by NRF User | Apr 30, 2018 | NRF News
Want to learn more about Historic Home Maintenance? Check out NRF’s recommendations for expert resources in common mistakes, National Preservation Organizations, vinyl, windows, books and more!
Restoration – Common Mistakes
Two documents on common restoration mistakes can be found at: http://www.cttrust.org/index.cgi/98
National Park Service Preservation Briefs
The Repair of Historic Wooden Windows: http://www.cr.nps.gov/hps/tps/briefs/brief09.htm
Understanding Old Buildings: The Process of Architectural Investigation:
http://www.cr.nps.gov/hps/tps/briefs/brief35.htm
Roofing for Historic Buildings: http://www.cr.nps.gov/hps/tps/briefs/brief04.htm
The Repair, Replacement & Maintenance of Historic Slate Roofs:
http://www.cr.nps.gov/hps/tps/briefs/brief29.htm
Other Preservation Briefs found at: http://www.cr.nps.gov/hps/tps/briefs/presbhom.htm
Vinyl Siding – What to Consider
Vinyl Siding: The Real Issues (from CT Trust for Historic Preservation): http://www.cttrust.org/index.cgi/1745
The Vinyl Lie (The reputability of this source is uncertain but the points he makes are, in general, very accurate.): http://www.oldlouisville.com/circa1900/Vinyl-Lie.htm
Windows
Nice summary on Saving Wood Windows from New Jersey’s Preservation office: http://www.state.nj.us/dep/hpo/4sustain/windowsave.pdf
Quick article with further instructions from eBuild.com: http://www.ebuild.com/guide/resources/product-news.asp?ID=211787&catCode=10
A Rhode Island – based wood window restorer: http://www.smithrestorationsash.com/
Preservation Websites
www.SPNEA.org
Historic New England (formerly Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities) www.vernaculararchitectureforum.org
Information, publications, and organization information
www.nthp.org
National Trust book catalog
www.ptn.org
Preservation Trades Network, information & links of interest
www.apti.org
The Association for Preservation Technology International
www.cr.nps.gov/
National Park Service preservation services, source of Preservation Briefs & other materials
www.heritagepreservation.org
Preservation information and good links
www.oldhouseweb.com
Covers many areas of old house maintenance and repair – useful
www.oldhousejournal.com
Site of the magazine of the same title, covers many areas and is regularly up-dated
www.traditional-building.com
Another magazine site with very good resource listings
Historic Product Vendors & Resources
www.abatron.com
Abatron Inc. 1-800-445-1754, epoxy wood fillers and a range of epoxy products
www.obdyke.com
Cedar Breather, 1-800-346-7655, a product that creates air space between shingles and sheathing
www.chimneys.com
General site with information and further links concerning chimney and fireplace safety products
www.chimneysweeps.com
List, by state, of licensed sweeps, information and links
www.thermocreteusa.com
Explains the process and benefits of this unique chimney lining process
www.ncsg.org
National Chimney Sweeps Guild, another listing of sweeps and info.
www.paiint.org
Various information on paint coating and links
www.paintinfo.com
Variety of paint areas covered
www.paintquality.com
Similar to above site
www.PRGinc.com
Products, information, & excellent book catalog
www.preservationweb.com
Products and services
www.usheritage.com
Masonry services & products
PRESERVATION & RESTORATION – Books
General Preservation Titles
Barthel, Diane
Historic Preservation, Rutgers University Press, 1966 Brand, Stuart
How Buildings Learn, Penguin Books, 1994.
Lindgren, James M.
Preserving Historic New England, Oxford University Press, 1995.
Mansfield, Howard
The Same Ax, Twice, University Press of New England, 2000.
Preservation Guides & References
Bristow, Ian
Interior House Paint Colours & Technique 1615 – 1846, Yale Univ. Press, 1996.
Bucher, Ward, editor
Dictionary of Building Preservation, Preservation Press, 1996.
Bullock, Orin M.
The Restoration Manuel, Silvermine Publishers, 1966 Candee, Richard
House Paints in Colonial America, Chromatic Publishing Co., out of print.
Hoadley, R. Bruce
Identifying Wood Taunton Press, 1990.
Kitchen, Judith L.
Caring For Your Old House, Preservation Press, 1991.
Maycock, Susan & Zimmerman,Sarah
Painting Historic Exteriors, Cambridge Historical Commission, 1998.
Millar, William
Plastering Plain and Decorative, BUT. Bats ford, 1897; reprinted Don head Publishing Ltd., 2001.
Miller, Judith & Martin
Period Finishes and Effects, Rizzoli, 1992.
Moss, Roger, editor
Paint in America, Preservation Press, 1994.
Nash, George
Restoring Old Houses, Taunton Press, 1998.
Phillips, Steven J.
Old House Dictionary, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1994.
Weeks, Kay D. & Grimmer, Anne E.
The Secretary of Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties, US Department of the Interior, National Park Service, 1995.
Whelehel, Harriet – editor
Caring For Your Historic House, Harry Abrams Inc., 1998.
Wilbur, C. Keith
Homebuilding & Woodwork in Colonial America, The Globe Pequot Press, 1992.
