"Aesthetic" Spaces
Designers of the Aesthetic Movement valued beauty above all else. In their interiors, objects were assembled for harmonious visual effect regardless of cultural origin, time periods and style. This all-over approach to design blanketed surfaces in complicated layers of pattern, color, and texture.
In the Dorothy Vernon Room, the largest room in the now-demolished Deanery and its main entertaining space, de Forest carefully arranged Ahmedabad Wood Carving Company furniture around inlaid tabourets from Damascus, Russian bronzes, and Japanese ceramic stools, while the walls were lined with paintings by European artists Rosa Bonheur, William Holman Hunt and by de Forest himself. He summarized the intended effect of his interiors in an 1887 letter to Mary Garrett: "I want to get a rich room but very quiet."
Unknown maker (possibly Malayer, Iran)
Rug
n.d.
Wool
Unaccessioned
Unknown maker, New York
Lockwood de Forest (designer)
Armchair
ca. 1908
Wood, upholstery, metal
Bequest of M. Carey Thomas, President of Bryn Mawr College, 1894–1922
Deanery.355
Unknown maker (possibly Hoshiapur, India)
Octagonal Inlaid Tabouret
n.d.
Wood, bone or ivory
Bequest of M. Carey Thomas, President of Bryn Mawr College, 1894–1922
Deanery.465
Unknown maker (India)
Peacock feather fan
n.d.
Peacock feather, straw, newsprint
Bryn Mawr College Archives
Rookwood Pottery
Floor Lamp with Vase Base
n.d.
Bronze, ceramic; modern shade
Bequest of M. Carey Thomas, President of Bryn Mawr College, 1894–1922
Deanery.400
The Ahmedabad Wood Carving Company
Sofa
ca. 1881–1886
Wood, upholstery
Bequest of M. Carey Thomas, President of Bryn Mawr College, 1894–1922
Deanery.362
This impeccably carved sofa represents the peak of The Ahmedabad Wood Carving Company production. Delicate floral motifs pierce through the back of the sofa and spiral along all of its surfaces. The carving was so detailed that, although the sofa features in images of de Forest’s showrooms, it may have been too expensive for him to keep.
Like a woodblock used for decorating textiles, the depth and sharp detail of the sofa’s carved armrests would leave an impression on the sitter’s skin. Although this sofa is one of the few which can be directly connected with a design sketch by de Forest, the paneled form predates his arrival. In Gujarat, similar sofas are referred to as bankdo, a term deriving from the Portuguese banco, or bench.
Lockwood de Forest
Palm Springs
1907
Oil on masonite
Bequest of M. Carey Thomas, President of Bryn Mawr College, 1894–1922
W.193, W.194, W.195
Restored 1964 by Ruth Levy Merriam ’31
De Forest continued to paint landscapes throughout his life, depicting scenes from his travels in India, Egypt, Syria, Alaska, Mexico and the American Southwest. Like the landscapes of his mentor Frederic Church, these paintings glow with atmospheric effects, even at the comparatively reduced scale of these intimate plein-air sketches. De Forest was an active exhibitor at the National Academy of Design, also designing frames for the paintings of his contemporaries.
Unknown maker, New York
Lockwood de Forest (designer)
Side Chair
ca. 1908
Wood, upholstery, metal
Bequest of M. Carey Thomas, President of Bryn Mawr College, 1894–1922
Deanery.357
Unknown maker (Damascus, Syria)
Small Table
n.d.
Walnut, mother-of-pearl, bone, lead
Bequest of M. Carey Thomas, President of Bryn Mawr College, 1894–1922
Deanery.413
at center
The Ahmedabad Wood Carving Company
Hexagonal Table
ca. 1885–1887
Wood
Bequest of M. Carey Thomas, President of Bryn Mawr College, 1894–1922
Deanery.382
Unknown maker
Incense Burner
n.d.
Bronze, mother-of-pearl
Bequest of M. Carey Thomas, President of Bryn Mawr College, 1894–1922
2013.4.14
Antoine-Louis Barye
Wolf Caught in a Trap
ca. 1870
Bronze
Bequest of M. Carey Thomas, President of Bryn Mawr College, 1894–1922
Deanery.31
Yevgeny Lansere
Sheep from the Caucasus
1875
Bronze
Bequest of M. Carey Thomas, President of Bryn Mawr College, 1894–1922
Deanery.33
Antoine-Louis Barye
Parrot Figurine
n.d.
Bronze
Bequest of M. Carey Thomas, President of Bryn Mawr College, 1894–1922
W.477
Unknown maker
Askos (Jug)
n.d. [reproduction]
Bronze
Bequest of M. Carey Thomas, President of Bryn Mawr College, 1894–1922
W.497