Lise Deharme: The Lady of the Glove

Lise in 1936 photographed by Man Ray

While thumbing through old issues of Art et Décoration, I came across a feature on the residence of Lise Deharme. I had never heard of her, but the photos of her sumptuous, shall we say "layered" interiors told me this was a woman with a story and a fabulous sense of humor...

Deharme taunting her white Persian cat Charmante

Deharme, née Anne-Marie Hirtz, was a society hostess and a contributor/muse to the Surrealist movement. André Breton nursed an unrequited passion for her and caused her to be called "The Lady of the Glove" after describing a scene in his autobiographical narrative Nadja (1928) in which he imbues much emotion in her potential bequest of a sky blue glove.

Here in her salon, Deharme entertained such art and literary luminaries as Salvador Dali, Max Ernst, Pablo Picasso, Antonin Artaud, and Paul Éluard. Plants and trees brought the outside in as did the life-size porcelain tortoise.

Lise, center, as the Queen of Spades, by Man Ray

Joan Miro illustrated Lise's first book, Il etait une pie (There was a magpie), 1928

A satin grotto in a forest - why not?

She wrote poetry, edited the short-lived Surrealist literary review Phare de Neuilly of 1933 and later in life wrote romance novels so racy they were forbidden to minors.

The Empty Cage from Cahier de curieuse personne (1933), trans. by Franklin Rosemont

I missed
the book of my life
one night
when they forgot
to put a sharp pencil
next to my bed

Adrian: A Study in Silver Screen Style

Adrian and Garbo - two one-name legends - dressed for The Single Standard, 1929

Do you ever fantasize about what it would have been like to go through the Hollywood studio system? With an army of businessmen, stylists and cosmeticians deciding whether you'll be a wife or a mistress, blonde or brunette, and even what your new name will be, you would soon be pummeled, bobbed, and straightened into a screen-ready siren.

One of these Pygmalions was Gilbert Adrian, MGM's in-house dress designer. Discovered by Irving Berlin while studying at Parson's in Paris, Adrian dropped out and within a few years, found himself traveling to La La Land by train with Valentino and a monkey.

the diamond necklace did double duty as straps on this early design by Adrian for Mae Murray in The Merry Widow (1925)- Diana Vreeland thought the scene which this backless dress figured, the most exciting she'd ever seen

Adrian was one of the first original American designers. Although historians always say that Hollywood popularized high fashion trends, according to Christian Esquevin's Adrian: Silver Screen to Custom Label, there are clear instances when Adrian led Paris. His silhouette was slim-hipped and strong-shouldered in line with the sporty elegance we still identify as characteristically all-American. Think Katherine Hepburn - another one of Adrian's ladies.

Katherine Hepburn in The Philadelphia Story, 1940

The padded shoulder is probably what Adrian is most identified with. By making the shoulders strong, he could make even pear-shaped figures like Norma Shearer look sleek. It is interesting to think about the new active roles women were taking on during WWII, and compare it to the 80s when this style was revived and women were climbing the corporate ladder to new heights.

Joan sporting the coat-hanger (satin-padded of course!) look

Another favorite device of Adrian's was dolman sleeves. The loose armhole leading to the tightly wrapped arm served to elongate and draw attention to the wearer's hands, which, for any actress, were a pivotal tool for emoting.

Garbo as Mata Hari (1931) in a dolman-sleeved tunic and a face-framing skull-cap....

An actress' greatest asset was her face. Adrian used all sorts of collars to frame and highlight it.

The power of color - even though most of Adrian's work was captured on screen in black and white, he knew the emotional power of color and dressed his ladies in their favorite hues. Crawford had a preference for blues while Garbo liked olive and burgandy... That said, he was a master at the dramatic use of black and white....

Joan in a dress from Letty Lynton, 1932 on the set of Grand Hotel

And no less an important ingredient in the Adrian cocktail was his wit. Note the three eyes on the blouse of Rosalind Russell in The Women, which perfectly plays up her character Sylvia's meddlesome ways. He also gave his creations the most terrific names - the evening is already a success as soon as you've put on "To Enchant Him" or "Doctor I see Spots", and even more so if it features one of Adrian's amusing signature prints, such as "Queen Bee" or "Fish and Chips".

"Spring Glory after Dark", c. 1945-46

The advent of Dior's New Look - the antithesis of the Adrian look with rounded shoulders, hand span waist, and full-skirts - in 1947 along with health problems hastened the gradual fall from favor of the House of Adrian.

"It was because of Garbo that I left M-G-M. In her last picture [Two-Faced Woman] they wanted to make her a sweater girl, a real American type. I said, 'When the glamour ends for Garbo, it also ends for me. She has created a type. If you destroy that illusion, you destroy her.' When Garbo walked out of the studio, glamour went with her, and so did I."

Yet it is Adrian's legacy that continues to define Hollywood glamour to this day.

