Thursday, April 28, 2005

Acanthus Press, publisher of handsomely illustrated volumes on historic residential architecture, has just published the first book in a new series devoted to the legendary figures of 20th-century interior design.

"Elsie de Wolfe: The Birth of Modern Interior Decoration" is a richly illustrated monograph on the turn-of-the-century American designer who ushered conventional taste out of dark, cluttered Victoriana and into the light. Over 371 pages, author Penny Sparke catalogues de Wolfe interiors that were commissioned by New York's grandest families -- think Frick and Morgan and Vanderbilt -- as well as her own homes in Manhattan, Beverly Hills and Versailles.

Series editor Mitchell Owens, the former interior design director of Elle Decor magazine, hopes the books will surprise people whose knowledge of these designers is limited to a few famous projects.

"A decorator's work isn't just pretty rooms for socialites," he says. "The series will include theater sets, restaurants, haute-couture salons, even orphanages. Who knew that Elsie de Wolfe decorated a dormitory at Barnard College? Or that Ruby Ross Wood designed interiors for the USS George Washington?"

Future volumes will detail the lives and careers of Jansen of Paris, Syrie Maugham and Billy Baldwin -- with the exception of the last one, decorators who lived and worked, like Elsie de Wolfe, during the 20th century's first half. But Owens promises that more titles will be added, reflecting the design revolutions that occurred in the second half, as well.

"The list of late-20th-century designers who changed the way we live is pretty big, so you can be sure we'll get around to them. It's a series that will continue to expand."

Jeff Turrentine