The West Gallery
The Fragonard Room
Paul Helleu Sketching with His Wife
"Amy Sherald: American Sublime"
Carter and I at her book party at the Double RL store.
My great friend Mary Randolph Carter, who is called Carter, has written a new book entitled "Live With the Things You Love...And You'll Live Happily Ever After" (Rizzoli), and TD and I recently had the pleasure of attending her book party hosted at the Double RL store on West Broadway in Soho. While Carter has had a big creative director job at Ralph Lauren, she has also authored popular lifestyle books and this is her tenth. Carter's great passion is for antiques, vintage items, family heirlooms and fun finds she calls junk. She advocates for interiors that have meaning and warmth, and she has a great eye for mixing bright, cheerful colors like an artist. Everything goes back in time and shares a romantic aesthetic. When I worked at Ralph Lauren, I loved visiting her in her office which, though it was on Madison Avenue, felt like a trip to a house in the country with its wonderful antiques, soft textiles, piles of book and magazines, and vintage art on the walls. Not much is new and shiny in Carter's world. In one interview she recounted how her husband Howard was begging to replace creaky, wobbly porch chairs with something from Target that "no one will kill themselves on." Nothing suitable had yet been found.
I share Carter's love of antiques and vintage items. To me, they speak with a simplicity and a softness and a comfort. They have a history, they have a life that's more interesting than something new. Perhaps my favorite book by Carter is called "For the Love of Old." It gave me the courage to eschew the new and shiny for things that go back in time. The antique pieces that we have in the apartment are dear to my heart including our dark wood dining table that my mother found at the renowned Bouckville Antique Show in upstate New York when I was growing up and gave to me. At the end of our living room we have a beautifully shaped Empire table that was given to my great grandparents on their wedding day in Herkimer, New York, in 1886. Catty corner to that I have my great grandfather's very large and rustic wood tool box that he used while railroad engineer on the Adirondack Line railroad. In front of the couch is a small, green, slightly rusting metal coffee table which is actually a factory table that I found at the sorely missed Chelsea Antiques Garage. It cost $25. I thought it would be temporary but it has stayed because it is the perfect size and color.
Carter's new book continues to inspire with the homes of thirteen artist and friends who are similarly passionate about living with antiques and pieces that are rich with sentimental value. Her voice supports my love for the old. When I doubt myself and consider that an antique should be replaced by something new, I think, "No, Carter would approve."
Last summer, when TD and I took a memorable trip to Italy for my nephew's wedding on Lake Como, we flew from JFK airport on a Sunday night for an all-night flight to Milan. I find going through the airport TSA check point to be stressful -- it seems like you wait in a long slow line to get up to security and then suddenly it's a mad rush to get your belongings into a plastic bin -- and then what needs to come off? Your shoes, your belt, your jacket, your phone, your watch, your wallet? Sometimes it seems that the requirements are different. The guards were yelling to move along faster. I took off my things and as I approached the scanner, TD, who was behind me, said, "Do you have your cross on?"
Ah, my cross. When I was in high school, my father gave me a silver cross on a chain that I have loved these many years. My father, who passed away in 2017, didn't give me many personal gifts and this one was perfect so it was highly unusual. He had picked it out in a store in downtown Utica – a small silver asymmetrical medallion centered by a cross. On one side the medallion is cross-hatched and the other side has the texture of modeled clay. It was simple but interesting and modern but timeless, and I have cherished, and not lost it, for approximately 50 years. The only jewelry I wear is my wedding ring from TD, a watch that belonged to my brother Eric, and my father's cross.
At the airport, I quickly slipped the chain and cross off my neck and threw it into the black plastic bin. On the other side of security, we hurriedly gathered our things and put them back on and continued to the gate for our flight.
The next day around mid-day in the hotel in Milan, I felt my chest for my cross on the chain. It wasn't there. In a panic, I rifled through all my pockets and knapsack looking for it. Had I already taken it off and put it somewhere in the hotel room? I didn't think so but I searched the room and through my pockets again. I couldn't find it anywhere and I flashed back to Ted speaking to me at security and slipping it off my neck.
