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n a world consumed by anger and misogyny, the realm of women is plagued by sex and labor discrimination, belittling and bullying, scorn, and mental and physical brutality, and this toxic atmosphere caused Isabelle to reflect. “I asked myself what human being do I need to forge myself into, and how can I use my burden to bring light to make a change in the world? I decided to turn my eye to all that was beautiful around me. Bringing beauty, light and inspiration became my mission.”

Isabelle indeed captured beauty and light in her enigmatic “The Rebirth of the Dutch Flower Collection,” a series of delicate, almost otherworldly images the artist created during the worldwide epidemic lockdown, when she gathered discarded flowers that her local growers were unable to sell and repurposed them in her art as a symbol of rebirth. The growers were forced to destroy 400 million flowers in the first month of the COVID-19 lockdown, suffering a loss of more than 80 percent as a result of cancelled celebrations and orders from all over the world. When they heard her plan, they were anxious to collaborate with Isabelle. As one grower said, “Life is cyclical, like nature. After every difficulty there is always ease. We choose to share, to collaborate so as to grow together.” As the artist herself explained, “Flowers grow out of dark moments, the more difficulties, the more beautiful they become, they always tend to grow towards the light.” Ten percent of sales from “The Rebirth of the Dutch Flower Collection” go to The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, which has seen a rise in cases since quarantine began. “We rise by lifting others,” the artist declares.

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he language of flowers and their secret and symbolic meanings have expressed emotions and ideas for thousands of years.

The practice of communicating through cryptological messages was practiced in Ancient Persia, in the Middle East, throughout the Middle Ages. The language of flowers is in the literature of William Shakespeare, Jane Austin, and both Charlotte and Emily Brontë, and held significant importance in Victorian times. “Tussie-mussies,” or “talking bouquets” were nosegays or posies worn around the head or bodice not only as a fashion accessory, but to convey secret messages between lovers. Each variety had its own meaning: apple blossoms mean better things are to come, lavender means virtue, violets mean faithfulness, and roses’ meanings depend upon their color: white roses mean purity, yellow means friendship, etc., but the pink rose means grace, happiness, and gentleness. Isabelle cloaks herself with pink roses in “The Rebirth of the Dutch Flower Collection.” Surrounding herself with roses, she believes, shields her from negativity and empowers her with a gentle strength. Roses purify and fuel inspiration: “One day I decided to turn my eye to all that was beautiful around me. Beauty became my nutrition, my purifier, and a way to survive troubled times. Bringing beauty, hope and inspiration became my life, my purpose. I believe everyone has the perfect gift to give the world, and if each of us is freed up to give the gift that is uniquely ours to give, the world will be in total harmony,” the artist relates.

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Entitled: Nightsky.

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here are two purposes to art in any form: one, as a conduit for the artist to express herself and, two, to evoke a response from the viewer. It can be a reciprocal relationship that never is consummated, for rarely does the artist meet the people who view or own her work. For Isabelle, her work must emerge from a deeply, quietly subliminal level, for it is there where her creativity lives and thrives. For her—indeed, for any artist—the process is part intuitive, part spiritual, part philosophical, part emotional and part—always a part—of the artist’s very being. It is like a wave that crashes upon the shore, then recedes into the vast ocean. Art crashes into our consciousness, then recedes into the moment, leaving a trace of suggestion, just as the wave leaves a ribbon of foam on the beach.

We sense more than we see in Isabelle’s “Moonshot Collection,” where she embarked upon a complex and long personal journey to find, in the wild beauty of horses, meaning in her own life.

The spiritual significance of the horse has long held meaning in many cultures, past and present. It is about overcoming obstacles and facing adversity and is meant to remind us to take care of our emotional,

mental, and spiritual wellbeing. Isabelle’s journey took her to the American West, to Moonshot Ranch in Aspen, Colorado. Every night she stood naked in the moonlight, in the trembling cold, and photographed herself with horses. It was a long and enduring process as the woman attempted to gain the horses’ trust before she could be the artist. To do so, she had to completely surrender herself and, in her journey, she found courage and humility; and rather than teach the horses to trust her, she learned trust from them and surrendered herself in ways she never knew possible; in seeking to achieve the impossible, she reached for the stars—and finally touched them.

The result is a series of self-portraits of such unsettling beauty that only the subdued monochromatic palette of undulating contrasts of light and dark—sometimes stark, other times with the luster of charmeuse silk— impose peace and calm. What better way to describe the creative soul of Isabelle Van Zeijl? ■ Editor’s note: Isabelle van Zeijl is reprsented by Isabella Garrucho Fine Art in Greenwich, Connecticut.

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The living room of artist Georgia O’Keeffe Known for her paintings flamboyantly vibrant-colored, enlarged flowers, the “Mother of American Modernism” chose an almost monochromatic environment for her home in varying shades of neutral with occasional solid color, always natural, in pillows and upholstery as if to give her eyes a rest. From Leslie Williamson’s book, Still Lives.

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orn and raised in San Jose, California and a graduate of the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, photographer Leslie Williamson has fused her deep appreciation and knowledge of fine art into her career as a commercial and creative photographer. With a penchant for American Midcentury architecture and interior design, she photographed and gathered between the covers of her book, Handcrafted Modern, a litany of dynamic examples of the period, including examples of the iconic work of architects Charles and Ray Eames, the partners in marriage as well as work who led the post-World War II movement of simplicity and functionality in furniture, interiors, and architecture. “What works is better than what looks good,” Charles Eames observed. “The ‘looks good’ can change, but what works, works.” It is this philosophy that Williamson clearly embraces in her own approach to work, which is fueled by her passion and dedication to preserving the legacies of the many creatives she has come to admire by immortalizing them in her photographs. However, the result goes far beyond chronicling the work of others; indeed, as you follow the progression of her work you can see how she has absorbed parts of each and applied it to her own, unique, and singular approach to art through a camera lens.

Fascinated by a diverse range of immortals—from Giacometti, Lucian Freud, Vilhelm Hammershøi, Carl Jung, Albert Einstein, and Sir Winston Churchill to Francis Bacon, and JB Blunk, Leslie recognized from an early age her intrinsic core as a creative, hyperobservant, empathetic, and emotional individual.

Accepting her rather complex nature did not always come easy: “When I was younger, I was the most difficult person to please. I’ve grown to be kinder to myself with age but I have always had very definite tastes when it comes to myself and my work. That has not changed.” Indeed, as a young girl growing up, she struggled to stifle her intense emotions and reactions until she realized their power, and

Still Lives: In the Homes of Artists, Great and Unsung, by Leslie Williamson was published in October 2021 by Rizzoli Books and includes the homes and studios of renowned artists from Barbara Hepworth to Joan Miró.

Opposite: The hilltop studio/residence of American artist Wharton Esherick (1887-1970) in Paoli, Pennsylvania is today a National Historic Landmark for Architecture. Escherick worked primarily in wood to create furniture, furnishings, utensils, buildings and, pictured here, an amazing staircase. From Williamson’s book, Handcrafted Modern: At Home with Mid-century Designers, published by Rizzoli in 2010.

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The home studio of Gordon Onslow Ford (1912-2003) in Inverness, California is featured in Williamson’s book, Still Lives: In the Home of Artists, Great and Unsung. Ford was one of the last surviving members of the Paris Surrealist painters of the 1930s. Born in Wendover, England, he traveled the world extensively to fuel his art, ultimately settling in the woodland hills of Inverness, where he co-founded the Lucid Art Foundation in 1998, to explore the relationship between art, consciousness, and nature.

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1 1 0 e 80 9 how she could tap into that power and apply it to her work.

It is no surprise, therefore, that she has little if any regard for competition when effectually, she is competing against herself. “I honestly do not worry very much about competition,” she acknowledges. “As I see it, there is plenty for everyone and we all see differently.”

When it was recently pointed out to her that she has become a dominant force in photography, Williamson’s modest and surprised response was, “Wow . . . I have no idea how to reply. That’s really nice to hear.”

“I consider myself first and foremost a photographer.

I also author my own books and posts for my Still Lives Portal on my website, where I share whatever and whoever is exciting me at the moment. I tend to run across interesting people and places and photograph them—usually creative people, and I use that in the broadest of terms—architect, furniture designer, whiskey bottle collector, bread baker . . . people fascinate me. Individuality fascinates me.”

The immediate visual effect of Williamson’s photographs is order to the point of starkness; an unerring eye for color but color in its place so it doesn’t overtake the image—to the point that her most colorful photographs, in a way, are her most monochromatic, such as those she took of the home of Japanese-American artist and landscape architect Isamu Noguchi (1904-1988), in Mure-Cho, Japan, preserved today as a museum, or the Abiquiu, New Mexico home of American modernist artist Georgia O’Keeffe (1887-1986), the “Mother of American modernism,” whose home inside and out is a variegation of adobe whites, interrupted only by a single red throw and greens that, with the exception of one chair, come from native, flowerless potted plants. In these and others, the tonal value that Williamson captures through the planes of light she captures with her lens infuses the image with as much color as a full range of oils on an artist’s palette.

very project and book which she completes defines her journey as an artist whose medium is a camera rather than a brush and canvas. Like any established artist, her style has emerged and just as identifiable is her selection of subject.

Her second book, Modern Originals: At Home with Midcentury European Designers, (Rizzoli, 2014) follows Handcrafted Modern (Rizzoli, 2010) in which her “dream list” of favorite designers became her travel itinerary as she embarked to photograph their homes. Many she met; those whose home became museums after their death she “met” through the connections to their homes, as if their spirits still hovered.

“It is a pure blessing when these designers are still alive, and I am able to enjoy a couple days photographing their homes and asking them questions. But I also am dedicated to exploring the homes of my favorite designers whose homes are faithfully preserved as museums.

Modern Originals took Williamson on a journey throughout Europe—to the home of Italian architect, designer, and photographer Carlo Mollino in Turin; Studio Museo Achille Castiglioni, home of the great Milanese designer

In Modern Originals: At Home with Mid-century European Designers, published in 2014 by Rizzoli, Williamson gained exclusive access to homes of prominent artists, designers, and architects such as Le Corbusier, Alvar Aalto, Finn Juhl, Robin and Lucienne Day, among others. Pictured, the studio home of leading Belgian architect and urban planner Renaat Braem (1910-2001) in Antwerp.

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The Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden in St. Ives, England, is the opening chapter of Williamson’s book, Still Lives. Her beautiful, sensitive photograph captures the world as Hepworth saw it, in tints of white and organic shapes.

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In Williamson’s book, Interior Portraits: At Home with Cultural Pioneers and Creative Mavericks (Rizzoli, 2018), the Bay Area native explores the California lifestyle in homes such as fashion designer Christina Kim, chef Alice Waters’s Craftsman bungalow in Berkeley and, pictured here, the home of Seattle-based, Wyoming-born artist, designer, furniture maker, and architect Roy McMakin.

