Tea at Trianon: Craftsmen Homes in America

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Wednesday, September 21, 2022

Craftsmen Homes in America

From Architectural Digest:

Once upon a not-too-distant Art Basel Miami Beach, before the pandemic upended social gatherings, a creative crowd packed into the Shorecrest home of art dealer Nina Johnson and singer-songwriter Daniel Milewski. The musician and conceptual artist Terry Allen had set up his keyboard in the living room, where an audience gathered close—some on the sofas, others standing shoulder to shoulder—to hear soulful songs about lonely highways, pretty waitresses, and freight trains. A short drive away, a show of Allen’s works on paper at Johnson’s namesake gallery offered a visual counterpoint to the tunes.
Designed by the AD100 firm Charlap Hyman & Herrero, that space, a reprieve from the city’s white-box galleries and slick hotels, has been the site of many gatherings. But for Johnson, there’s something particularly special about entertaining at home. “It’s a way to show people that artwork is actually livable,” she says. “We have a big hairy dog that drools on everything. We have two little boys that run wild through the house. Objects are enhanced by the lives lived around them.” In the case of her living room, those objects include works by Judy Chicago, Awol Erizku, Seth Cameron, and others from her growing roster of talent.
In 2013, the couple moved into their 1920s Craftsman home. It had lots of space (Milewski, who released four new singles this year, needed a music studio) and was in good condition, especially considering the climate, which does no favors for old houses. Slowly they restored the windows, painted the exterior an avocado green, and uncovered the living room’s original ceiling mural, previously painted over. Amid these thoughtful renovations, a steady stream of artist friends—many of whom crashed in the guesthouse for weeks or months—also left their own marks. Jim Drain conjured the entry’s new ceiling mural, inspired by the patchwork textiles of Florida’s indigenous Miccosukee people, while Katie Stout—fresh out of RISD—personally delivered and installed a chandelier after the first one she shipped arrived shattered. “Nina’s so good at her job because she really believes in her artists and the work,” says Stout, whose career has blossomed in the years since, thanks in no small part to Johnson’s mentorship. “She has this ability to make people see what she sees.” (Read more.)