I had left my cross in the plastic bin at JFK International Airport.
My heart sank. I had managed to hold on to that cross for 50 years and now it was gone. And I felt terrible. Why hadn't I put it in a safe pocket in my knapsack where it wouldn't get lost? I was distraught and angry at myself. This had the potential to ruin the trip.
After a while I opened my laptop to see how to report a missing item at JFK. I found an email address and rather hopelessly sent off an email to TSA describing what I lost and where and when I lost it. Three days later I received an email back that said TSA did not collect lost items for the particular terminal we were in. For that terminal, I had to submit a report on an app.
Oh dear I thought, the black hole of an app. On the app I submitted a lost item report. It asked for a photo or drawing of the item so I got out a pad of paper and sketched my cross
The American Wing lit up at night
The Annunciation by Ambrogio Lorenzetti, 1344, from the Sienna show
The Pieve Altarpiece by Pieto Lorenzetti, 1320, from the Sienna show
The moody, atmospheric Copenhagen Harbor by Moonlight by Johan Dahl, 1846
Garden at Vaucresson by Edouard Vuillard, 1920, which is a favorite.
For over four years,
I've really enjoyed writing features for the Brown Harris Steven blog about
architecture, art and design. Brown Harris Stevens, the legacy real estate company established in 1873, has a robust blog covering design, lifestyle, homes, and more. The features
I've written about architecture, real estate, design, and style have been
leveraged into BHS social media posts and paid advertising to increase
awareness and drive engagement; blog traffic has increased by 20%. The
assignments have given me the opportunity to visit some fascinating locations
in New York City and share them with readers. The city is filled with
architectural history and interest; all you have to do is look up! You might
enjoy my stories:
Instant Icon: 15 Central Park West
The Gracious Plaza Hotel and Apartment 1901
The Pleasures of Madison Square Park
The New Design Destination: The Ticking Tent
Crate & Barrel Honors the Architecture of the Flatiron District
The Allure of the West Village and 70 Perry Street
A Deep Dive Into the Colorful World of Mario Buatta
The Little Street in the Financial District That Shaped American Art
The Artful American Architecture of Delano & Aldrich
An Insider’s View of the Metropolitan Museum and the Healing Power of Art
Reflecting on the Life, Work, and Art of Legendary Writer Joan Didion
Ann Getty's Eye: The Getty's Astounding Personal Art Collection Comes to Auction
On the Block: The Beautiful World of Hubert de Givenchy
Winslow Homer and the Invention of American Art
How Landscape Architect George Vellonakis Revitalized New York City’s Parks
'Majolica Mania,' a New Exhibition at the Bard Graduate Center
New York's Most Stylish Homes by Photographer Simon Upton
FIT Celebrates the Rose in Fashion
Arrange Flowers Like Marc Chagall’s Granddaughter, Master Florist Bella Meyer
Central Park: An American Work of Art
Live in the Timeless Williamsburgh Savings Bank Tower
See Inside Architect Ralph Walker's Iconic Walker Tower
The Surprising and Unexpected Frick Madison
"Posh Portals" Celebrates New York City's Best Entrances
The New Moynihan Train Hall by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
A Lower East Side Carriage House with History
A Chelsea Original: “The Night Before Christmas” for Brown Harris Stevens
Live in the Rich History of Fort Greene
McKim, Mead & White’s Harvard Club and Harmonie Club
Decorate Like Carrier and Company
The Met’s “About Time” Exhibit Celebrates 150 Years of Fashion
Actor Richard Thomas on the Allure of "The City's Most Ornate Building"
On the Market: Jayne Wrightsman's Extraordinary Home and Collection
The Enduring Appeal of Emery Roth + Bing & Bing
The West 67th Street Artists' Colony Historic District
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is Open with a 150th Anniversary Exhibition
Marc Jacobs and Robert Duffy for Brown Harris Stevens
Remy Renzullo x Carolina Irving Tableware Collection
Rosario Candela's Mansions in the Sky
Bonus:
Bart Boehlert for Architectural Digest