Opposite: The home and studio of prolific Italian architect Gae Aulenti (1927-2012) is celebrated in Williamson’s book, Modern Originals: At Home with Mid-Century European Designers (2014). Aulenti is one of the few women architects in post-World War II Italy and was a force in the Milan design scene of the 1950s and 1960s.

in Milan; to the home of distinguished Swedish furniture designer Bruno Mathsson and the great Swiss French architect, designer, painter, writer, and urban planner Le Corbusier. She traveled to 10 countries in Europe for this one and continues to shoot more. In her third book, Interior Portraits: A California Design Pilgrimage: At Home with Cultural Pioneers and Creative Mavericks (Rizzoli, 2018), she has created, as she calls it, “a love letter to my home state of California.”

Among those she has included is sculptor Alma Allen; the “weaver’s weaver” Kay Sekimachi, who uses the loom to construct three-dimensional sculptural forms; contemporary American furniture craftsman Sam Maloof, and California sustainable food guru and author Alice Waters.

“I have evolved as an artist,” she says when she speaks of her photographs as portals into other worlds. “Once driven by a simple curiosity to see how creative people lived, I now want to explore and share the deeper truth that the spaces we inhabit have the potential to express and nurture our purest selves.”

On her excellent website, lesliewilliamson.com, Williamson has added “The Lost Chapter: If only Still Lives had twenty more pages.” Here Williamson captures in words and images the home of Northern California artist JB Blunk (1926-2002), where she was permitted to explore and stay and, in turn, this became a heartstring project for her. In the process, enveloped in his environment, she came to know him. Born in Kansas in 1926, Blunk was celebrated as an elemental artist of the postwar era without equal. Struck by the Japanese aesthetic, Japan would become a second home to him when he first discovered the country while serving in Korea during the war. There he would apprentice under ceramics impresario Kitaōji Rosanjin, who taught him the ancient Japanese ceramic techniques. Into his soul the inspiration of Japanese art remained with him— in his ceramics, sculptures, the design of his home and furniture—and nowhere is his spiritual union with the ancient Japanese sensibility more apparent than in his masterwork, “The Planet” (1969), a work of tremendous power, and on view at the Oakland Museum of California. He took a single redwood burl—all that remained of a magnificent, majestic redwood felled many years before—and reclaimed it, turning it into a living testimony to Nature’s greatness unforgotten.

This total immersion into the lives and art of celebrated creatives has left its mark on Williamson.

With each individual whose home and work she explores and photographs, she delves so deeply she cannot help but come out of the experience with some insight, some inspiration, which stays with her and becomes a part of her. “When I am photographing a home, I am communing with a person. It’s not just about beautiful spaces, it’s about the beautiful lives and characters of the people who inhabit them. Be they living in the house or having passed on years before, I have to feel their soul stirring within the space. There is an energy we imbue into the places where we live and love and create our lives.

It’s a beautiful thing to spend my life searching for that, honoring it through my images and sharing it with the world. It really has changed the way I see everything.” ■ Still Lives: In the Homes of Artists, Great and Unsung by Leslie Williamson, copyright © 2021 by Leslie Williamson, published by Rizzoli New York, 2021. Modern Originals: At Home with Mid-century European Designers, copyright © 2014 by Leslie Williamson, published by Rizzoli New York, 2014 . Handcrafted Modern: At Home with Mid-century Designers, copyright © 2010 by Leslie Williamson, published by Rizzoli New York, 2010. Interior Portraits: At Home with Cultural Pioneers and Creative Mavericks, copyright © 2018 by Leslie Williamson, published by Rizzoli New York, 2018.

All photography copyright © by Leslie Williamson. No image may be used, electronically or in print, without written permission from the publisher.

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Studio Achille Castiglioni in Milan, the Helsinki home of Aino and Alvar Aalto; Finn Juhl’s Scandinavian farmhouse, Carlo Mollino’s eccentric Italian lair and the home of Austrian artist Arnulf Rainer, pictured here, are celebrated by Williamson in her book, Modern Originals.

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Opposite: Erasmusbrug is a combined cable-stayed and bascule bridge, construction began in 1986 and was completed in 1996. It crosses the Nieuwe Maas in the centre of Rotterdam, connecting the north and south parts of this city, second largest in the Netherlands.

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The Hague is a city on the North Sea coast of the western Netherlands. Its Gothic-style Binnenhof (or Inner Court) complex is the seat of the Dutch parliament, and 16th-century Noordeinde Palace is the king’s workplace.

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Rotterdam Blaak is a railway and metro station in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Located in the centre of the city, not far from the cube houses and the Markthal, the station is served by trains operating on the Breda–Rotterdam railway between Rotterdam Centraal and Dordrecht.

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Opposite: Beautiful Groenburgwal canal in Amsterdam with the Soutern church (Zuiderkerk) at sunset.

msterdam is the capital and most populated city in the Netherlands, which is interchangeably known as the country of Holland. This historic city lies within the Dutch province of North Holland and is often called the “Venice of the North” because of its extensive network of canals, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Established in the late 12th century as a fishing village, Amsterdam is located at the head of the River Amstel, which flows northwards from Drecht, in the province of South Holland. Only after the river was dammed to prevent flooding did Amsterdam derive its name from “Amstel” and “dam.” By the dawning of the Dutch Golden Age in the 17th century, the thriving, affluent city was the most important shipping port in the world. Today, after four centuries, the Amsterdam/Rotterdam Port remains one of the busiest ports in the world—and the only one of the top 10 that is not in the Far East.

Amsterdam also was the leading commercial and financial center in the world during the century-long Dutch Golden Age and remains one of the most important financial centers in the world today, ranking 17 on the Global Financial Centres Index (GRCI) in 2021—up a staggering eleven places from the previous year to emerge as Europe’s top share trading venue. In fact, the Amsterdam Stock Exchange is considered the oldest “modern” securities market stock exchange in the world. Among the Fortune Global 500 headquartered in the city are: the multinational oil and gas supermajor, Royal Dutch Shell; Philips, one of the largest electronics and health technology companies in the world; the investment holding company Exor, controlled by Italy’s Agnelli family, which owns significant stakes in Fiat Chrysler and Ferrari; and the ING, the financial services group. It is speculated that British tycoon Sir Richard Branson plans to list his first European blank-check company on the Amsterdam stock exchange in the next few months rather than The Bourse in London, where his Virgin Group empire is based. After London, Paris, Frankfurt, and Barcelona, Amsterdam is considered by global consultant Cushman & Wakefield the best European city to locate an international business. Against this cultural

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backdrop, one of the most beautiful and affluent cities in the world has evolved. But for the interruption of the two world wars—Amsterdam continues to grow and prosper.

Today, the medieval and colonial period grachten (canals) make up the heart of the city. Two-thirds of the hotels located in the city center are rated four- or five-stars and are among the finest in Europe. Shopping in Amsterdam offers the gamut, from its best-known, high-end department store, De Bijenkorf (founded in 1870) to the small, high-end specialty shops that line the streets of P. C. Hoofstraat and Cornelis Schuytstraat in the vicinity of Vondelpark; Kalverstraat, in the heart of the city, Negen Straatjes and its diverse assortment of privately owned boutiques; and the specialty shopping districts of Haarlemmerstraat and Haarlemmerdijk, where you can buy

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The Cube Houses (Kubuswoningen) in Rotterdam are one of the city’s most iconic attractions. Designed by Dutch architect Piet Blom, this residential development stands apart as its homes are literally cubes, tilted over by 45 degrees.

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Amsterdam municipality in regards to graffiti and street artists, decriminalizes the whole activity by creating legal opportunities and places to paint and sculpt, and promoting the most interesting graffiti painters to the status of an artist accepted by the society. They then sponsor the work, giving them commissions to decorate and even encourage moving the art into museums.

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Laurens Janszoon Coster (c. 1370, Haarlem – c. 1440), or Laurens Jansz Koster, is the purported inventor of a printing press from Haarlem. He allegedly invented printing simultaneously with Johannes Gutenberg and is regarded by many in the Netherlands as having invented printing first. The art of block printing is still considered a master craft and continues to this day, although it has evolved into more creative styles.

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everything from foods and candy, lingerie, books, home furnishings, and bicycles.

The Rijksmuseum is the most important museum in Amsterdam and the repository of the largest and most important collection of 17th century Dutch masters in the world. Here, on display, is Rembrandt’s masterpiece, The Night Watch (1642) and Jeremiah Lamenting the Destruction of Jerusalem; The Wedding Portrait of Isaac Massa and Beatrix van der Laen, by Frans Hals, The Kitchen Maid and Woman Reading a Letter, by Johannes Vermeer, The Battle of Waterloo, by Jan Willem Pieneman, The Merry Family, by Jan Steen, The Windmill at Wijk bij Duurstede, by Jacob van Ruisdael, Serenade by one of the first-known women artists, Judith Leyster, and works by Bartholomeus van der Helst, Ferdinand Bol, Albert Cuyp, and Paulus Potter. Also on display at the Rijksmuseum is the singularly most important collection in the world of Delftware (also known as “Delft Blue, or Delfts blauw), the blue-and-white, tin-glazed earthenware pottery inspired by Chinese porcelain that took root in Holland around 1600 and has since developed great renown for both its beauty and collectability. First opened in 1885, the Rijksmuseum underwent a ten-year, €375 renovation between 2003 and 2013. Today, approximately 2.5 million visitors annually come to see the more than one million works of art and artifacts housed in the museum.

Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890) lived in Tilburg where, as a 13-year-old boy, he took his first drawing classes before moving to the village of Nuenen, in the south of Holland in 1883 with his parents before moving to France in 1886 to live with his devoted brother, Theo. There he produced some of his most monumental paintings. The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam is nearby, where resides the largest collection of Van Gogh paintings—including the famed The Potato Eaters—as well as The Yellow House (1898), his self-portrait of 1888, Almond Blossoms (1890), and his most famous work of all, Sunflowers (1889), plus drawings and letters; work by his friend, painter Paul Gauguin: his portrait of Van Gogh painting Sunflowers, The Painter of Sunflowers (1888), and art of his contemporaries—and has as many visitors each year as the Rijksmuseum. In 2019, the Van Gogh Museum launched the Meet Vincent Van Gogh Experience, an immersive, technology driven experience which has received a tremendous reception as it tours around the world.

