You're being watched! Ochre Court

Right next to Vinland was Ochre Court, the heart of Salve Regina University, where the Sisters of Mercy set up shop after receiving the palace as a gift in 1947.  It was donated by the son of the original owner Ogden Geolet, the Donald Trump of his day.  Such a palace isn't really my style (I'll take that homely shingle mansion down the street) and it was a bit overwhelming even deciding what to photograph.  However, one thing I really did like was the little faces watching you wherever you went (and the craft that went into making them).  Here are a few.....

Handles on front glass (modern) entrance doors.  I think these must have been repurposed from some other part of house.  Sandra Oh's mermaid sister?

lots of eyes on ceiling.....

no apparent use of electrical tape?

she looks sad.

A minature version of the Sala del Collegio in the Doge Palace in Venice.  The fish painted on the coffered ceiling match ironwork in rest of house....all part of the seaside cottage theme.

angry-looking fish...

Neptune?

Not watching, apparently dead....

Queen Victoria?  What are you doing here?

Lastly, a pretty window....love the simplicity of design and sophistication of colors.

Comment Roundup...

 Tony Pinkney's comment of two days ago ("May Morris once confessed that 'in my Father's "Trellis" [wallpaper] there was a certain one of the birds who gave anxiety to a child in her cot high-up in the Queen Square house because he was thought to be wicked and very alive'.)" sent me for a closer look at Trellis and I'm sure I know what bird this is --- look at the one in upper right....definitely sinister looking.

 Trellis wallpaper, 1862, from V&A collection

(from The Birds movie poster)

I also found a picture of a Trellis piece by artist David Mabb (Smash the Bourgeoisie, Victory to the Decorating Business post) which reminds me to mention that he'll be part of an exhibition in Houston later this month.  If you are nearby, details can be found here.

 bird still looks dark and scary....

But what of Voysey's Alice in Wonderland paper?  Would it be too scary for a toddler?  Upon enlargement, the Queen of Hearts and the Cheshire Cat definitely look intimidating and quite a few other characters look seriously depressed (Lion, Mailman, Queen of Clubs, Gryphon, etc.).  Hmmm.   Tony, I think you're right, this might not be the best paper for a nursery unless you were planning to put prozac in your baby's bottle!

 click to enlarge

Yesterday, Hels asked why shingles were used ubiquitously in buildings in this part of the USA - was it a local inexpensive building material (yes, but I don't think that would have mattered to these rich folk)?  Did it insulate against the cold better (not sure, but again, these were summer cottages so I doubt they cared)?  Was it related to some sort of Puritan aesthetic?  The 19th century architects such as H. H. Richardson were reacting against Victorian/Eastlake fussiness, and their designs of rustic Shingle Style homes were meant to invoke the more naturalistic times of the early colonial settlers.  For this reason the shingles were left a natural monotoned color and meant to blend into the landscape. But of course this casual simple look of more humble dwellings was disingenuous as these were definitely the mansions (aka "summer cottages") of the uber-wealthy.  So yes, it would appear that the development of the Shingle Style was related to a revival of a Puritan aesthetic. 

Along these lines, I've often pondered why many more modest New England homes have clapboard on the first floor and shingles on the second and third floors.  Dan Cooper thinks that builders/owners probably put the more expensive clapboards where they would have the greatest effect (front and center) and that shingles were a less expensive form of siding.  Ironically, when I replaced the first floor shingles on my house a few years ago, I switched to clapboards which now cost about 30% less than cedar shingles.  Dan also brought my attention to the book Newport Shingle Style by Cheryl Hackett which I will check out.

Finally, to Anne, yes, I take most (but not all) of the pictures.  If it is someplace I'm visiting, I'm the photographer.  Most of the pics taken off web or from books are obvious, like two above or other "product" or art pictures, but I could do a better job at referencing. 

Vinland Estate, Newport Rhode Island

My second stop on the Newport "summer cottage" tour was the Vinland Estate (1882) which now serves as an administration building for Salve Regina University.  I was very excited -- it had been designed by the firm of Peabody and Stern in the Romanesque Revival style perfected by H. H. Richardson, a style I happen to love.  According to wikipedia, the interior included design elements by William Morris and windows by Edward Burne-Jones.  The house was named Vinland in romantic reference to the Vikings who were believed to have come ashore here and the Morris & Co. windows depicted Norse legends.

The exterior did not disappoint (although the overcast day and flat light did).  Here is the porte-cochere with a second century Roman Dolium on the lawn given to the original owner, tobacco heiress Catherine Lorillard Wolfe, in 1884 ("The Bean Pot" in local student parlance).  The red sandstone is carved with intricate floral designs purportedly derived from Celtic manuscripts from around 1000 A.D., the alleged time of Viking settlement.  (You know the old joke...Columbus was the last person to discover America.)

 beautiful...

  gorgeous...

 peaceful....

 sweet....

exquisite.....

 then....

 huh???

The inside appeared to be one large green, gold, and white French chateau gone bad (the fact that many rooms served as classrooms also didn't help the ambiance).   Now I know some people may like this but it wasn't what I hoped for or expected.   I searched in vain for stained glass windows and an office worker eventually assured me she knew of none in this building.

