Research Paper On Elsie De Wolfe

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Elsie de Wolfe, (1865-1950) is a design legend and to many, she is referred to as America's first decorator. According to the New Yorker, "Interior design as a profession was invented by Elsie." Because of her support system and increasing social status, de Wolfe's style and interiors were noticed, and accepted. She was able to open up a whole new sense of style to her era. Her reputation as an actress, her success in decorating the interior of her own home at the Irving House, and her social connections all aided in her success.
De Wolfe was a lady of many firsts, not only was she the first interior decorator, but she was also the first "lady" to appear on a Broadway stage. She began her career dabbling in amateur theatre until the death …show more content…

Typical American homes around the 1900s had never been professionally designed before. For Elsie, decorating was nothing less than a moral issue, according to the New Yorker, she said, "You will express yourself, in your home, whether you want to or not." She hated Victorian styled houses which she had grown up with and wanted to rid it completely from her own design. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, "On first seeing the pantheon she exclaimed, 'It's Beige, my color!'" She believed in achieving a single, harmonious, overall design statement and felt that the decoration of the home should reflect the woman's personality, rather than simply the husband's earning power. She received a major commission: the decoration of The Colony Club, America's first exclusive private women's club, which was partly founded by her friend Marbury. The women of the club were cautious to give Elsie the commission since it was such a big job for a lady, but according to the Indianapolis Business Journal, Stanford White, the club's renowned architect, was consulted. He replied, "give the job to Elsie and let the girl alone. She knows more than any of us." The tea room she designed in the Colony Club developed into the largest impact to her design career. She filled the room with green painted garden trellis to give the effect of being outdoors, and chintz, which lavishly covered anything from seating to curtains to walls. The Colony Club put Elsie on the map, and big private commissions

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