Gilded New York In Print and In Person

Gilded New York book on the left, and a corner of the Gilded New York gallery, on the right. 
New York City first rose to the stature of a world capital, on a par with London and Paris, during the Gilded Years - 1885 to 1905 - when new industries like steel manufacturing and railroads produced vast fortunes after the Civil War. New wealth led families like the Vanderbilts, Goulds and Astors to live with glamorous style which emulated European aristocratic luxury. These personal fortunes also bankrolled many buildings which still shape New York City today including the Frick Museum, the Morgan Library, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Main Branch of the New York Public Library. This fascinating era in New York City is explored in a new book from The Monacelli Press and in an exhibition now up at the Museum of the City of New York.

Recently I went up to the Museum of the City of New York at Fifth Avenue and 104th Street to see Donald Albrecht, the Curator of Architecture and Design at the museum, and a co-curator of the Gilded New York show along with Jeannine Falino, an independent curator, and Phyllis Magidson, the museum's Curator of Costumes and Textiles. I had met Donald before, when I worked on my Cecil Beaton story for Elle Decor magazine, and attended the seminar on Gay New York and the Arts in the 20th Century.

Donald met me at the new Tiffany & Co. Foundation Gallery where the Gilded New York exhibit is on display. He reported that the Tiffany & Co. Foundation supports this permanent gallery with a grant devoted to fashion, jewelry, and the decorative arts of any period. This Gilded New York show is up until Nov. 30, 2014.

The small elegant gallery is a jewel box of a room designed by William T. Georgis Architects. Windows offer pleasant views across Fifth Avenue to Central Park.

On display are paintings, fashions, accessories, and jewelry from the turn of the last century. 

This large canvas on one wall portrays Cornelia Ward Hall and her children, painted by Michele Gordigiani in 1880. It captures a wealth of satin, lace, pearls, velvet and glossy Asian decor –

At the opposite end of the gallery are two evening dresses by the first brand-name fashion designer ever, Charles Frederick Worth, who was born in England and worked in Paris. The one on the left, called Electric Light, was worn by Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt II to the Vanderbilt Ball in 1883. Its metallic electric bolts in the fabric and shooting out from the shoulder celebrated the power of electricity which Thomas Edison had just invented in 1880 –

The accompanying book investigates the era further, with interesting essays and photographs about jewelry, architecture, fashion, and the famous balls. 

The chateauesque Astor home at Fifth Avenue and 65th Street had a double-height ballroom with paintings hung salon-style from floor to ceiling  –

The George Vanderbilt house was at Fifth Avenue and 57th Street, where Bergdorf Goodman now stands today –

Interestingly, as has been observed by fashion historian Caroline Reynolds Milbank, when the United States was born, its founders like George and Martha Washington did not want to dress in an ostentatious way which copied the European aristocracy, but rather desired a style which was simple and independent of Europe and reflected the values of their young democracy. And so the simplicity of American style was born. However in the nineteenth-century, with their new wealth based on new industries, Donald Albrecht said, the Vanderbilts and the Astors began to look to imitate European aristocracy with their castles, crown jewels and couture. "Americans in the Gilded Age were looking to the past and looking to the future at the same time," he noted.

"American High Style" at the Brooklyn Museum

Outfit at the entrance of the show by Norman Norell.

It has been quite a year for American style in New York. First there was the the "American Beauty" show and seminar at F.I.T. over the winter. Then last Monday "American Woman" opened at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Last Thursday, TD and I went to the opening of "American High Style" at the Brooklyn Museum of Art which is up in conjunction with the show at the Met, as a part of the Brooklyn Museum costume collection moves to the Met for care and storage.

The show in Brooklyn highlights some of the most renowned pieces from its collection. This show starts with heavy, ornate, highly structured gowns by the House of Worth, as does the show at the Met. This is because modern fashion begins with Charles Worth, the English dressmaker who moved to Paris to create the first famous fashion label. This show states that "one of his most significant contributions was to transform the perception of dressmaking from craft to art by raising aesthetics and identifying himself as an artist."

This striped dress in the middle is by Poiret from 1910. A few years ago the Met did a beautiful show on Poiret. These horizontal stripes overlaid with silk chiffon look quite modern.

This silver lame dress is also by Poiret. The notes say five embroidered pomegranates are scattered over its surface. This dress could easily be worn today - so beautiful and simple.

The outfit on the left by Schiaparelli was perhaps my favorite in the show. The silk blouse is decorated with a dazzling star burst of sequins and beads. It tops a black ribbed silk velvet long skirt. Just put on these two pieces and you are spectacularly dressed. No jewelry necessary. The top is a jewel in itself.

Here's a little nineteenth century multi-media. The painting is by Carolus-Duran and depicts Emily Warren Roebling dressed to meet Queen Victoria in 1896 in a gown by Worth. Emily Roebling is famous in Brooklyn; she was the daughter of John Roebling who designed and built the Brooklyn Bridge. When her father died, Emily took over the historic project. In the foreground is the actual dress that she wore by Worth, an elaborate concoction of velvet and silk and brocade. I was taken by the plethora of artificial flowers embellishing its long train; the woman was dragging a veritable garden around behind her!

This little figure shocked me. This is a black gown worn by Queen Victoria at the christening of her great grandson Prince Edward. At first I thought this mannequin was kneeling; I had no idea Queen Victoria was so short. Certainly you don't get that idea from glamorous movies made about her. I learned later that Victoria was so short and stout that she was buried in a square coffin. True story.

Here is an array of gowns by the American couturier Charles James who famously lived in the Chelsea Hotel. These are sculptures to wear.

After the show there was a reception in the main lobby of the museum. A few years ago the Brooklyn Museum added a new modern entrance which I think is very successful. It reminds me of the Louvre, where you are inside and looking up at the old buildings outside.

We walked down the Eastern Parkway to Grand Army Plaza, TD and I in our blazers. When we passed a family on the sidewalk, the young girl turned to her father and said excitedly, "I think they are twins!"
At Grand Army Plaza, The Brooklyn Public Library was lit up. The curving entrance features gold-embossed ancient figures around the towering doorway, like a great Egyptian temple at dusk – a distinguished center of learning and culture.