Lecture Virtual
Inventing the Gilded Age: Decorating a Modern World
Wednesday, April 13, 2022
“The American Gilded Age was a period of immense economic change, of great conflict between the old ways and brand-new systems, and of huge fortunes made and lost…” So reads the synopsis of HBO’s new period drama, The Gilded Age, helmed by Julian Fellowes of Downton Abbey fame and set in late 19th century New York City. Inspired by the HBO show, this spring we are featuring “Inventing the Gilded Age,” a series of conversations that dive into the era when the Nickerson Mansion was built.
As the era’s most astute chronicler, Edith Wharton did not limit herself to fiction. In 1902 she co-wrote a famous treatise on interior design, The Decoration of Houses with Ogden Codman, Jr. But her assertion that “supreme excellence is simplicity” has seemingly nothing to do with the opulent interiors of Gilded Age mansions and their beautifully wrought wooden ‘carpets,’ enormous hand-woven silk rugs, upholstered walls, and carved furniture. Everywhere the eye landed, there was something beautiful to see. What does simplicity have to do with a “more is more” aesthetic?
That is one the questions at the heart of tonight’s conversation with decorator Thomas Jayne and curator Rebecca Tilles. Together they will survey the aesthetics of the Gilded Age interiors in the Nickerson Mansion and other turn-of-the-century grand homes and examine their spaces for living and entertainment. They will discuss what went into designing and decorating the exquisite mansions of the Gilded Age, who were its chief influencers, and share their own experiences and fascinations with working in 19th century environments. You will leave this program with a nuanced understanding of 19th century decor and how its design principles endure, even today.
All registrants will receive a recording of the program after it has aired.
About the speakers:
Interior designer, decorative arts historian, and author Thomas Jayne founded Jayne Design Studio in 1990. His academic training greatly influenced his design philosophy. He received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Oregon’s School of Architecture and Allied Arts where he studied with the noted architectural historian Marian Card Donnelly, followed by a master’s degree from Winterthur Museum’s program in American material culture and the decorative arts. Jayne is the author of several texts on American decoration – his most recent being, Classical Principles for Modern Design: Lessons from Edith Wharton and Ogden Codman’s The Decoration of Houses (Monacelli Press, 2018).
Rebecca Tilles is Curator of 18th-century Western European Art at Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens in Washington, DC. Her exhibition The Luxury of Clay: Porcelain Past and Present is currently on display until June 26, 2022. She is working on a new publication entitled The Houses and Collections of Marjorie Merriweather Post: The Joy of It, in collaboration with Hillwood curators (Rizzoli, October 2022).
Rebecca completed her PhD in Art History from the University of Sussex (2019) where her dissertation was entitled George and Florence Blumenthal: A Collecting Partnership in the Gilded Age, 1858-1941. Prior to beginning her PhD, Rebecca worked as a curatorial research fellow in decorative arts and sculpture in the Art of Europe Department at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. She holds a BA (with honors) in French and French Cultural Studies from Wellesley College (2003), an MA in European Decorative Arts from The Bard Graduate Center in New York (2007), and studied at the École du Louvre, Paris.