Also among Amsterdam’s many museums is the Museum het Rembrandthuis (Rembrandt House), where Rembrandt lived and worked from 1639 to 1658; one of the city’s oldest museums, Museum Ons’ Lieve Heer op Solder, in the heart of Amsterdam, where visitors experience life in a 17th century home during the Dutch Golden Age and a surprising top

floor; the Het Scheepvaartmuseum (National Maritime Museum) which provides special insight into the Dutch East India Company and its impact on colonialism in North America and Africa; Hermitage Amsterdam with displays from the iconic St. Petersburg Hermitage Museum Collection that includes exhibits such as “Jewels! The Glitter of the Russian Court” during the reign of the Tsars, the 17th century Portrait Gallery, a panoramic exhibit of the history of Amsterdam, and more. But it is a building on the Prinsengracht canal in the city center that is among the most visited of all landmarks in Amsterdam: The Anne Frank House, dedicated to the young wartime diarist who gave voice to the Holocaust. Anne was taken from her hiding place by the Nazis and transported to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp where she, along with millions of other Jews, was put to death. Her diary survived and was published in 1947 by her father, Otto.

Since then, it has become a perennial bestseller that has been published in more than 70 languages.

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Opposite: The Hanseatic town of Doesburg, situated along the IJssel river and the Oude IJssel river in Gelderland, was awarded city rights as early as 1237 and was the most important fortified city in Holland for a long time. Its former prosperity is still visible in its beautifully restored centre and fortifications.

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here’s an energy about Amsterdam that makes it one of the most exciting cities to visit—even more since the recently launched high-speed, international rail Eurostar route that connects the city with London. A hotel in Old Centre puts you in walking distance to the city’s main sights, nightlife, and shopping areas. Among the best places to stay is the luxurious fin-de-siècle De L’Europe Amsterdam, an elegant and historic 5-star hotel established 125 years ago and home to some of the city’s finest restaurants, including the two-Michelin-star restaurant, Flore (formerly known as Bord’Eau), the Italian Trattoria Graziella, and brasserie Marie, and the iconic Freddy’s Bar. There too is located the famed Le Spa by Skins Institute, where you can be pampered and nourished, mind, body, and soul. Also, in the heart of the city is the new (as of 2014) location of the former New York landmark hotel, the Waldorf Astoria, now the Waldorf Astoria Amsterdam, a 92-room 5-star luxury hotel, an assemblage of six 17th century canal palaces in the city’s most prestigious neighborhood, the Herengracht, a UNESCO World Heritage site. For a still luxurious but more personal experience, consider Maison Rika, a trendy boutique hotel opened by designer Ulrika Lundgren in 2011. In the heart of the Museum District is the Conservatorium Hotel, situated in walking distance to the Royal Concert Hall, Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum, Vondelpark, and Amsterdam’s popular shopping district.

The hotel is a dichotomy—on the outside, one of the city’s most historic architectural gems and inside, a modern, interior design masterpiece. The 129 rooms and suites include stateof-the-art, in-room technology, luxury linens, and private bars. What’s more all guests have complimentary access to the hotel’s Akasha Holistic Wellbeing spa. Dine at the hotel at Chef Schilo Van Coevorden’s award-winning restaurant, Taiko. If you were a wild child of the Sixties and want to relive a touch of nostalgia, ask for Room 702 at the Hilton Amsterdam, located in the upmarket Nieuw Zuid district. This the “John and Yoko Suite,” made infamous by the couple in 1969, where they held their famous “Bed-in for peace.”

There is no lack of fine dining in Amsterdam. Among the most popular is Jansz, chef Jeroen Robberegt’s take on classic cuisine with a modern twist. De Kas showcases the finest, freshest, farm-to-table produce and it’s easy to see why: the restaurant is actually a greenhouse. For the freshest fish try Stork, a cavernous former factory on the banks of the River IJ. A free shuttle ferries you there, where you can watch the busy river traffic go by while enjoying lobsters, oysters, and the “catch of the day” that only hours before, were underwater. For a touch of splendor, sup at Restaurant de Plantage, located in a 19th century

conservatory, overlooking the city zoo.

And if it’s brunch you’re after, eat at Bakers & Roasters, Amsterdam’s brunch pioneers, where you can enjoy a “Kiwi brekkie,” fantastic coffee, a full English breakfast, or Huevos Rancheros.

One thing to keep in mind: Amsterdam is a city of romance.

Arrange for you and your lover to take a romantic canal boat tour by day or a luxury dinner cruise by night or choose to explore the city by tandem bike (everyone gets around by bicycle) on your own or take a 3-hour guided bike tour with Amsterdam International-Group Historical Bike Tour. Go to the food shops and put together a romantic picnic you can enjoy in Vondelpark, Amsterdam’s 47-hectares public park with its lovely greeneries, lakes, and gardens. Take a chocolate tour at Chocolicious, one of a number of small chocolate shops where the makers show you how the most famous chocolate in the world is made. Take a day trip to Bollenstreek, Holland’s Flower Bulb Region, where tulips are grown in every shade and color or take a tour of the countryside to the neighborhood of

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Merry Company by Isack Elyas, 1629, is very typical of the Dutch style of art. Although Dutch painting of the Golden Age is included in the general European period of Baroque painting, and often shows many of its characteristics, most lacks the idealization and love of splendour that is typically found in Baroque work.

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The most popular cheeses from Holland are Gouda and Edam. There are many other types of Dutch cheese, however, such as: Frisian, Limburger, Kernhem, Bluefort, Subenhara, Maasdam, Old Amsterdam, Old Alkmaar, Mimolette Commission, Maasland, Texelaar-Kollumer, Leyden and Leerdammer. Cheeses, like wine, have a designation of origin, making the pieces produced in the local villages the best Dutch cheeses in the market.

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Opposite: “Koffie en gebak”, coffee and cake as served from many of the delicatessens throughout the Netherlands.

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Zaanse Schans, to see the windmills and the well-preserved homes.

Spanish physician and author Felix Marti-Ibanez wrote, “In Amsterdam, the water is the mistress and the land the vassal. Throughout the city, there are as many canals and drawbridges as bracelets on gypsy’s bronzed arms.” Go to Amsterdam and feel her embrace.

While all art roads lead to Amsterdam, there is Rotterdam, renowned for its art galleries and some fine museums, such as the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, one of the top three museums in Holland. Presently closed for renovation, the museum boasts a collection of more than 151,000 works of art, significantly its important collection of surrealist works.

(Many can be viewed online at www.boijmans.nl) The Het Nieuwe Instituut, part of the Museumpark which merges the Netherlands Architecture Institute, the Netherlands Institute for Design and Fashion, and the e-culture Institute Virtueel Platform, for a total immersive art experience.

But Rotterdam’s most popular attraction is its street art and numerous galleries that line the Witte de Withstraat, the hippiest street in the city with its array of bars, restaurants, hotels, and clubs.

Netherlands’ capital city, The Hague (“the count’s wood”), is the international seat of government that serves as host to the International Court of Justice and International Criminal Court. Located on the western coast of the Netherlands on the North Sea, The Hague has been a world center for educating artists and designers since the Royal Academy of Art (KABK) was established there in 1682 and continues to advocate and offer educational excellence for the emerging artist. Among the museums in the city is the Escher in Het Paleis (“Escher in the Palace”), dedicated to the work of Holland’s most famous graphic artist, M.C. Escher (1898-1972), the Kunstmuseum Den Haag, celebrated for its

collection of large works by Dutch painter and art theoretician Piet Mondrian (1872-1944), which is the largest in the world; and between the end of September and beginning of October each year, “ART The Hague,” a contemporary outdoor art fair displays the art of top international artists and offerings from 50 galleries.

But the finest art of all is what you yourself see with your own eyes— just as Holland’s great artists—when you take in the pastoral countryside, bustling humanity in its city streets, and provocative people that inspired them to paint their masterworks. Go to the Netherlands, for sure. But when you do, open your eyes, heart, senses, and mind to thoroughly experience the sights, sounds, and beauty this ancient, magnificent country has to offer. ■

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THE WOMEN WHO INSPIRE US INTERVIEWS

BY KAREN FLOYD

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Women Inspiring Women . . .

* Copy edited for length and clarity. * Interview videos are available to watch at elysianwomen.com

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LYSIAN was the result of Karen Floyd’s personal quest to tell and listen to stories about exceptional women. On the surface, Floyd’s interviews are about women achieving, overcoming, persevering and enduring. Their authentic journeys are captured through her anecdotal interviews.

Floyd asks, “Timing, virtue, luck, funding, perseverance, faith, endurance or passion?” The answer, she concludes, “is as unique as the stories themselves.”

“There is no “secret sauce” to success nor one roadmap to achievement.” In many cases, she emphasizes, “their journey was lonely . . . yet hardship created inner strength, clarity and enlightenment.”

Floyd maintains, “With age and time, the Inspiring Women collectively recognize and identify a universal goal: making the next chapter of their lives more meaningful.”

It is that purposeful determination to give back, that Floyd mirrors the women she interviews, and shares their inspiring stories with the ELYSIAN reader.

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ELYSIAN “Inspiring Woman,” Carla Groh, photographed in front of works by artist Carlos Llanes, in her Palm Beach gallery, Evey Fine Art. CHRIS JORIANN {FINE ART} PHOTOGRAPHY

carla Interview Date: January 24th, 2022

Along with her partner, Joseph Knapek, German-born archeologist and art specialist CARLA GROH owns and operates Evey Fine Art, located at 240 South County Road in Palm Beach, Florida, where one can find works on display whose vibrant colors, emotional complexity and sheer scale of up to 9-feet make a striking statement.

Familiar with the intricacies of a globalized art market, Evey gallery opened with a an exclusively curated collection of the most outstanding Latin American Artists working to date, many of whom such as Dalia Monroy, Rigoberto Mena or Omar Guadarrama have long been considered a pinnacle of excellence and are themselves fervent supporters of younger artists within their communities. Gradually pushing to the forefront of the art market with rising auction results every year—Latin American art is no longer a best kept secret among art collectors and has arrived at the heart of a newly emerging art scene in Palm Beach.

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Evey is an absolutely stunning gallery. Your studies were in Europe?

Yes. I studied in Basel, Switzerland and in Freiburg, Germany.

Switzerland. Let’s start there.

I love Switzerland. I grew up and studied there and spoke primarily Swiss German until I was four or five years old. To this day I still have friends living there.

Where were you born?

I was born in a tiny corner of Germany, right next to the Swiss and the French borders.

Have you spent much time in France?

Yes. I also lived in France in the Alsace region, which is in the Rhine region, right next to Germany and Switzerland.

Three very beautiful, but different cultures, and very different people. What is a characteristic, quintessentially unique in the German culture?

I read a philosopher once, who said, “You never realize how much your environment influences you until you leave that environment and move somewhere else.” I was never able to really pinpoint what was quintessentially German until I moved to Greece. It was there that I realized they are reliable. If they say something, they do it. It was something that I took for granted and thought of everybody else. When I moved away, I realized that was not the case. Culturally, this is something I miss the most.

Then the Swiss?

What I love the most about Swiss culture and what I learned when I was working there and attending the university is that their way of communicating is very respectful. They always let you finish your sentence and don’t overwhelm you with putting too much information in one sentence. They have a very equalizing way of talking to each other.

Gentility, isn’t it?

Yes. And it results in creating a great environment to work in and to be engaged in professionally.

