Ralph Lauren remakes Thomas Jefferson- Part I
CAROLINE DUNLOP MILLETT(Originally published in the Broad Street Review, July 27, 2010)
Prior to his recent makeover of Thomas Jefferson’s country house, Monticello, much applauded in Elle Décor’s July/August issue, Ralph Lauren made no claim to fame as a restorer of historic sites. But now his team has turned Jefferson’s Wedgwood-blue dining room into a shocking chrome yellow “total environment.”
That’s the phrase Lauren’s publicists have applied to each of the faux upper-class designer’s previous Lauren Collections– a line of furnishings that has included “New England,” “Thoroughbred” and “Jamaica,” among others.
As Witold Rybczynski observed so astutely in Home (Penguin Books, 1986), Lauren has made his mark not by designing real interiors but by peddling romanticized ideas of upper-crust lifestyles— backdrops designed to promote the sale of fabrics, table wares, and bedclothes. In the past, Lauren’s métier has been contemporary imagery that invokes Old World charm. But now his company, Polo Ralph Lauren, has made a surprising move into early 19th-Century Virginia, giving “a generous donation” (as Elle Décor put it) for the restoration of Jefferson’s dining room.
Jefferson’s personal vision
It’s important to note that the third president of the U.S. and author of the Declaration of Independence was also a homebody who spent more than 40 years designing, building and refining Monticello, inside and out. There Jefferson created a totally personal environment of unsurpassed beauty. So Lauren’s appearance at Jefferson’s country home is cause for comment and speculation. Is Lauren gathering ideas for a “Monticello Collection”? Or is this dining room makeover Lauren’s first step toward remaking Monticello in Ralph Lauren’s image?
Last fall, Lauren announced the relocation of his distribution center to West Virginia. Then, according to Lauren’s RL Magazine, Lauren set his sights on Jefferson’s work at both the University of Virginia and Monticello: “When it comes to fashion, Charlottesville draws on its heritage – it’s one of the last bastions of truly classic American dress…”
Whatever Lauren’s intentions, the work completed in Thomas Jefferson’s dining room cannot be called a restoration, since the Lauren team isn’t just preserving and refreshing original furnishings. The newcomer has substituted his own reproductions, and even some totally contemporary objects.
Before and after
In Elle Décor, you can see the before-and-after: Jefferson’s original table has been covered to the floor by Ralph Lauren’s black-and-white-striped tablecloth, “made truly modern and appealing with a mix of contemporary china and other tableware” (according to Elle Décor editor Mitchell Owen).
What’s more, Polo provided a reproduction sideboard and a spotty taupe “interpretation” of Jefferson’s Abbeville carpet. And Jefferson’s personal art collection has just been arranged in characteristic Ralph Lauren style: Thick black modernist frames are bunched together. Paintings and prints “now pop into view…crisp against the bold yellow.”
Replaced by wallpaper
Chrome yellow is the historical hook on which this conversion hangs. After living with plaster-white walls for more than 30 years, in 1815 Jefferson did in fact paint his dining room walls chrome yellow, a new pigment discovered by Louis Nicolas Vauquelin in France. What the Elle Décor article fails to mention is that the pigment was made of crocoite (lead chromate), a substance that oxidizes and darkens on exposure to air over time. Not surprisingly, the yellow was replaced by wallpaper (as were a number of other rooms in Monticello). Either at the end of the 19th Century or in the early 20th Century, depending on which sources you believe, the dining room was painted blue.
Given all these factors, and the popularity of the Wedgwood blue version that so many associate with the room, in truth it’s a challenge to say which hue is most appropriate for a restoration. But one thing is certain: The color palette in a national historic monument shouldn’t be selected on the grounds of contemporary chicatude. Fashion should never dictate a real restoration– and “fashion” is what Ralph Lauren sells.
I certainly agree with the Monticello Foundation’s stated mission: to protect historic resources in order to provide education and inspiration for our society’s future. Unfortunately, Ralph Lauren’s much-publicized modernization of America’s most cherished private residence sends an entirely different message: Money can buy anything.♦
Ralph Lauren remakes Thomas Jefferson- Part II,
Fashion vs. history
(Originally published in the Broad Street Review, August 7, 2010)
My recent BSR article about Ralph Lauren’s makeover of Thomas Jefferson’s dining room at Monticello has provoked questions and challenges from readers, such as: Who authorized this project? How much did Lauren contribute, financially or artistically? Were the changes really as bad as I suggested? So I’ve done further research.
Susan R. Stein, Monticello’s vice president and curator, told me she takes full responsibility for what she calls the “reinterpretation” of the dining room. She emphatically denied that Ralph Lauren had anything to do with the project’s design, and further indicated that crediting the firm for participating in the project must have been a mistake on the part of Elle Décor magazine’s website and slideshow (and whatever other publications may have credited Lauren).
On the other hand, she acknowledged that a number of the furnishings featured at Monticello are in fact new. This means, of course, that the makeover is not a restoration, as the Elle Décor article claimed, since only originals or antiques of the period could qualify for a genuine restoration of Thomas Jefferson’s home.
On the subject of Ralph Lauren Home’s contribution of table linens covering the entire dining room table to the floor, along with additional gray-and-white linens, carafe, and glasses, Stein justifies these contributions (and the reproduction furniture), since they are “fresh and new and current…and fashionable.” When I asked her what motivated her to replace the old with the new, she replied that she wants to provide revolutionary perspectives in order to draw new visitors and additional funding to Monticello. Without Ralph Lauren’s substantial grant, she added, the dining room project could not have taken place.
When I called Polo Ralph Lauren, I was referred to Alexandra Ginnel, who is in charge of press relations. She said that Ralph Lauren paid for the entire Monticello project but wasn’t involved in the design process, which she says was the work of Charlotte Moss, a Virginia-born interior designer who creates and sells china, and whom Elle Décor credits with the new table settings at Monticello. Ginnel said that Moss “partook to bring relevance to an American historical site that many may not relate to in a modern way. Her use of present consumer products brought the historical aspect of it full circle… She chose modern furnishings to reinterpret the room in a modern way. She chose almost all the furnishings in the room.”
I read Ginnel the Charlottesville (va.) Area Daily piece entitled, “Polo Does Monticello,” specifically these excerpts: “Consider a visit to… the dining room recently renovated by Ralph Lauren Home. … Working in partnership with the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, Ralph Lauren sponsored the dining room restoration, including a reproduction of a sideboard similar to one Jefferson bought in 1790, a French marble console table, and an interpretation of the Abbeville carpet Jefferson purchased in France in the 1780s.” Ginnel admitted that she had sent information about the Monticello project to Area Daily.
Regardless of who actually designed what, this much seems patently clear: One of our nation’s most treasured historic sites has been hugely commercialized.
Monticello is not just a beloved monument; it’s also a beautiful example of the personal environment of a great man. To repeat my original point: It seems a terrible shame to introduce brand-new features and commercial products to a historic landmark in order to create a little excitement.
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