Saturday April 1, 2001

7:30 p.m.-9:30 noon

• Robert Kaufmann, Reference Librarian, Metropolitan Museum of Art
• Stephen H. Van Dyk, Chief Librarian, Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum Library

  Sponsors:

• Decorative Arts Round Table; Diversity Committee; Gay and Lesbian Interests Round Table; Architecture Section

Abstract:

Hutton Wilkinson, business and design partner of the late, legendary artist/designer Tony Duquette will discuss the highlights of Mr. Duquette's storied career, accompanied by rich visual images representing the myriad works for which Duquette, an American design icon, was noted. 

 Included in the presentation will be visual representations of Duquette's interiors, museum exhibitions, costumes and settings for opera, ballet, stage and film and his one of a kind jeweled settings for famous clients including the Duchess of Windsor, Doris Duke and Mary Pickford.  His European projects will be discussed and viewed, including the interiors for Barretstown Castle, Ireland, the Palazzo Brandolini, Venice, and an apartment in Paris on the Place du Palais Bourbon.

 Mr. Duquette's story will come alive through many amusing anecdotes which revolved around his glamorous post-war life during the Golden Age of Hollywood.  The celebrities who fill these tales include Elsie De Wolfe, William Haines, James Pendleton, Adrian, Vincente Minnelli, George Cukor, Greta Garbo, David O. Selznick and so many more for whom he worked and with whom he played.

"Movie Sets and Modern Design," Jason Stein, Assistant Vice President, General Valuer, Decorative Arts Department Christie's Los Angeles

Jason Stein will speak on the glamorous life and design career of former Hollywood star turned major interior designer William Haines. He will discuss Haines' background and his move from Virginia to New York and then on to Southern California.  Haines' design philosophy and his signature design attributes will be analyzed and illustrated, along with important Haines' commissions and collaborations. Haines’ elegant, fascinating social network, dating back to his days as a studio star in silent films, and including movie industry glitterati, designers, socialites and moneyed California families such as Claudette Colbert, George Cukor, William Randolph Hearst and Marion Davies, the Reagans and the Bloomingdales, was instrumental to many of his commissions. Special attention will be paid to his network and its relevance to the development and longevity of Haines rich career.