Tell me about your father, he is no longer with us. How long ago was that?

No, when I was very young, still a baby.

And your mother?

My mother lives in Vienna and also in Switzerland. She is a great influence, and we are very close.

Did your mother feed your passion and love of art by giving you access to museums?

Yes, my mother and my grandmother. They both made certain that I was exposed to a lot of culture, opera, and museums. Every church we would pass, I would have to go in and they would quiz me about the style. It was something that felt like a game, fun and with a destination. It was something to look forward to on the weekends.

You have traveled and lived all over Europe; Greece, France, Switzerland, and Germany. What about Paris?

Yes. When I was young, we often visited friends living there.

Do you recall the first time you saw the Mona Lisa?

No. I do remember the Louvre as being really crowded. I do

remember the first time I saw Monet’s Water Lilies. My mother always said, she could leave me at the museum for hours. I would just sit there and soak it in. It gave me so much joy and calm. I loved it. In the stressful city of Paris, it was a lake of tranquility. I also loved the Tinguely fountain. It was always the first thing I ran to; the sculptures, like the little elephant. Art was something that has always filled me with joy, and I looked forward to seeing. It was a great adventure and I loved it.

As a child did you think your profession would be in the world of art?

No, I didn’t. As a child, one of the earliest memories I have was when I wanted to be an archeologist. I don’t really know where that idea came from either. From a very early age, and I wanted to be a scientist, an explorer, who was paired with a sense of adventure.

I wanted to see other countries and to uncover mysteries. I was inquisitive and my dream was to have the freedom to do this.

What was your favorite archeological expedition or “dig”?

It was in Greece with a German archeological Institute and is called Kalapodi, a sanctuary about 90 miles west of Delphi.

Supposedly, though not a hundred percent certain, it is an Apollo Artemis sanctuary. We were excavating adjacent buildings around the main temple which had been already excavated. We did this over years in different campaigns.

Egyptology is one of your fields of study. Did you participate in any expeditions in Egypt?

Yes. I was on two expeditions with a group in the Sinai region using camels as our transportation and Bedouins as our guides to a sanctuary up in the mountains called Serabit el-Khadim. It was an old silver mine with a temple, and it became part of my studies later on. That was one of the most beautiful experiences of my life.

Excavating a silver mine, ostensibly dating to the time of the pharaohs, was it pre-Christ?

Yes, 1500 BC. The excavations were in different phases much like the buildings. There was a very primitive early phase and then it grew from there. Later, new buildings were added to the temple.

How were they able to move the silver?

Probably by camel. They are sturdy beasts. If you have ever seen one, their hooves are gigantic, and they can really carry a lot. They are also very agile and know how to walk on sand and stone. Silver was mined there 3000 years before Christ. They had trading relations as far as Pakistan.

Did you develop a love for the Bedouin people, their nobility and beauty?

What I found the most striking about the Bedouins was their incredible sense of humor. I laughed so hard with them. They had an amazing sense of self and a clever self- irony that was hilarious. They thought it was funny, how Westerners approached and thought about them. We would sit down and have a great laugh. They would cook for us on the open fire. We really felt that we were in their homes, and they were our hosts. I have a lot of respect for their culture, and for their religious practices. They are a very spiritual people.

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DO YOU RECALL THE FIRST TIME YOU SAW THE MONA LISA?

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Art Evey gallery owner, Carla Groh, poses in front of Eulises Niebla’s monumental sculpture entitled Phoenix.

CHRIS JORIANN {FINE ART} PHOTOGRAPHY

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They regard women highly, which is not what you would expect.

For women, mothers, especially. We talked to their wives, and they also had a great sense of humor. Having multiple wives is an accepted practice, and one of the wives once told me she was glad because he was gone most of the time, so she had the house to herself. The experience taught me to never judge another culture with your own personal view of things, you have to respect other people’s ways and their traditions.

Did you wear a burqa when you were working there, or did you dress Western?

I wore a head scarf, so I was not showing my hair.

Did you ever consider being an architect?

No, I don’t think it ever crossed my mind. It was too technical for me. I was drawn more to the scientific side. I wanted to explore ancient cultures.

Two archeological tours in Egypt, a minimum of one tour in Greece. Were there any other locations where you did archeological excavation?

No, I kept coming back to Greece, to that sanctuary. Whenever possible, I would go back to that excavation.

What was it about that, the sense of exploring the history and lineage of your father?

I think it was more the team that I really loved, the work and my colleagues. On each occasion, we had an incredible time there.

It was one of the happiest times of my life. We would spend the weekends in Athens, which remains one of my favorite cities.

And how old were you at that time?

I began in my twenties and I kept going back until three years ago.

Archeology to the world of art, auction house, brokering art? Help with the chronology.

In my second year at the university, I realized that turning archeology into a profession was very difficult. It was a real obstacle to do what I loved without a source of income. A friend of mine suggested doing something in the art industry. He put me in contact with the first gallery I worked for in Basel, which was an antiquities dealer. I started working there 18 years ago, while in pursuit of my studies for over five years.

How does one curate antiquities?

The rule for antiquities is that they must have provenance that goes back to 1960s, 1970s. To be legal, the antiquities that are traded now, have to be on the market for a certain amount of time.

Which is difficult to do?

Yes, it is not easy as a business. To do it properly you need a research team of two or three people who do nothing but research the backgrounds and the type of pieces. You want to make sure that all the pieces entered the trade legally. It was completely legal in Greece to sell whatever you found.

But now?

No, not anymore. So right.

Essentially, from the sixties forward countries that are doing excavation prohibited what is discovered in the expedition being sold on the open market. What is discovered is owned by the country of origin, which is why the museum in Egypt is so spectacular.

Yes. and they only have a fraction of those on display. They just discovered a new tomb in the Valley of the Kings, led by people I know from the University of Basel. That is what makes archeology exciting, you can always find something completely new. You can find a new civilization if you dig deep enough.

What happened after working for the antiquities dealer in Basel?

I moved to Vienna, and I started working in another gallery and I was a research fellow for a university project.

Do you like research?

I do.

If you had a choice between curating art, researching antiquities and owning a gallery, which is your favorite and why?

Definitely owning a gallery and researching for fun or on the side.

Academia, as much as it fascinated me, and as much as I liked it, was not a hundred percent for me. As it turned out I was a horrendous academic writer. Sometimes you think a job will be perfect but once you engage you then realize it does not fit a hundred percent. When you realize that it forces you to change directions.

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Opposite: Chief Media Director, Rob Springer, captures the essence of the moment as Karen Floyd interviews Carla Groh.

CHRIS JORIANN {FINE ART} PHOTOGRAPHY

Below: Carla at 5 years old with family friend in front of Eiffel Tower.

MY MOTHER ALWAYS SAID, SHE COULD LEAVE ME AT THE MUSEUM FOR HOURS. I WOULD JUST SIT THERE AND SOAK IT IN. IT GAVE ME SO MUCH JOY AND CALM. I LOVED IT. IN THE STRESSFUL CITY OF PARIS, IT WAS A LAKE OF TRANQUILITY.

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Archeology, curating antiquities, then working in the academic world, what happened next?

I worked in Lucerne for a period of time, as an expert for an auction house. I returned to Vienna again to work for a gallery, which is where I conceptualized Evey.

What does Evey stand for?

Evey is from my Greek grandmother’s name Evangelia, which means the gospel or the good news. Evey is also a fictional character that I always liked and one who inspired me. The name just came to me one day, and it stuck with me. The idea started as a limitededition art store, which would sell limited edition prints for artists all over the world. It took me several years to develop the idea and to actually have the courage to begin. I slowly started with my own art brokerage. Evey moved from Vienna to France, and then from France to Chicago. We eventually moved to Palm Beach, which was a spur of the moment decision, leading to our first brick and mortar store. From there, it developed into what we see here.

While you worked in an auction house, I presume you learned the evaluation of art?

Art appraisal was very interesting because it was such a different world than what I knew. I learned in Switzerland to treat art as a financial asset, as well as an aesthetic asset in your house. I found it very interesting to have the best of both worlds, to have an asset you can invest in while at the same time an asset you can enjoy, that you collect. The auction house taught me about evaluation and also about working very fast with a lot of objects.

Can you share Mr. Vanderbilt’s Performa on wealth?

To have an even portfolio, 30% of art as an asset and then 30% of real estate and 30% of stocks and bonds.

Do you believe that still applies in today’s world?

In Switzerland in 2008, we had a gallery in St. Moritz. That formula was very true for a lot of people, and it was a very busy year for us.

Art is also a secure way of investing, and it is portable because it is an asset that can be easily moved. You cannot move a house for instance.

An increasing number of people, over the last 20 years, have started investing in art, even though they are not professional art collectors.

Is art valuation contingent on there being a finite number?

Definitely, because with scarcity, only a certain number of pieces on the market remain, which translates to a consistent valuation. That stability also guarantees a certain value.

Tell me about the art surrounding me in this absolutely spectacular gallery?

Latin American art is mainly what surrounds us, Cuban in particular. Working with artists is a particularly important component to what I do. It is important for me to work with artists with whom I have a personal relationship, that are truly dedicated to their work, to their craft and who have very established careers. It is just a pleasure.

Forgive me for asking, but is there a piece in here that you consider your favorite?

Yes, it is in the back and is called the Shared Soul. It shows a woman holding a dog. The artist, Ruben Rodriguez, explained to me that he depicted the moment of two souls bonding, a human and an animal, which is the kind of art that I gravitate towards: art with soul, emotion, and deep meaning.

How many pieces are currently in your collection?

Right now, I would say approximately 80.

How do you sell this amazing art? The bricks and mortar show room here at the Evey gallery or e-commerce?

Primarily people coming to the gallery and clients we already know.

The gallery’s visibility also plays a big role. Palm Beach is a great place to

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Art Evey, fine art gallery, in Palm Beach, Florida, represents a number of outstanding artists including Jorge Luis Santos (foreground: Flores Amarillas Y Rosa, 2021) and Antonio Guerrero (background Red Balloon, 2021).

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connect with people who collect and really appreciate art. They span the entire east coast to LA. Everyone that comes through here sees us, which is a great way to reach the right clientele.

You mentioned when you were a little girl, you fell in love with the “joy and peace” art brought to you. Can you describe that experience for me?

You might call it transcendent or a metaphysical place that is inside you, but art can touch that place and is also all around us. Once you really connect, art can charge you in certain ways. Art can fulfill you or heal you or transform you. That for me is the most rewarding and fascinating thing…if that connection happens, if you find that piece of literature or that movie or that painting, that touches you and makes you feel whole or less alone or understood. Marilyn Monroe once looked at a painting from, I think it was Goya, and it was a terrible scene. She turned around and said, “Oh, he knows my nightmares.” I think this is how a lot of people connect with art. They feel understood.

