Evening star., 1938-03-06

ME- mlQWQIer eAIllDltlOn O1
the Decorators Picture
Gallery opened in New
u York Wednesday with some
superb rooms. This novel gallery
was started by Mrs. Ward Cheney
and Mrs. Artemus L. Gates
daughters of Henry Pomeroy Da-
vison, chairman Of the Red Cross
during the war, and Mrs. DAWSON
to break down the evil feeling
which has too often existed be-
tween art galleries and decorators.
The decorators are apt to consider
picture only as 1t affects their
scheme and the art galleries snarl
at this attitude, believing pictures
should be the focul point of a
room.
This gallery has succeeded in
combining the warning factions
successfully and it has been bene-
ficial to both sides and to the pub
lie. People can 60 and see how
pictures look in a house, Just as
they do in the Duncan Phillips
Gallery in Washington. and it has
broadened the decorators appre-
citation of paintings.
The arrangement works this
way-A decorator rents one Of
the Ave available rooms and ar
ranges her scheme around pic
lures which Frances Cheney and
Alice Gates have picked out from
any one of the fine art galleries,
such as Wildenstein, Knoedlers,
Macbeth, Mich, Marie Hartman,
Durand-Ruel Carroll Carstairs,
etc. Each decorator Is assigned
so many pictures and. with this as
q base, starts to create her room.
It is expensive. Alice Gates says
decorators have spent up to $4,000
putting in fake windows and elab-
crate cornices and wall brackets
and installing indirect lighting.
But apparently the clientele makes
it worth while because many OF
the better-known decorators have
done rooms several times.
For instance, We saw one lovely
18th century French bedroom done
around paintings by Rousseau,
Picasso, de Vlaminck, John Kane,
Terechkovitch and Gregoriev.
That was quite an assignment,
but the effect was enhancing. The
walls were cream, the floors dark
walnut and the rugs beige and gold
and hand-hooked. On each side
of q black marble empire fireplace
we're hung two long, glass sabers,
and the bed, supposedly slept in by
one of Napoleon's marshals, was
made of delicately wrought iron,
with light net canopy.
NEW YORK is full Of attractive,
bright women with not much
money and lot of ambition. Some
have started with an original idea
and a small amount of backing and
have managed to build up very
profitable businesses for them
selves without using any advertis-
ing except a mailing list In search
Of these individual enterprises we
went shopping around New York
the past week and found two
honeys.
About ~ years ago q distin-
guished New York lady, Mrs.
Courtlandt D. Barnes, began won-
dering what the wives of out-of-
town bankers did when they ac-
companied their husbands to the
countless New York conventions.
She investigated and found they
were usually in a state of high
confusion. So she organized a
small business called Hostesses,
Inc, which told these women
which were the best plays to at
tend, helped them with their
shopping and gave them all that
knowledge Of the city which most
New Workers take for granted.
The plan worked like a charm
and presently Mrs. j. Cheever Cow
din. Mrs. Phillip Boyer, Miss Vir-
ginia Conner, Miss Louise P. Evans
and Miss Camilla Moss were en-
listed. Now, they not only run a
decorating establishment in con-
junction with this personal service
bureau, but they promise to supply
any odd requests. During the
course Of one memorable day they
had to find q portable merry-go-
round, q female bartender for a
cocktail party and q group Of deb
utantes for q charitable bazaar.
One of their severest brain testers
was = client who wanted q bird
cage built to resemble his home;
what's more, he wanted it made
within "a hours!