Green Trees Halpin House & Gardens

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9n/roc/uc/zbn To appreciate fully the skill that Again, because the house was , went into the selection of the fur- never thought of as a museum, c/ Vjn ( oo//Lyy� nishings in this house, we must we have no records of the exact remind ourselves that Margret dates or places of origin for Halpin furnished it to live in,and several of the oldest pieces. did live in it, from 1951 until her death in 1978. She never intend- ed it to be a museum, and it will not be one now, as most of what The living room is nearly square, we see here today will go to her with a very high ceiling and an heirs. enormous Russian bronze d'ore There was nothing casual or chandelier.The walls are a pink whimsical about Mrs. Halpin's £n1rance }o ey shade white, in thg French tastes.She studied the decorativestyle, with e gold leaf arts,read extensively,and knew mouldings.Onn the east wall is an how to find and make use of English mirror, with a foliated well-qualified advisers. For ex- frame, dating from about 1740. ample,her placement of Oriental furniture in settings dominated The rug in the center of the room by 18th century English or is a Savonnerie, made about French-style furniture was a The outstanding features of the 100 years ago. The blending of conscious reflection of a very entrance hall or foyer are the its colors with those of the rest old precedent: A trend in aris- elegant proportions,the tall ceil- of the room is remarkable. tocratic European interiors ings and the hand-painted that began with the discovery wallpaper, which was made in The modest fireplace is corn- of Oriental domestic art in the France in 1821.The chandeliers paratively recent but in the style middle of the 18th century and are Russian bronze d'ore. The of Louis XVI and made of grey- lasted well into the 19th. upholstery fabric in the draperies green marble with gold insets. is French silk. The bench along The development of a formal the wall is Italian,as are the side The lacquered corner cupboards garden in the French style on the chairs which are decorated in the in the Chinese style may have west side of the house, with a Venetian style. The mahogany been made in either China or carefully cultivated "wild" or fern stands are English. The England,and they rest on stands "natural" garden to the Oriental cabinets beneath the which appear to be 18th century southeast was also a thoughtful panelled wainscoting are lac- Italian. response to exactly that corn- quered; one features a temple bination in many English coun- scene and the other children at Two gilded chairs in the style of try estates of the 18th century. play. Louis XVI in this room have been attributed to the 18th cen- Most of the furniture here,with tury Scottish designer, Robert some remarkable exceptions, See Colorplate 1, page 19. Adam. In any case, the arm consists of modern repro- chairs are early 19th century ductions of the work of 18th and French copies of the style of a 19th century craftsmen.But Mrs. somewhat earlier period. Mr. Halpin's taste was not merely an- Halpin had no use for chairs tiquarian;she was equally skillful that were too fragile to sit in. in the selection and placement of contemporary art in surroun- dings derived largely from the past. 16