They feel like there is a place that we do not necessarily share, but we all experience as part of the human condition. Sometimes that “place” cannot be put into words, it can only be put in poetry or art.

You use the word “transcendent,” do you believe artists are given a gift from God? I do.

Is there a responsibility associated with being given that gift?

That is a good question. I would love to know for sure my purpose or my path. I think sometimes you have to walk the journey to find out.

What do you think is your responsibility?

When I look around sometimes, I feel it is to create a space for everyone, but especially a space where . . . I find it hard to put it into words.

Keep going. Is the word describing the space that you are searching “safe”?

Yes. What strikes me the most is what a lot of people say when they come in here or when they see the artwork. They usually make a comment about the effect it has on them which gives me the greatest sense of accomplishment. To have created a space where people can have that connection or sensation that I had as a kid. Art has always had that effect on me, and I felt that art was something that could really touch you deeply inside, that sacred space. The world can access that space and yet it is kept sacred and nourished and developed. I think every one of us needs a safe space to create.

When was the first time you saw your husband?

We met years ago at an art show where we talked about art, French cheese, and wine. We connected and that was the beginning of a long journey.

How old were you at that time?

I was in my early thirties.

Did you know that he was “the one”?

I never bought into the idea of “the one”. It is a romantic concept that I never really believed. I have experienced the emotion, when someone feels so familiar, as if a bond was rekindled that had been going on forever. When I met my husband for the first time, it felt so familiar talking to him as though we were continuing a conversation from a little earlier. This feeling of finding a kindred spirit, I have experienced, but I don’t think it happens just one time with one partner. I also have experienced it with great friends, great business relationships and even artists. The connection feels as though the relationship is how it is supposed to happen. We were meant to work together or be together and walk this journey together, if that is what we believe.

Do you share your passion and calling?

He loves our artists and is very passionate as well about the gallery and building the space. He pours his heart and soul into it, just as much as I do.

How many hours do you work a day?

I would say at least 12. 10 to 12?

Is there one person, above all others in your entire career, that either took a leap of faith with you, supported your dreams, or pushed you beyond what you imagined possible?

I would definitely say my husband. He was the one who pushed for this. I am naturally more careful, deliberate and a slow decision maker. I thought we would start with an art brokerage, not with a

gallery or brick and mortar store. My inclination was to bring pieces over from Europe and see how it went. He was always the one, and still is, who pushes for expansion and to take risks. I think one of the best things I have learned from him is to take risks.

What do you want to accomplish in the second chapter of your life?

I do have some projects that are very close to me, that I still want to realize. The skillset that I learned starting this business and building this business has helped me to develop the tools that I need to make the vision a reality. I just lacked those skills in the beginning.

I did not know how to turn an idea into an actual enterprise.

What for instance?

I would love to publish my research. I also want to develop the Evey Edition, and the e-commerce part of the business. Our limited editions line is focused on younger, emerging artists all over the world that have the opportunity through Evey edition to send us their files. We then sell their artwork here so that they have an income, wherever they are. We have artists in Ghana, Pakistan, Latin America and Europe. Another dream of mine is to develop and expand that network further.

You currently have an e-commerce online, so you want to expand it…be more robust?

Yes. To grow our footprint globally and to get more and more artists on board.

How does one go about actively recruiting those artists and build those relationships worldwide?

To grow and expand, we will have to hire more people, a whole team to maintain the website, and open offices in different cities.

Publishing and growth through e-commerce and physical sites. What else?

Those are the main focuses right now, and eventually public speaking, which is also something I really enjoy doing. I learned that I enjoyed that from time at universities. I really do enjoy presenting facts in a fun and interesting way.

For what do you want to be remembered?

Creating that safe space that we talked about earlier. That would be the legacy I would be most proud of. If Evey were still here and people knew it was that space available for everyone to feel connected to art and feel safe. That would be something that would make me very happy to have as my legacy.

Do you envision staying in this spot for many years?

Yes. Definitely here, but I am sure there are more spots to be discovered.

What experience can you share, that you wish you would not have had to learn the hard way.

In life, sometimes the obstacle is in the way of your dream. As long as you do not quit but continue to work on what you see as a terrible challenge, you can work through it. The result can easily turn out to be exactly what you need it to be. “Persevering” separates you from the majority because if you work through the challenge, you will find yourself in a unique space, because not many people can get there. I wish I had known that sooner. While you are fighting your way through, it seems hopeless, silly, or insurmountable at times. Looking back, it is easier to connect the dots. I realize now that had I not run into the challenges of financially sustaining myself as an archeologist, I would not have had this career. I had been told so many times “you can’t do this” . . . or “what you are trying is impossible”. Those words sparked something inside of me and created a stubbornness to try it anyway. Often, the people standing in your way or a difficulty standing in your way, is really what “makes you” and is a blessing in disguise. Even if you turn down the wrong alley, at least you have walked your life’s path and it will show you where next to go. Never lose that faith. I think this is the lesson I would tell a younger version of me. There is a meaning to all of this, and it is not for nothing. Everything will make sense in the end.

If you could ask God one question, what would that be?

What would you have me to do?

Your purpose?

Purpose. Yes. I think you know your purpose, Carla. ■

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Breegan Jane on a project site in Los Angeles featuring Kohler fixtures. She’s wearing an off-theshoulder “St. Tropez” sheer kimono from Asa Kaftan in Venice, California, a trendy boutique favored by entertaining elites, such as singers Janet Jackson and Maria Carey.

PHOTOGRAPH BY RYAN GARVIN

Breegan

Interview Date: January 10th, 2022

“Design should make our lives better. It should increase the beauty and functionality of our spaces. Whether I’m designing for clients or for my personal home, I’m careful to select pieces that will enhance both the space and the daily lives of the people who live there,” says lifestyle expert BREEGAN JANE, whose signature style has catapulted into the world of interior design as an innovator who maximizes livable comfort, serenity and elegance with a modern aesthetic. In addition, she collaborates with national and global partners to promote brand awareness across social media and digital platforms to a constantly growing audience. She has been featured on HGTV and The Food Network as well as in publications such as Architectural Digest, Forbes & Elle Décor.

She dedicates her time and support to local, national, and global humanitarian efforts, such as World Vision, which raises funds for impoverished women in Africa. Of the children’s book she wrote Breegan says, “With Carbie I wanted to share some of my own life lessons with young children and show them the importance of never giving up—no matter how bad things might get. It’s an important lesson for all kids to learn and for all of us to remind ourselves of time and again. We should all shine like the diamonds we are.”

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You currently serve as an ambassadorship to Hooker Furniture Company and have described similarities between the founder Clyde Hooker to your father. What are those characteristics and why are they important in business?

I love working with the Hooker company. It is a relationship that has existed for two years. Not only do they challenge me creatively, but the company aligns with my brand, which is the nature of good partnerships.

I learned a lot about business from my father. He bought his first property when he was a college student. He assumed the mortgage, gave his friends cheap rent, but was also able to build ownership in something as early as his twenties. This is the way that he conducts business. From an outsider’s perspective, I watched his honesty, trust in friendships, and his kindness. He was willing to assume risk in order to build something that serves other people.

He was my first “real life example” who taught the lesson, your ability to create money, wealth or a business is not necessarily your paycheck. It is what you do with your paycheck.

If you read about Clyde Hooker, he founded his factories with similar principles which his legacy carries on. In today’s crazy world of business, with instant gratification, we forget that it takes years, building brick by brick, to truly have the foundation of a company of which you can be proud.

You are adopted and have siblings?

I do. I have two siblings. We each have different parents, so we are not birth related. We look alike, which is strange. My adoption was arranged before I was born. I grew up with a feeling of belonging to my family and connected. But there has also been a bigger longing for me to explain home. “Home” is so important to me. On a subconscious level I always had a feeling that I belonged, but I never quite felt I fit in perfectly. I became my own cookie cutter self.

Nature versus nurture, is that something you have experienced?

Very much so. I am often asked about my feelings on adoption. People have their own perceived notions. As an adopted child, it goes as far one way to say someone’s blood is pumping through your veins, to someone that you have never met. Imagine if you were standing at a train station. What if your natural mother would go right by you and you would never know she existed. On the other hand, kids do stupid things in the back of a car and out comes a baby which is not the heavy lifting. My parents changed my diapers from day one. They dealt with me as a teenager. I have had a full and complete sense of family. Undoubtedly, my desire and wonder to find myself, I think has been greater than some of my peers.

Did you ever want to find your natural mother?

I have thought about it and have a lot of information. My family has different stories, all three of us adopted with different circumstances leading to the adoption. My sister sought a relationship with her natural mother. My brother came with that relationship. For me, it’s something that, at this point, I have chosen not to pursue.

Did your parents openly speak with you and your siblings about being adopted? How? Yes. I’m the oldest but I think one of the best things they did was communicating my birth story. I told my kids, “When you were in my tummy . . . and you were growing in there . . .”

When my parents held and rocked me as a baby, they would say, “when you were in, “so, and so’s” tummy, we came and got you.” So, there was never this big discovery for me, nothing seemed unusual. When you are a kid, you think everybody else is exactly like you.

Your brother and sister, did they have challenges reconciling “natural versus adopted families”?

I think what is interesting in our family is that we have “relatability” because we are all adopted children. This unifies the family experience in an unusual way. But beyond that, we all grew and figured out who we are individually. Our parents allowed us to have those individual stories, expressions of what felt comfortable for us individually.

Both of your parents are Caucasian yet you and your siblings . . .

We are mixed.

Different racial ethnicities and backgrounds, how did your parents communicate and what was their messaging?

I don’t think there was much messaging, which was so interesting. We grew up in Hermosa Beach, which happens to be a predominantly Caucasian neighborhood.

There was a huge spillover of athletes in Los Angeles. Members of the LA Kings and Los Angeles Lakers teams lived there. But there was a very affluent African American community inside Hermosa Beach. As I grew to adulthood, my parents talked to me more about their wanting to have experiences with me in my culture. My mom took me to every African American museum, every art event that came through LA because she always wanted to give me an outlet for expression and an understanding of where I came from. In my early twenties, I was definitely shocked when the realities of life and the world were unveiled to me. I am grateful that was hidden from me. I grew up as a full and complete self without the thought that I was different, or something was negative. I recognize that experience is not the case for most people. They don’t get to 20 years old without personally experiencing injustices surrounding skin color.

Breegan Jane wearing a classic “little black dress” at the installation of a Bel Air project.

The custom wall of beautifully veined Carrera marble was imported from Italy.

PHOTOGRAPH BY RYAN GARVIN

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Your parents are enlightened. Tell me about your mom.

I give my mom a lot of credit when it comes to my creativity. I am what I have become in my career because of her. She wants to give herself none of the credit, but she is creative. She lays mosaics around our houses and is always painting. She creates with my children now. When they went to our family home for Christmas this year, they had made us snow Globes with antique figurines at the bottom . . . those creative experiences are what I grew up with. Those experiences unquestionably shaped my career.

