“On the opening of her new museum, Dominique de Menil reflects on the Houston house where it all began” read the heading for “A Gift of Vision” written by Rosalind Bernier for HG in July, 1987, with photography by Oberto Gili. Part I Jean and Dominique de Menil shocked the tony River Oaks Houston neighborhood when they hired Philip Johnson, disciple to Mies van der Rohe, to design for them a modernist flat-roofed house - the architect’s first residential commission - in 1948. While Johnson’s vision was to create a “machine for living” the de Menils sought something more worldly, more sensuous. Enter couturier Charles James - Domnique’s preferred designer - whose interiors for the de Menil’s would become another first. Disparate styles and provenance with sculptural élan combined with a rotating collection of blue chip art so vast in quantity a museum to house them was created in their name. At one end of the long living room an intimate seating arrangement was created with rococo 19th-century Belter chairs and an 18th-century French architect’s desk displaying a brass rooster from Benin, West Africa. Flanking de Chirico’s Hector and Andromache above the fireplace is a Giacometti floor lamp, a 3rd/4th century Celtic Head resting on a chest, and an Italian Gothic sculpture standing before of a Spanish screen. Of the black tile flooring Philip Johnson was very particular: he insisted they be regularly waxed and polished to maintain their dramatic effect. In the second photo taken by Will Merrill @wmtwigs, who graciously arranged our private tour, you can see that this same space is but a shadow of its rich and layered past. The sculptural sofa, designed by Charles James, had previously been placed at the other end of the living room (see next post). #demenilhouse #demenil #dominiquedemenil #jeandemenil #philipjohnson #modernarchitecture #modernism #modernmaster #riveroaks #charlesjames #couturier #fashiondesigner #interiordesign #sculpturaldesign #sensuousdesign #worldlyinteriors #artcollections #collectors #modernart #livingwithart #bluechipart #artmaven #belterfurntiure #architectsdesk #celtichead #italiansculpture #theartoftheroom @obertogili