 Nothing looked "Morrisy" however I did like these carved cherub wall sconces.  I like the fact that the lower one is looking up at the socket wrapped in electrical tape and giggling.

What had happened?  A few days later I went back to the internet and found out some interesting things.  First, in an archive directory at J.R. Burrows I found copies of letters between William Morris  and the Vinland decorators outlining Morris's research and recommendations on which Vikings should be immortalized in the stained glass windows he and Burne-Jones were commissioned to make (note to Freydis, if you hadn't been such a horrible wretch maybe you too would have been immortalized a millennia onward).

Merton Abbey, Surrey
April 11th, 1883
Newport. U.S.A.

Dear Sir:
I have been talking over the matter of Miss Wolfes window with Mr. Burne-Jones, and he quite agrees to the sort of subjects. On reading over the sagas again, I find that Ericke Rau_i [Erick the Red] was never in America, and that all the people who had to do with Vinland Thofinn Karlsefne seemed to be closes connected with it: I should suggest the representing of him and his wife Gudridr instead of the old man and Freydis: which latter was a horrible wretch according to the Leifs' saga whereas Gudridr has something pleasing and womanly about her. It is true that in Thofinn Karsefnes' saga Freydis is softened into a courageous amazon; but that story is visibly untrustworthy compared with that of Lief Heppin and is very late in composition. I propose Odin Thor and Frey the 3 great Gods above the adventurers of Vinland; & in the small lights, a ship the middle, & on each side a scroll, with the passages from Hávamál (Edda) about undying fame on it: proper enough on this occasion since the poor fishermen & sheep farmers of Greenland & Iceland have so curiously found a place among the worthies connected with the great modern commonwealth [America]. Over leaf I make a diagram of the window.
May I ask as a matter of business if we may consider the window ordered and go on with it: I am vexed that any delay sould have taken place, but it has not been owing to any neglect of ours.

I am
Dear sir
Yours faithfully,
William Morris

 A few more interesting letters and articles can be read here and clearly the windows had once been in the house.  Then I found this article by A.C. Sewter that said that the seven Burne-Jones windows were removed in 1934 and sold in 1937 to the Cohen Brothers of Baltimore.  One panel, Leif the Lucky, is now owned by Mr. Otis Beall Kent of Maryland.  The rest are untraced!  Maybe we can find them --- I just need the readership of this blog to increase by about two orders of magnitude.  It can be like America's Most Wanted for famous arts and crafts relics.

Finally, I was still left wondering about the decor.  The house changed ownership in 1896 and a decade later they "recreated" the interior with the services of Ogden Codman, Jr. another famous architect and interior decorator known for his strong French influence.  Such are the fickle winds of fashion.

I am certain there are experts who know much more about this estate than I -- if you read this, please feel free to leave us some more info!

Next, my third and final stop....Ochre Court.

Salve Regina University -- A Mecca of Marvelous

Last week I had the pleasure of visiting Salve Regina University in Newport, Rhode Island.  I padded my visit with a few extra hours to tour some of the historic Newport "cottages", many of which are owned by the University. 

My first stop was the Isaac Bell House which is considered to be the best surviving example of shingle style architecture in the United States (which probably means the world).  It was designed by the architects McKim, Meade and White, who I previously wrote about here.  In that post you can see the shingling on my porch that was inspired by this house.  Unfortunately, the interior was not open for tour this time of year.

Unpainted wood shingles, simple window and trim details, and multiple porches are all characteristics of the Shingle style.

My porch inspiration.  Some of these "specialized" shingles can be easily cut from standard shingles.

These Asian-looking dragon (fish?) brackets are so beautiful.  Note the bamboo-style porch columns which also channel the Japanese influence that was popular in the late 19th century.  Walking around the Salve Regina campus one sees many other shingle style buildings.

click to see detail

Here is the entrance to Recreation Center.  I love the rows of "teeth" shingles between each shingle course on arch.  Often one row of such teeth shingles is used under the starting course -- it is dramatic to see six rows. 

These shingle style buildings clearly continue to inspire and guide development at Salve Regina.  Here are some pictures of the new Chapel under construction....

Walking around this "natural laboratory" it occurred to me that Salve Regina would be a perfect place to study historic preservation and architecture and, sure enough, they have a degree program in that field.

Not quite as fancy as the brickwork walls at Gyeongbokgung Palace but very similar.  I like the little heart carved in tree.  Tomorrow I'll post pictures of Vinland Estate, built in 1882 with interior design contributions from William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones.

Artist Mark Bennett's Fabulous House Tour

 

Home of the Addams Family

  detail Addams Family Mansion

  

Home of Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson

  

Home of Fred and Wilma Flintstone

 

Home of Mary Richards

 Home of Ricky and Lucy Ricardo

Mark Bennett's Gallery and some perfect wallpaper inspired by William Morris for the Addams Family Mansion here.

The Morris Room, Victorian & Albert Museum

 

  

  

 

A collaboration between William Morris, Edward Burne-Jones, and Philip Webb completed in the 1860's.