Your children, are they creative as well?

It’s very interesting for me to watch their creative expression.

Creativity, for our family, is central to who we are individually and as a unit, it becomes something we do together. My son will walk me over in a restaurant and go, “Mommy, did you see that gold light on the wall?” He actually can identify beauty and pull it back to what I do. It’s really weird. The first time he did it, I thought, “I am rubbing off on you.” I like that they recognize beauty. I think that’s what’s happening in our family.

What do your parents attribute to enduring years and years of marriage?

For them, marriage is very much based in their faith. Over the years they consistently created a bond despite challenges at times. I think that that is what they would attribute it to.

“Faith” in the institution of marriage or “faith” in terms of religion?

Faith in Christianity.

Is that faith strong for you as well?

Faith is a big part of my life and the way I do things.

Spirituality for me is at the core of those understandings. I grew up in a family, where my grandfather was a pastor, so Christianity was our foundation. Recognizing the fundamental truth of right and wrong and helping your neighbor can be a great way to shape what your values are as an adult.

How do you balance and recalibrate?

For me, the thing called “balance” looks heavy to most people.

As much as I work, I maintain personal relationships. As much

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as I spend time on the floor with the kids, I stay up till two am doing emails. I have let go of the perception of other people’s definition of balance. I thought balance meant taking something off my plate or removing things. And then I realized that for me, it is different. I feel most balanced, when I am doing everything a hundred percent and I find my personal comfort in that space.

What fills you up?

What is really important to me is that my struggle and growth is done in a way that I can be proud of. For me, as a leader, that means forging ahead for my kids, being an example to my staff, and being involved in my philanthropic work. I feel that at a certain point in our careers, we reach a stage where you go, “Okay, this could be the top of the mountain if I wanted it to be. The views are nice, everybody is safe, it is clean, the air is fresh around us and we all have our health.”

How do you make yourself strive for that next peak? At least for myself, it has to be about going beyond yourself, because this stage is not my landing. There is more I can do if I push further for the people behind me. That for me is the biggest fulfillment and what continues to keep me going.

How many people do you employ?

Right now, it’s smaller than it used to be, about eight full time. I have worked with the same team for 10 years, same contractor, same framers, glass guy, we’re going on eight years. There is a constant group, many of whom are owners of their own companies, and we have been in business for years and years.

You have taken risks and shifted vision where opportunity led you, but are there still some things that you do want to accomplish?

Of course. I give that list breath to change and move. I think that that is important. You can’t be singularly focused either. Two things are at the root of what I want for my success. One is the ability to hire other people who wish to be a part of and contribute to the company’s growth. In return, I want them to have a job they love, a home, feed their family, put their kids through college. I want to be able to hire people, not a perfect resume. Ours is not your traditional employment role.

They are your family.

Yes, my family. To me this is important, especially with my past experience. I was lucky because I had the ability to leave my situation but there are many women who can’t leave a bad circumstance. There are many women who want to work, but that do not have a college degree or work experience in their field of interest. But their willingness to work is always what I hire first. Second is my ability to influence or be an inspiration to anyone who maybe doesn’t fit in. In many ways that was who I was as a child, I was allowed to be special and different.

It wasn’t negative, but I was different than everybody else. I had the only curly hair in the room, and while I liked to be super girly l would wear Doc Martins. My parents allowed that. It was really important that I had other women as an example. I think there is a lack of diversity in representation in big box mass retail. I want to be that example for somebody else.

DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU’VE MADE IT?

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that is underway and located right on the beach in Southern California.

PHOTOGRAPH BY RYAN GARVIN

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Breegan Jane descends the grand staircase of a Bel Air project.

PHOTOGRAPH BY RYAN GARVIN

WHEN I THINK ABOUT THE BEGINNING OF MY CAREER UNTIL NOW, NOT MUCH HAS CHANGED. YOU STILL GET UP, YOU STILL WORK . . . NOTHING REALLY HAS CHANGED. THE GOAL IS TO ENJOY THAT JOURNEY. If you could take a crystal ball, would that be in fashion, home decor, design or books?

I think in home decor. The biggest influences in my career, setting the bar high, are Oprah, Beyoncé, Martha Stewart, and all of them are recognized for who they are, not what they do? I think that is why I keep jig sawing everywhere because it’s, it’s not about the career. It is what my company or my legacy will stand for and what it will mean.

The one thing that I’ve learned in different facets of my careers is if you can do something well and you’re good at it, you can always bring on people to grow it. I will follow where the opportunities continue to be. If they are in TV, it could look like a giant production company, which is not my dream at all now. If the opportunity is in home decor then we will need more people designing and turning out designs. It could be in residential real estate. I think it will land somewhere in between all of those.

Do you feel like you’ve made it?

No, I don’t think I ever will. For me, life is in the journey. The closest I get to “making it” is to check a mark off on the to-do list.

I realize more and more that although the to-do list is what fuels me, it really is not about the list itself. It’s about the process of moving forward. When I think about the beginning of my career until now, not much has changed. You still get up, you still work, you still are on the computer, still taking calls. Nothing really has changed. The goal is to enjoy that journey and that everyday life and I think I’ll be doing that for a long time.

Do you exercise?

I do yoga right now which is new for me. I have not made that a priority, especially since having kids for the last eight years. I have realized that our health is really our wealth. It’s so cliché, but it’s true.

Four days a week I do yoga and a little bit of cardio. I want my body to be able to carry me where my heart and mind want to go.

HGTV on a scale of one to 10, how was that experience?

A 10 because it is the dream, like getting into your favorite college. It has been this thing that I wanted to be a part of for so long. When you get there, you want to pinch yourself. You realize, you still have a lot of learning left to do.

Is there one home in particular that most touched your soul and why?

There is. Being on Extreme Makeover, Home Edition was an amazing experience. The Barobi family in Ogden, Utah had seen their parents and little sister murdered in front of them, they were all refugees.

The ability to have a positive impact on their lives and to capture their resilience was inspiring . . . based on the talents you were given, and the position life puts you in. That work always stands out to me as “the one.” The stories go on for years and years.

You began your career in fashion?

I had grown up modeling and was exposed to creative people.

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I had saved money by doing that very early on so at 18 I opened a clothing store, which developed into a clothing line. “Why am I selling other people’s clothes when I can make prettier clothes than this?” I asked myself. It just started the career. The clothing line was Mosa which means beautiful. It was founded in Hermosa Beach where I lived at the time. I named the store Breegan. I was lucky my parents gave me a name that’s unique.

Breegan is an Irish name and my great-grandmother on my dad’s side, obviously adopted, was Irish. It means strong.

What are you wearing?

One of the things about my fashion sense is that I am not that committed to the art of fashion. I just wear what I like. This is a piece from Rent the Runway. In the world of luxury that I have placed myself, there is a lot of scrutiny, teasing and pressure to be perfect. The truth is I wear so many clothes and I don’t need all that. I just need a good outfit for that one dinner party and then I’ll have another need for another one. Rent the Runway works great for me. There is too much consumerism, my closet gets too full when you wear that one dress, that one time.

Do you have haters?

Yes, and I am really sensitive. I want to be liked, so my feelings get really hurt sometimes. It is interesting to put yourself in the public by wanting the success that I desire.

The dichotomy between celebrity and sensitivity are two incompatible friends.

How do you navigate around unkindness . . . because you are a gentle woman?

I typically “kill it with kindness.” There have been times when I have been told “don’t engage”. But something inside me needs to understand. I want to know “why” . . . what button did I hit?

I question so I that I can learn. More often than not, kindness is felt and received. You really can kill, not always, but often, by just staying kind and curious.

On a personal note, you were divorced in 2016. That was a hard period in your life. What happened?

Yes. We separated when my youngest son was about three months old. I realized that my situation was not going change.

We had tried therapist after therapist, and our marriage was not what I expected. On top of the pregnancy hormones and trying to find my own truth and reality, my whole world was turned upside down. I think when you are a new mom, it is hard to trust yourself. It took me about three years inside the marriage to realize that my internal voice and the truth for me meant that a life was not possible with their father. I needed to start building a life that was positive.

Do you ever regret that decision?

No, I never regret it. There are unique experiences that are challenging especially when you think you’re marrying your best friend. I like the saying, “nobody gets married to get divorced”.

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Breegan on the pool deck at one of her recently completed and massive design projects.

PHOTOGRAPH BY RYAN GARVIN

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When you are a single mom with two kids under the age of two you soon learn that society often places you in these interesting boxes that don’t apply to you. I think, that judgement and pain can sometimes force women to stay in situations that they know are not right for their soul. But it is hard to get out of the marriage because the other side isn’t that easy either. I learned you have to push past it to grow, and to remind yourself, I am doing this and doing it the right way, for me. I have to be happy and healthy first.

What is Unchained at Last?

Unchained at Last is a charity I support and love that focuses on child marriage. We are talking 16-year-old girls who just can’t find a way out because they legally can’t work, they don’t have bank accounts or even cell phones in their own names. There are so many reasons why women can’t get out of bad marriages. Fundamentally the biggest challenge is that voice inside your heart and head where you really want to believe the fairy tale story that you make up and tell yourself. The only way through it, I think, is to find a different voice.

You can find it in friends and especially legal support, and therapy.

People that are not in your world and persuaded by one story or the other, somebody entirely out of your world and objective can bring you much needed perspective. Then just holding to your own truth and defining what is right or wrong for me.

The last two years you have been on a mercuric professional trajectory. How did that happen?

It really has been happening over 10 years, those years that are invisible and a part that people don’t see. I had to learn and understand everything possible about building and creating spaces. You only see the end result these last two years and the culmination. But there were eight intensive years before that… there are still a few mountain peaks ahead, and I am not stopping.

There are three projects currently on your horizon. The first is your relationship with HGTV - recently The House My Wedding Bought, can you tell me about this?

It is fun to have a singular hosted show. I really appreciate HGTV for giving me that opportunity and also just continuing their trust in me, with all sorts of opportunities. Staying on the network is definitely important. It began when an all-female owned production company approached me. They wanted to build a show and a story. People see me as an interior designer but really in order to create things for myself and my family I purchased real estate and made it beautiful and lived in it. That skillset is at the root of who I am. I have an ability to see and choose homes, looking past their imperfections while also making a good financial decision. A lot of times young people getting married don’t necessarily want to listen to their parents. They get stuck on minor things like, it doesn’t have a closet. That is where I say, yes, but you can add an Armoire.

Look at this neighborhood that you won’t get if you get the other house with the perfect basement . . . It was nice to be able to talk to my peer group, I have bought and sold houses and none of them have been picture perfect. These life experiences have allowed me to make good financial decisions, have a home and the things that I want. To be able to coach them through that at a time where there’s so much pressure is something to which I relate.

You are also a children’s book author. Where are you with the second book?

