Americana Week in New York: Interior Drawings and Paintings to Inspire
Detail from Monks Singing the Office; Olivetan Master and the Maestri del Corali di Lodi, illuminated manuscript on parchment, Italy, Lombardy (c. 1439-1447)
It is Antiques Week in New York, centered on the Winter Antiques Show that will open Thursday night. It is also Master Drawing Week with 31 drawing exhibitions hosted by various galleries around town.
This week there is much much to inspire my decorator’s eye along with the antiquarian in me. As most of you know, I always look to antiques as sources for inspiration and perpetually consider how they relate to today’s interiors.
I especially find period drawings of interiors inspiring.The earliest examples are from the Renaissance and they continue to be subjects of art today. With the advent of inexpensive paints and more leisure time, there was a great proliferation of these illustrations in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century.
This week there are many stellar examples being offered. At the dealer Les Enluminures, there is a remarkable fifteenth century drawing of Monks singing in a chapel-- polychromed in iron red, emerald green and royal blue covered with stars.
John Bickel and Caterina Bickel, Jacob Maentel (1778-?), 1815-1825, Jonestown, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania
At Sotheby’s there are several drawings by Jacob Maentel from the collection of Ralph O. Esmerian. Two illustrate a bright blue room with gilded rosette patterned walls and a fitted carpet in blue green. Another has a fantastic striped carpet that is almost dayglow.
Elizabeth Haak and Michael Haak, Jacob Maentel (1778-?), 1830-1835, Lebanon, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania
The Merrill Family in an Elegant Parlor, American School, c.1830
Also at Sotheby’s, an illustration of The Merrill Family in an Elegant Parlor showcases an exuberantly patterned carpet with richly colored blue covers on the table and piano. A work by Joseph H. Davis features another bold carpet in bright primary colors and an animated fancy chair.
William B. Chamberlain with Violoncello and Music, Joseph H. (J. H.) Davis (Circa 1832-1837)
The Boxers, Justin McCarthy (1891-1977)
Largely these interior depictions owe a debt to the artistic liberties taken by their creators. At Christie’s, a 20th century work by Justin McCarthy, The Boxers, illustrates this to the extreme with orange walls and a bright yellow floor with chartreuse undertones.
These images offer a fresh take on historical and contemporary rooms we admire so much. As we start the new year, inspiration is required. I hope these works of art and others at the show inspire you too.
