The Portland daily press., 1900-02-21
W. C. WHITNEY'S NEW HOME
4 Beautiful Example Of the Decorative
Work of the Italian Renaissance
(Neu York Times.

New York Timss.)
Mhen:the members of the Board OF
Trustees Of the Museum Of Natural
II istory oired last Monday evening at
he home CT William q. Whitney, s7l
Fifth Avenue, q house which In the
teauty and Costumes OF it, interior decor-
stiop ! s almost without rival In this
country was thrown open for the prst
time TO others besides Mr.. Whitney's close
De rsoual friends. In some respects,
indeed, the house Is unique. While the
bon es of wealthy men In this and other
c. { les have Teen beautifully ornamental,
u sUslly the decorations have been in one
OF the French styiee, or else different
roo me have been treatsd In different
styles With the single exception OF the
la iirocm, Mr.. WhitIey's house Is oon-
sistt MT example OF the art OF one period
- that OF the Italian Renaissance.
1t Is tardly pscces sary to add that 90
decorate an interior In this style Is far
mere difficult and cos5ly than II one OF
the more rsDal styles be chosen. when,
as In the casa of Mr.. Mhitney's home, the
decorations are all original antiques. the
task beccmss i'm pesibls except By means
Of the employ 10 emit OF great amount OF
money and time, together with knowl-
edge and cultivated taste. None or these
r,ouisit $ was lnoking In the adcrnne1t
OF ell Fifth Avenue, and the sesult is
TO a Venstian or Floreptins palace of the
days of Leonardo da ViDci ana Michel
Angelo as Il 10 possible to obtain,
The general scheme OF decoration was
the worK of Stanford White, who also sd-
yissd Mir. Whitney with regard &c the par
chase of the art treasures with whicn the
house Ia filled.
1t ia impo slible in limited space TO
describe the rooms adequately. There Is
aardly modern piece of work TO be
found any where, except the floors, while
each detail la the most perfect CT Its kind
that II was possibls TO find. The chin
ney-pieCes, for inatarce, are nearly ell
elaborate works 10 marble from old ital-
ian pslGoes, the hSnsings are from similar
souTCeF, ths ceilings Of several rooms have
been taken bcdils from famous buildings
in Europe. and ths furniture and much
of the vood work are Of Ike character.
The principal hall IL approached by the
entrance On Sixty eighth Street A por-
TAFT of Charles l by Van Dyok, hangs
at one side CT a short flight of STEPS, and
religious piece by LoFeozo Costa on the
other. BetV esn them liz splendid silver
banging lamp, a masterpiece Of old Itsl-
tan craftsmanship. One Of the finest of
Whitney owns Ia In the hall Ii Is
painted In a style which strongly Iesem-
bles that OF pinturiccio, and is In as
good condition as when II was made some
500 years ago. Ihs pnrti sres and other
dIspe,ies OF the hall are OF old figured
velvet, the general color scheme being
red and white.
10 the right Of the hall is the dining
room. Nearly all the wall space OF this
room Is covered with fixteenth century
Italian wall paintings. The chimney
Eisce Is a magnificent specimen of its
kind, while tina great bronze firedogs are
said to be the finest ia America,
ION the other side of the hall Is the
library. The bookcases aud panellng are
of old oak carved with an eiaborateress
of detail found in none except the work
OF Renaissance workmsn. and, another
splendid tassone is prominent object on
account OF tho rich contrast it presents to
the dark tones Of tina oak,
4 At the rear OF tie library is salon.
This apartment has not yet been COM
pleted, but 10 is already evident that 10
viii be enc of the most gorgeous in the
b ouse, the walls being entirely covered
W it'll rich figured crimson velvet.
The hallFocm is reached by corridor
lsa1ing from the rIar Of the hall behiId
the dining room. Ihe corridor Itself is
noticeable, the walls being paneled with
inlNid woods In q uaint design and of very
old workmanship. lie tallfoom is pure
Louis XIV TIE walls are en- tireiy Gov
srsd with pansIinz In high rsltet. which
was .onoe In the chateau OF Phoebus
d'Albsrr, near Bordsau. In the time OF
Louis Philippe thess panehngs were
taken so house In Paris, and from tins re
they wers.brought TO this country. Every
scrap Of furniture 10 the room 10 also OF
the Louis XIV. psriod, ths ceiling and
feor being the only modern portions Il
the apartment.
Between the dining room aud the ball
room Is q conservatory, 10 which are
mum bar Of marbles brought from an Ital-
ian garden. The Iooms in the basement
II - L. Agl
are equally worthy Of notice, and have
been decorated with as much care as the
rooms on the nlaia fisor.
Mr.. Whitney said yesterday that he Sc
looted the style of the italian Renais-
,ance for his home because although the
EFenc oh styles were BEAUTIFUL, he had never
seen an apartment decerstsdlin that man
nsr in which he fels that he woald care
TO live.