Hopefully, there’ll be more to tell soon. It has been written. I never anticipated writing children’s books, but I don’t anticipate most of my businesses. They just come to me in the middle of the night. I had actually written the story in my early twenties and then lost it.

I remembered it as I was about to give a speech to a large group of children. It propelled me into action and I just decided to rewrite it.

I actually put pen to paper and published it. For me, the experience was an example of making struggle something attainable.

What are the names of both children’s books?

Carbie is the first and the second book is Are You My Friend? It is funny because no one really is pushing much for this book. But for

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me it is another story in the chapter of just living life as a parent. One of the things that I could never explain to my kids when they were at kindergarten drop off was why mommy was a single person. We live in Venice Beach with a lot of couples that looked different, from moms to dads. But there were rarely single parents in our community.

I remember my son’s response because he would feel bad that I was lonely. He ran back inside once, when he was going with his dad and said, “but you are going to be alone.” I decided to tell a story through characters and especially animals. I am sure you remember as a parent a book is a great way to say something without saying it.

That is the base of this story, an animal who is alone. He sees other animals, most that look the same or some look different, that book is about being okay with being alone. It was written and comes from a heart place, not necessarily a career decision.

Perhaps a mirror on you . . . forging your own path, which at times has to be lonely?

At times it does get very heavy. Yes, it does feel like, “am I okay?”

I don’t look like everything around me, is that okay? But I am really happy just splashing in puddles. So, I will do that and just enjoy it.

Wake up, accept and appreciate your reality.

The third project is this house. We literally are sitting in a framed, shell . . . a beautiful footprint for your “soon to be home”?

This house, but we could keep going. There are so many things happening in my world that are full of opportunity. We are sitting in the beautiful new kitchen of my forever home, which was my intention in building this home. I have lived in this community with my kids since they were born. We are literally within a five-minute walk from my current home. And it’s even closer to the house that my kids were in when they were first born. This tiny little block is our community. I liked the idea of bringing you here showing the community where design really starts. If you have ever built a house, it is not always the pretty finishes, the snap of the fingers, to the perfect new couch. I treasure the journey of taking something in this state and then creating something beautiful.

You talked a little bit about the philanthropy that you’ve been involved with since you were a child, World Vision?

World Vision is a charity that I’ve been involved in since I was a little girl. When I was 11, my mom took my best friend and me to Costa Rica to see their micro loans program. I thank my parents for those experiences because I’m sure they shaped me as an entrepreneur too. I saw women in developing countries who had been afforded a loan and turned a microloan into a bakery or any number of things. Some were able to put their kids in school.

As they pay the loans back, the loan lives on. With a little bit of help people with a strong mind can create. In conditions where they shouldn’t be able to succeed, with just a little help, the whole community changes.

If you could ask God a question, what would that question be?

Where can I draw strength. I don’t question challenges but when times get hard, where do I draw my strength? I think that that’s the one that we tend to forget when things are hard.

Give me advice, something that could have changed your life’s “journey”. It can be a story. It can be anything.

Women need to hear three words, “You are capable.” I struggled internally without them. It is something society forgets to say. Tell other women, you are capable and can do anything.

When you find yourself a single mom with two little kids and you have to take out the trash, you realize it is not that hard. Finding spiders in my home triggered my self-doubt because it reminded me there was nobody there to catch or kill the spider. I realized I had to catch and kill the spider myself and that I was not going to die doing it. I know that seems so silly, but I think that this thought of our own limitations and capability sneaks in through society. We forget that we are big and brave enough to catch the spider, if we want to.

I ask the girls around me, what do you want? Just go get it.

You are capable. ■

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Breegan Jane, wearing an Asa Kaftan “Paris” halter dress and matching kimono. Meticulously hand-crafted in France by La Cornue, this customl’édition d’artstarts et de design .2022 made range from The Château Series at $100,000.

PHOTOGRAPH BY RYAN GARVIN

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mind& &body

The healing power of art for personal renewal

BY SIMONE BAUDELAIRE-FARROW

OLENA YAKOBCHUK / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

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S ince time immemorial art has been a vital form of communication, self-expression, healing, and pleasure.

Art also can be a treatment for psychological disorders and mental illness, for adults and children alike; and yet, no formal program utilizing art as therapy existed in our country until the 1930s. Since then, it has developed into an important part of therapeutic treatment practiced in hospitals, clinics, public and private community agencies, wellness centers, educational institutions, businesses, and private practices in dealing with a wide-range of ailments: from anxiety, depression, eating or substance-use disorders, PTSD or stress, illness, and those who suffer psychological symptoms associated with their illness; likewise, those who are not dealing well with aging or unable to deal with geriatric issues, or have family or relationship problems. By all means, seek professional help as soon as possible if you suffer from any one of these afflictions. But look to art as one aspect of therapeutic treatment to help you through your journey.

Now what if you’re okay but feel a little off-balance or worn through? Engaging in art is both an ideal and practical solution—and what’s more, you don’t need to go to a doctor for a prescription. The truth is that all busy women lack one thing: time. There never are enough hours in the day and whenever you attempt to set some personal time aside, you’re invariably interrupted by the phone ringing, a text that needs answering, or someone knocking on the door as you’re about to step into the bath. Being strung-out, tired, stressed, and over-worried is sort of like plaque: it builds up and unless you get your teeth cleaned, it only gets worse. One way to clear out stress from your life is to shift your focus away from your normal routine.

That’s where art therapy comes in.

Art therapy can take many forms: dance, drama, expressive therapy, music, writing, and art. The purpose is the same: to dedicate a certain amount of time on a regular basis to follow a program that helps you explore self-expression, achieve peace and relaxation, and find time for self-examination.

When you choose art as therapy, then you also refract your creative energies toward your inner renewal. The result?

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You’ll develop new coping skills as you open yourself to your emotions and identify your needs and boost your self-esteem and personal relationships.

Not everyone is an artist, but everyone has the ability to create art. By its very definition, art is visual self-expression.

Two- and three-dimensional art—whether it’s painting, drawing, sculpting, ceramics, collage, quilt-making; whether your media is oils, acrylics, watercolors, fabric, or ink; indeed, even if you choose to express yourself through the color and pattern of planting a formal garden, can allow the shackles of stress and daily worry to fall by the wayside like petals off a rose past its bloom.

If you have some background in art and want to expand your horizons look for a local artist who gives lessons. Or you can enroll in art classes at a community center or nearby community, state, or private college, university, or even high school if you’re just starting out or taking up a medium you’ve never done before. Contact wellness centers and private therapy practices for a referral to an art therapy program. And if you don’t have time to attend a class, go online to MasterClass (www. masterclass.com) and take a course from Es Devlin, who teaches “Turning Ideas Into Art,” graphic design with David Carson, art and creativity with American artist Jeff Koons, spraypainting and abstract art with Futura, or online art courses offered by New Masters Academy (www.nma.art), The Ceramic School (ceramics.school) to learn ceramics, Love Life Drawing to learn figure drawing (www.lovelifedrawing.com), and to get inspiration, take an online art history course through MoMA, New York’s Museum of Modern Art, at www.moma.org.

Or you can embark upon your journey into art therapy all by yourself.

At the deepest level, the creative process and the healing process arise from a single source. When you are an artist, you are a healer; a wordless trust of the same mystery is the foundation of your work and its integrity.”

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—RACHEL NAOMI REMEN, MD

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According to George E. Miller creating artwork allows your mind to be in a safe place while it contemplates the tougher issues you are dealing with. One can use the tools of brush, paint, pastels, crayons etc to expose and even for a short time color those issues in a different light.

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CLAY AS ART THERAPY

Whether you choose ceramics or sculpture, clay is the most physically demanding type of art. In ceramics, you need a selection of tools (rib, needle, wire, trimmers), a potter’s wheel or molds, a kiln, colors and glazes, and time for firing. If you have never taken up ceramics, then you will need to have instruction, for sure. Not one of the nine-steps can be left out. When you put the clay on the potter’s wheel or pour the slip in a mold, you are engaged in a very physical exercise—on the potter’s wheel far more than a mold. Think of the classic scene in Ghost, starring Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore…well, think about it.

Even though making a bowl or vase on a potter’s wheel isn’t necessarily sexy, you do have to know what you’re doing. So, if you choose clay as your medium, then be prepared to follow instructions, stick to the order of things, be sensitive to the pot you’re “throwing” on the potter’s wheel and the sculpting and painting processes you must apply before final firing. The same applies to your life: clay as therapy can bring order, sensitivity, and forethought to your life.

PAINTING AS ART THERAPY

You cannot venture into painting without understanding the qualities the different mediums present. Oil, acrylic, and watercolor are the three essential types of paint; anything else—such as gouache, which is an opaque watercolor used by graphic designers, and tempera, an ancient medium where the pigment binding is egg yolk—are specialized and therefore not part of this discussion.

Oil, acrylic, and watercolor each have different qualities, characteristics, personalities, and restrictions.

The least restrictive and most expressive art medium of all is oil.

It is also the most complex and expensive. You will need a variety of brushes, tubes of color, and canvas, an easel, turpentine, rags to clean the brushes, and a palette on which to mix your colors.

Academically, a student is not allowed to paint in oils unless she has mastered drawing. Accept that the purpose of painting in oil is, for the beginner, art therapy and from that standpoint, oil painting is the most freeing, exhilarating, and creative over acrylic and watercolor.

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The reason is simple: as an oil-based pigment, oil paints do not dry quickly at all. Watercolor and acrylic dry very quickly and once dry, cannot be altered. Oils allow you to make changes, apply paint with less reserve, and are a total immersion into the art process, if you indulge your creativity. The drawback to oils is you can overpaint and when you do—when you apply color on top of color—you muddy your colors and lose your way. Do not paint until you have made a sketch of what you wish to paint. If you study the great Renaissance painters, such as Da Vinci and Michelangelo, you will see they made many sketches and studies before they even picked up a paintbrush. You have to have attitude to paint with oil. You must be bold and unafraid; you must be sure of yourself, and you must lose yourself to your art. Oil painting is total immersion. The more you paint, the more you will learn about how to dominate oils rather than have oils dominate you.

And when you do, you will have learned the same about yourself: you will become more bold and less afraid in your life, you will learn focus and dominion over that most precious entity, your time. And primarily, you will learn how to embrace joy in your life.

Acrylics are ideal for pragmatists. Acrylics are water-based pigments that dry relatively quickly. It is a good idea to roughly draw what it is you plan to paint directly onto the canvas. Once you fill your brush with paint and apply it to the canvas, you will have made a commitment because of the drying time. With acrylic, you can build up space, light, and texture by building up layers of color. This is a more thoughtful and less spontaneous approach to painting than oil. As you see your painting take form, you become more confident—and, therapeutically, that, too, conveys to realizing more control, confidence, and thoughtfulness to your life.