For the birds....

a Hobe Sound sitting room by Tom Scheerer

Tom Britt's Grand Salon in his New York City Residence

The Chinese Drawing Room at Temple Newsam in which Lady Hertford, the Prince Regent's mistress, cut out the birds from Audubon's hand-colored engravings and pasted them to the wall

The bird lobby at Calke Abbey

The Hunting Room at Clandon Park decorated by John Fowler for the National Trust

Jayne Wrightsman's Palm Beach residence decorated by Jansen

Six from the original set of twelve hand-colored basso relievo engravings by Samuel Dixon, circa 1750, available from Graham Arader

"Royal Plumage" hand-embroidered silk by Christopher Edwards available here through my favorite discount fabric website

The Peacock Room, 1877 by James McNeill Whistler, Freer Gallery, Smithsonian Institution

The EEE Guide on How to Get Your First Job in the Art World

Now what?

For the past decade, I have been heavily involved with the alumni department of my alma mater, Sotheby's Institute, and at least once or twice a year a recent graduate contacts me for my few morsels of wisdom.

This year I received a very nice follow-up note who credited my advice with helping her finally land a job after months of pounding the pavement. My hope in sharing this is that as she found something useful here, perhaps another may also be able to benefit.

1. What do you want to do?

Sure, if you are lucky enough to get hired by Sotheby’s or Christie's, you will be put in a department and then – boom – your entire career will have been dictated by that assignment because once you specialize, it is difficult to start over in something else. Maybe you will find that you have a deep and abiding passion for silver or Latin American Art, otherwise....

Instead of just looking at jobs that are available, focus on what your specialty is and contact relevant dealers/institutions/departments even if for just an informational interview.

Or is there someone doing what you would like to be doing? See if you can take them to coffee or lunch and hear about how they got to where they are. Obviously not everybody can go up to contemporary art hotshot auctioneer Tobias Meyer and ask to pick his brain – try to network through your alumni network or ask a professor if they know of someone.

2. If you can afford to, intern. By not getting paid, you should be able to work almost anywhere you would like to. This way you can also get a blue chip name on your resume, a recommendation, and who knows, maybe a job. Ideally, you should do this also while you are still in school so you can start building your resume and rolodex.

3. For internet job listings, in New York, www.nyfa.org is the best; www.idealist.org also has listings for the rest of the country; your school should also have some postings

4. Ladies, you can’t go wrong wearing all black to the interview, and, for men, yes, a suit is still important. Even if no one working there is dressed in one, it shows respect. Look impeccable – appearance is extremely important in the art world.

5. Clean up your resume - take off menial work experience such as being a waiter; use an easy-to-read sans-serif font; organize it attractively and with enough space - forget sticking to that one page rule;

Highlight your computer skills – even if you have a master’s degree in art history, chances are your first job will entail administrative duties and lots of them. Showing you have professional office skills may give you the edge rather than your expertise on abstract expressionism.

6. Write a follow-up thank you email that day (handwritten is always appropriate, but decisions get made so quickly, an email might be better)

7. Tell everyone you know you’re looking – the art world operates in a more word-of-mouth, less transparent way than other sectors, so some positions are never advertised and furthermore having a personal connection to a potential employer is an automatic edge

Any more sage words to pass along?

Lessons from Lady Idina Sackville

This weekend I finished Frances Osborne's gin fizz of a book, The Bolter. It is the biography of Osborne's great-grandmother, the notorious Lady Idina Sackville, who scandalized English society in the 1920s with her several marriages and profligate lifestyle, including being a founding member of Kenya's Happy Valley.

Idina with her third husband, Joss, eight years her junior and whose murder is the subject of the book and film White Mischief

No matter the scurrilous things said about her, Idina kept her head high and lived with elegance and flair. If you too could give a damn about society's conventions, here are a few lessons gained from Idina's spectacular example:

1. Alway be impeccable in one's appearance. It's a lot harder to have mud stick when one is immaculately turned out. Even in the devastating heat of Africa, Idina always looked fresh, and was turned out in the latest creations from Paris.

2. Have lots of sex. Many people credit a healthy appetite for being horizontal with their longevity. Idina may not have had a long life, but her enthusiasm for said activity (including a mirror on the ceiling of her bedroom at Clouds, her Kenyan house) kept her in young and handsome husbands

3. It is better to leave than to be left.

4. Entertain with style. You'll never want for guests if you make a visit to your house full of vibrant conversation, free-flowing booze, and comfortable surroundings. Idina had a pair of silk pajamas and a bottle of whisky awaiting on each houseguest's pillow.

5. If you're going to break the rules, do it with style, and for heaven's sake, don't apologize. When Idina shocked society by divorcing her very desirable first husband, Idina didn't hide. Instead, she shingled her hair, painted her fingernails green and carried her dog Satan around everywhere.

Tomorrow the book will finally be released in the States - click here to order. And go here to read An Aesthete's Lament's recommendation or rent White Mischief which depicts the love triangle then murder of one of Idina's exes, the Earl of Erroll, played by Charles Dance looking quite the thing in his jodphurs.