General Architectural, 18th century
Ayres, James
Building the Georgian City, Yale University Press, 1998.
Cummings, Abbott Lowell
The Framed Houses of Massachusetts Bay, Belknap Press, 1979.
Palladio, Andrea
The Four Books on Architecture, MIT Press 1998.
Parissien, Steven
The Georgian House in Britain and America, Rizzoli, 1995.
Trevernor, Robert
Palladio and Palladianism, Thames and Hudson, 1991.
Hafertepe, Keneth & O’Gorman, James F.
American Architects and Their Books to 1848, University of Press, 2001.
by NRF User | Aug 29, 2017 | NRF News
A small painting in a gilded frame hangs above the mantle in Doris Duke’s bedroom at Rough Point. Amidst the splash of yellow walls, bold purple fabrics, and glinting mother of pearl furniture, the painting is unassuming by comparison. This is why visitors are often surprised to discover that it is one of the more precious works of art in the house—a charming scene of a young girl focused on her needlework, painted and signed by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, the famous French Impressionist.
Until recently, very little was known about this wonderful, but mysterious, painting in Rough Point’s collection. As this summer’s Laird Graduate Intern in Museum Studies, I’ve had the opportunity to dive deeply into research on both the house and its collection, and I found myself especially captivated by this little painting.
A pair of paintings
One of the most exciting discoveries in my research revealed that our painting is most likely a preparatory study for another Renoir owned by The Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Massachusetts. The resemblance between the two paintings is readily apparent. The compositions are nearly identical, with the model—who is now known to be Nini Lopez, one of Renoir’s favorite Montmartre girls—calmly engaged in needlework as her blouse falls gently off one shoulder. Our painting has a loosely worked quality, capturing the artist’s inspiration in the moment.
The period of the 1870s was a transformative time in Renoir’s life and work. Living in poverty and rejected by many critics, Renoir struggled to gain a professional foothold. Even among the other Impressionists, Renoir’s pure colors and broken brushstrokes were not always understood—in fact, Manet once said to Monet that Renoir would never amount to anything.[1] But soon after our painting was completed in 1875, things started to pick up for Renoir. With portrait commissions from wealthier patrons, such as the Charpentier family in 1878, Renoir could now afford to marry and buy a house.[2] His style was also maturing. Renoir’s fascination with girls engaged in needlework continued throughout his career, perhaps stemming from his insistence that his style of painting was tricotage, or knitting the colors together on the surface.[3]
A “poetic symbol” in times of war
Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Self-portrait, c.1875, The Clark Art Institute, 1955.584.
In 1919, the painting was part of a significant collection of nineteenth-century art put up for auction by the estate of its previous owner, Nicolas-Auguste Hazard. Alongside our Renoir were works by other titans of nineteenth-century painting, including Cezanne, Delacroix, Courbet, Gauguin, and Manet—perhaps finally proving just how wrong Manet had been about Renoir’s potential. In a twist of fate, Renoir died on December 3, 1919—the final day of the auction.
By 1941, the painting had passed through several hands and was now part of the war effort. France had fallen to Hitler and organizations formed across the United States to send aid to Europe. One such organization, the Free French Relief Committee, held a Renoir exhibition to raise money for General de Gaulle’s nascent French Resistance.[4] They chose Renoir because 1941 was the 100th anniversary of his birth, and because they believed his art to be revolutionary, “a poetic symbol” of the France that the men and women of the Resistance were fighting for.[5] Our painting appeared in the exhibition alongside eighty-eight other works by the artist. The exhibition closed on December 6, 1941. The very next day, December 7, the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor finally forced American involvement in World War II, which eventually led to the liberation of France and the end of the war.
Home at last
Like Renoir, Doris Duke had a zest for life. She acquired the painting in 1957 and later installed it as the only painting in her bedroom, where its bright, vivacious colors perfectly complemented the eclectic, bold design of the room. Today, Jeune fille blonde cousant remains a cherished object in the Rough Point Collection, delighting visitors with its soft, dream-like quality—the hallmarks of Renoir’s style which make it such a pleasure to behold.
Photograph of Doris Duke’s bedroom, Rough Point, Newport Restoration Foundation
By Ashley E. Williams
Ashley E. Williams is the Newport Restoration Foundation’s Laird Graduate Intern in Museum Studies for summer 2017. During her summer at Rough Point, Ashley dove deeply into curatorial research and provided support for programming and events. In addition to creating fuller object files for several of our most prominent paintings, her larger research project explored the architectural and public history of Rough Point from 1887 to 1924. This fall, Ashley goes on to her final year at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, where she is earning her Master’s degree in the History of Art and Architecture.
Sources:
[1] R.H. Wilenski, Modern French Painters (New York: Reynal & Hitchcock, 1940), 61.
[2] Ibid., 62.
[3] Renoir: Centennial Loan Exhibition 1841-1941, For the Benefit of the Free French Relief Committee, (New York: Duveen Galleries, 1941), 18.
[4] Coincidentally, the committee included Grace Graham Wilson Vanderbilt, a relative of Frederick W. Vanderbilt who built Rough Point (1887-1891), the painting’s final home.
[5] Renoir: Centennial Loan Exhibition 1841-1941, 11.