Watercolor is a foil for people who are overly confident to the point where their confidence becomes control and control becomes a detriment to their relationships with family and friends. Watercolor too is water-based pigment, but it is mercurial, temperamental, and you, the artist must give up any thought of total control. Like the ocean lapping on the shore, water is an element, and to the Ancient Greeks and Romans, like the gods. Amphitrite, wife of Poseidon was the Queen of the Seas; Aegaeon, the god of violent storms, Achelous the god of rivers, and Benthesikyme, the goddess of waves. Even a wet brush saturated with watercolor is godlike because you cannot control, not ever, the paint as it explodes on a wet piece of watercolor paper. With watercolor, you must give yourself up entirely to how the pigment flows on, and absorbs into, the fibers of the paper. You must adjust, you must respond. You must give entirely of yourself and then, only then, will you be drawn into the unparalleled experience of creating your unique art with watercolor. And the same will come to you in your own life, for the result of your art therapy in watercolor has shown you how to adjust, respond, and give of your time—to yourself, to those you love, and to those with whom you engage.

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takes courage to decide to change something that’s not quite right in your life. It takes commitment. When you do, you must stay open to new things and be prepared to deal with the unexpected. The same applies to art therapy: it takes commitment to time, and time to see it through. You must be open and learn to deal with the unexpected when a brushstroke doesn’t give you the effect you want, or when a pot comes out of the kiln cracked. But if you stick with it, if you stay the course, in the end you will have created something beautiful in the art you created— and more importantly, something beautiful in yourself. ■

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philanthropy

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FOR WOMEN ONLY

The National Museum of Women in the Arts celebrates women artists— across the years and around the world.

BY EVE ADAMS

Patricia Piccinini, The Stags, 2008; Fiberglass, automotive paint, leather, steel, plastic, and rubber, 69 3/4 x 72 x 40 1/4 inches.

NATIONAL MUSEUM OF WOMEN IN THE ARTS, GIFT OF HEATHER AND TONY PODESTA COLLECTION; © PATRICIA PICCININI; PHOTO BY GRAHAM BARING

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Cecily Brown, Untitled (Paradise), 2015; Monotype in watercolor, pencil and pastel, 48 x 71 inches.

COLLECTION OF JORDAN D. SCHNITZER; PHOTO BY AARON WESSLING PHOTOGRAPHY

Opposite: Nicole Eisenman, Picabia Filter I, 2018; Intaglio with drypoint, ed. 10/15, 22 1/2 x 15 inches.

COLLECTION OF JORDAN D. SCHNITZER; PHOTO BY AARON WESSLING PHOTOGRAPHY; COURTESY THE ARTIST AND ANTON KERN GALLERY, NEW YORK; © NICOLE EISENMAN

nly one major art museum in the world is exclusively dedicated to women—the National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA) in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1981, the Museum holds over 5,500 works by more than 1,000 women in the visual, performing, and literary arts. The collection dates from the 16th century to the present and from all around the world and includes such diverse categories as 18th century sterling silverware, botanical prints, and books—all designed, made, and written by women because, as the name suggests, the NMWA is all about women. Only women. But more than that, the Museum champions women through a diverse, comprehensive, and ongoing educational and vocational platform of events and activities.

The Museum, which opened its doors in 1987, is currently closed for renovation. “The bones of this building are good,” explains architect Sandra Vicchio. “It is a majestic structure—timeless and beautiful. Revitalizing the building is all about positioning the museum for a triumphant future.” Central to the renovations is a completely redesigned “visitor experience,” starting with an orientation gallery that tells the stories of women artists, and a refurbished Great Hall which will host daily events and programs.

The plan also answers the need for improved mechanical systems and infrastructure, storage and lighting upgrades, climate control systems to improve the long-term conservation and security of the Museum’s collections, enlarged interior spaces, a new gallery space dedicated to research and educational programs, improved signage, wayfinding, and ADA accessibility to help visitors navigate through the Museum, and an exterior envelope will retain the building’s integrity for the first time in the 35 years of constant daily use since its last full renovation and the dire need to meet advances in engineering, building codes, and sustainability.

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he building was designed in 1908 by the architecture firm Wood, Donn & Denning in the Classical Revival-style as a Masonic Temple, a men’s only organization whose women’s only counterpart is the Eastern Star. Sandra Vicchio, founder, and principal partner of Sandra Vicchio & Associates of Baltimore leads the project partners with her 30 years of experience that includes work on Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, the development of the overall plan for the Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library, the Walters Art Museum, and the collections storage plan for the Smithsonian. She began work with the NMWA to develop the Museum’s Facilities

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Preservation Plan in 2015, then assembled a design team of top experts in their respective fields to deliver the plan in 2016 and refine it in 2017. Among the project partners are JM Zell Partners, Ltd., a Washington-based commercial real estate firm that, since 1989, has served nonprofits, museums, and cultural organizations, among others, providing strategic advisory, transaction, project management, and implementation services. Among the fourteen project partners is Retail Design Consultant Eileen Ritter & Associates and overseeing the expert care and conservation of the collections is Wendy Jessup & Associates.

Fortunately, the Internet has made it possible to continue its course. Behind the scenes are the often-unheralded talents of many professionals who work tirelessly to achieve the Museum’s mission: to acquire, research, preserve, and exhibit works of art so many can view, appreciate, and be inspired, when they open their eyes to the talents and skills inherent in women as creators, regardless of our sex. To this end, NMWA conducts educational programs, maintains and is constantly expanding the Betty Boyd Dettre Library and Research Center, publishes a member magazine and books on women artists, serves as a center for the fine, performing, and literary arts, and represents the interests and welfare of women artists in government.

While the Museum is closed for renovation, you can explore the Museum’s searchable online collection at www.nmwa.org, which features over two hundred works and artist profiles, and by following @WomenInTheArts on social media. In addition, there is a full schedule of upcoming events and programs you can likewise access online. The Museum’s signature educational and public program, the “Women, Arts, and Social Change Initiative,” is comprised of ongoing series, such as “Fresh Talk,” which features cause-driven conversations with artists, designers, activists, social innovators, and others who aim to empower women and spark community involvement. “The Tea,” held the first Friday of each month, is an online series where women musicians live-stream original work and discuss their creative process over a cup of tea. “NMWA xChange” is a monthly talk

Nicola López, Urban Transformation #1, 2009; Etching, lithography, and woodcut with Mylar elements, ed. 8/12, 30 x 30 inches.

COLLECTION OF JORDAN D. SCHNITZER; PHOTO BY AARON WESSLING PHOTOGRAPHY

Opposite: Amy Sherald, They call me Redbone but I’d rather be Strawberry Shortcake, 2009; Oil on canvas, 54 x 43 inches.

NATIONAL MUSEUM OF WOMEN IN THE ARTS, GIFT OF STEVEN SCOTT, BALTIMORE, IN HONOR OF THE ARTISTAND THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF NMWA; © AMY SHERALD; PHOTO BY LEE STALSWORTH

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show involving women artists, educators, and curators in discussions over relevant topics for women in the arts. Other series include “MakeHER Summit,” “Brews and Views,” and “Curative Collection Conversation.”

In her Director’s Message, Susan Fisher Sterling, the NMWA’s Alice West Director recently wrote: “Our building serves as the nexus for a worldwide community of advocates for art and women. Its renovation will enable us to tell a more complete story of women in the arts and to share that story widely.

As we enter this new phase in the museum’s history, I cannot help but reflect on the recent loss of our visionary founder, Wilhelmina Cole Holladay. She and her husband, Wallace, purchased the building in 1983 and transformed it into our unique museum. We are honored to carry her vision forward.

This comprehensive building restoration is supported through Space to Soar, our $66 million capital campaign. Donors and friends have stepped up in wonderful ways, putting us within sight of our campaign goal. We encourage you to join this effort, stay involved, and celebrate with us as we look to the museum’s future.”

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ou can feel the spirit of an artist if you look at her work properly and almost hear her voice—and when you do, you know she has touched your soul. That is the power of art. Among the hundreds of artists and their most celebrated works are Fisher Woman in Profile, by Danish artist Anna Ancher, who was associated with the Skagen Painters, an artists’ colony in Denmark; contemporary American artist Polly Apfelbaum’s 2007 “fallen painting,” Rainbow Love Mountain Ranch, New Mexico, Dada artist Alice Bailly’s Self Portrait; Portrait of Princess Belozersky by Élisabeth Louise Vigée-LeBrun, one of the preeminent artists of the Romantic Period; AfricanAmerican painter Amy Sherald’s statement portrait, They call me Redbone but I’d rather be Strawberry Shortcake; Jo Baker’s Bananas from New Jersey painter, writer, mixed media sculptor and performance artist Faith Ringgold’s American Collection #4, and Italian Renaissance painter Lavinia Fontana’s Portrait of a Noblewoman—to name but a few from the Museum’s treasure trove of art.

YOU, TOO, CAN HELP

Behind each work of art is a story—a story that inspires; stories of women whose fierce commitment to their art required bravery, ingenuity, and fortitude. To keep their stories alive, consider donating to the NMWA’s Matching Gift Challenge.

Your gift will be matched dollar-for-dollar to support the Museum’s $66 million Building Renovation and Capital Campaign to restore its landmark building, just three blocks from the White House, at 1250 New York Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C., and to revitalize and reimage its iconic home for the future of women in the arts. www.nmwa.org. ■

Loïs Mailou Jones, Arreau, Hautes-Pyrénées, 1949; Oil on canvas, 19 1/2 x 23 5/8 inches.

NATIONAL MUSEUM OF WOMEN IN THE ARTS, GIFT OF GLADYS P. PAYNE; © LOÏS MAILOU JONES; PHOTO BY LEE STALSWORTH

Opposite: Lola Álvarez Bravo, De Generación en Generación, ca. 1950; Gelatin silver print, 18 3/4 x 14 inches.

NATIONAL MUSEUM OF WOMEN IN THE ARTS, GIFT OF THE ARTIST; © 1995 CENTER FOR CREATIVE PHOTOGRAPHY, UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA FOUNDATION

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back story

ultitalented and creative, ELYSIAN features California designer Breegan Jane on this issue’s cover. Whether she is mastering motherhood, styling her signature interiors, or appearing in front of the camera as an HGTV host, Breegan applies her talents and energies unreservedly—and still has time to give to philanthropic causes close to her heart. ■

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ographed by Rob Springer.

Woman,” Breegan Jane phot Cover model and “Inspiring

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BOUTIQUE IN KING OF PRUSSIA MALL

PHOTOGRAPHED BY JULIAN LE BALLISTER

PAULAHIAN.COM

PAULA HIAN URSULA JACKET & JOLIE SKIRT PICTURED

PAULA HIAN

ME CAE QUE SI ESCRIBO MI CANCIÓN, 2021 acrylic on canvas 78 x 78 in

by DALIA MONROY

EVEY FINE ART / PALM BEACH artevey.com