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House Proud

by habituallychic

01 . 26 . 09

I finally had a chance to see House Proud: Nineteenth-century Watercolor Interiors from the Thaw Collection at the Cooper Hewitt this past weekend and was so glad that I made it before it closed Sunday. The watercolors were amazing and so were the stories of surrounding each of them and the rooms they depicted. It was such a wonderful insight not only into interior design of the times but the history and purpose of the different rooms in a home. I was also struck by the intricate detail of the watercolors and beautiful furnishings and patterns in so many of them. I purchased the accompanying book House Proud and I recommend it to anyone who is interested in learning more about these stunning interiors.

Rudolf Von Alt, The Japanese Salon, Villa Hugel, Heitzing, Vienna, 1855

James Roberts, Salon Particulier de la Reine au Palais de Buckingham (The Queen’s Sitting Room at Buckingham Palace), August 1848

Henry Robert Robertson, The Interior of Hall Place at Leigh, near Tonbridge, Kent, 1879

Carl Friedrich Wilhelm Klose, The Red Room, Schloss Fischbach, c. 1846

Matthaus Kern, A Study at St. Polten, 1837

Edouard Gaertner, The Chinese Room at the Royal Palace, Berlin, 1850

Julie Bayer, An Artist’s Studio, c. 1850

Bouilhet, A French Restoration Bedroom, 1823

16 Comments
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  1. housewears January 26, 2009 | 3:33 am

    I think I would love this book for the amazing detail in the drawings, with hopes it would help me perfect my own drawings!

    Jillian

  2. Laura January 26, 2009 | 4:41 am

    Why is it that everyone used to have such amazing ceilings, and now no one pays any attention to them? These paintings make me so envious!

  3. Tasha January 26, 2009 | 5:04 am

    These are incredible.

  4. Something Old~Something New January 26, 2009 | 5:28 am

    “stunning interiors” is correct!

  5. Beautiful Living January 26, 2009 | 8:07 am

    Wow, what drew my attention is the ceilings! Stunning!

  6. pve design January 26, 2009 | 12:42 pm

    HC-
    Architect Design (& I) saw the exhibit back on October and loved the detail of those watercolors. So thrilled that you were able to go and to add that book to your library.
    pve

  7. Style Redux 2 January 26, 2009 | 2:25 pm

    Wonderful-I especially like the Chinese Room and the Red Room.

  8. Jill January 26, 2009 | 4:12 pm

    The watercolors are beautiful. When I was in design school, I went on a date and missed the first day of Perspectives and Rendering. I was totally lost after that…and the date was horrible.

  9. Susan's Snippets January 26, 2009 | 7:40 pm

    Heather –

    Isn’t it amazing how advanced these designers were for their times? They were head and shoulders above their peers.

    by many years

  10. Sabina January 26, 2009 | 8:12 pm

    What an amazing post – I could look at the details of these drawings for hours!!

    🙂

  11. rightbankgirl January 26, 2009 | 11:12 pm

    I just saw this too! Wasn’t it just stunning? I didn’t get the book but now wish I had. I think I’ll try to order it online.

  12. carrie @ bloomacious.com January 27, 2009 | 1:18 am

    those illustrations are amazing!

  13. annechovie January 27, 2009 | 1:31 am

    These are amazing and inspire me to work even harder on my renderings! Have a great week, Heather!

  14. Ivy Lane January 27, 2009 | 3:00 am

    Beautiful! I hope this exhibit will come my way! I would love to see these renderings in person. Thanks for sharing!

  15. lacouturiernyc January 27, 2009 | 3:05 am

    gorgeous images 🙂

    xoxo,
    La C.

  16. michelle January 27, 2009 | 6:12 am

    OMG…I am off to find it now! Love these!