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Thursday, May 17, 2012

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The Nude: Rooms in a State of Undress

Nudes

left: Photo: Woman Seated on a Bathtub Sponging Her Neck, 1880–95 Edgar Degas Oil and essence on paper Paris, Musée d'Orsay. © Photo Musée d'Orsay / rmn. Courtesy, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. The exhibit “Degas and the Nude” is now hanging the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston through February 5, 2012. A collaboration with the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, it features paintings, pastels, drawings, prints and sculpture examining the evolution of Degas’ nude figures throughout his career.

right: Australian interior designer Justine Hugh-Jones propped an oil painting by Robert Malherbe behind the tabletop bar on the sideboard in her dining room.

NudesI first thought about the art of displaying and grouping nude paintings and sketches about five years ago, when my husband and I rented a cottage on Cape Cod. The owner, a stage actress, had arranged a romantic ensemble of nude drawings on the wall behind her bed and I found it to be unbelievably romantic.

left: The nude ink drawing hanging in this bedroom by designer Ryan Korban echoes the black and white pattern of the pillow. (photo credit: Mataeo Ramirez)

Over the years, my husband and I have acquired a number of nude artworks. It wasn’t a conscious decision; I only recently noticed that we have well over a dozen. Some were gifts, some we purchased, another we inherited. My first was a pencil drawing my sister did in college of a robust live model. Since then we’ve added nude figures in acrylic and watercolor; a three-dimensional mixed media piece; a brightly colored print; impromptu sketches, including one my mother-in-law did in a master class last summer; and a wonderful little bronze.

Nudes

left: A picture wall at J. Crew in Boston features framed prints by artist Hugo Guiness including a nude used for the invitation of this year’s “Take Home a Nude” benefit for the New York Academy of Art.

right: The late artist Budd Hopkins displayed portraits and nude drawings by his friends on a concrete wall in his modernist Cape Cod cottage.

Nudes

left: Two neutral nudes by New York City artist Joan McDonald Miller hang in a Soho apartment.

right: A detail of the drawings in a show house bedroom. (photo: Heather Clawson/Habitually Chic)

Nudes

left: A nude by Norwegian artist Terje Resell hangs in a Scandinavian bedroom. (photo: Trine Thorsen)

right: Lisa Hildebrand and Jeanette Welson of Welhil Interiors designed his master bedroom in a 19th century Connecticut house in with classic 18th and 19th century English furniture and antiques, a Chinese carpet and a Dutch nude oil painting from the same era. (photo: Keith Scott Morton)

We don’t have a dedicated wall where they hang; rather, they’re scattered around our house: on shelves amongst art books; hanging on the kitchen wall mixed with paintings of beach shacks and abstracts; propped against bedroom furniture... My newest ones, which have yet to be framed, come from eBay (where, incidentally, sales for "nude" items on eBay are up almost six-fold in the past 90 days compared to the prior period). Nude sketches are the perfect eBay art purchase, because even the simplest sketch looks elegant and often cost little.

For this article, I found images of beautiful rooms adorned with nudes, and talked with some of the interior designers who created them. They offered thoughts on why and how nude paintings and sketches work in décor.

Nudes

left: San Francisco designer Melanie Coddington hung abstract nude works by L.A. based figurative painter Carla Mesa in her dining room.

right: Carine Harrington designed this laid back TV room, complete with groovy oversize nude for a client in Brighton, England. The piece, called ‘Mint,' is by British artist Lucie Bennett. Harrington appreciates its modern approach and the element of humor, which matches the personality of the client and the room, as all art should do. (photo: Simon Eldon)

Nudes

left: An English kitchen with an eclectic collection of nudes above the farmhouse sink. (photo: Simon Eldon)

right: A trio of nudes—French ink sketches from the 1940s—looks lovely against the pale orange Lee Jofa woven wall covering of a bedroom vestibule of a home in Old Westbury, New York designed by Eddie Lee. The cabinet is English regency circa 1810. (photo: Laurie Lambrecht)

Nudes

left: The library in designer Eddie Lee's New York City apartment features a 19th century Italian alabaster sculpture based on “The Wrestlers” that sits atop an English Regency dresser circa 1815. (photo: Peter Murdoch)

right: A picture wall with multiple nudes in a dining room with rustic beams, Oriental rug, and a hand-blown Lindsey Adelman chandelier. (photo: Joseph De Leo)

 

 

Nathan Turner, Los Angeles

“It’s kind of one of those classic pieces of art that can go in a modern or a traditional interior. You can’t go wrong with nude drawings. A drawing can be personal in a bedroom, or thrown in on a gallery wall with other drawings and paintings. It’s one of the few types of art that’s universal; it works almost everywhere.” (See our interview with Nathan Turner here.)


Nathan Turner

These classic nude drawings by British artist Lorien Haynes appeared on Bravo’s “Million Dollar Decorators” when the show filmed in L.A. designer Nathan Turner’s shop.

 

 

Katie Leede, Los Angeles

“I think black and white nude charcoals above a stylish mirrored and gilt drinks cart is a perfect, sexy, and appropriate combo. Take your own ‘Life Drawing’ class and see what you come up with, then expensively frame your best study. You’ll be amazed how many people will ask you, ‘Who did this one?!’ Nude drawings contribute to a mood of sensuality and pleasure. I like matting the drawings in bold colors for drama and to draw the eye into a surprising, intimate moment.”

 

Mara and Jesse Carrier, Carrier & Co., New York City

 “You can use nudes anywhere, mixing them with other types of art.  However, if the imagery is more explicit or erotic, we tend only use them in the bedroom or bathroom.”

Mara and Jesse Carrier

In addition to a large and colorful abstract watercolor by Leah Durner, Carrier & Co. hung small nude drawings by contemporary Belgian artist Kozlowitz below architectural renderings in the bedroom of a Town & Country show house. (photo: Francesco Lagnese)

 

 

Elizabeth Martin, San Francisco

“I love using nude paintings and drawings within interiors. I particularly like placing them in unexpected places rather than the typical bedroom or bathroom. I hung a Lucian Freud drawing above a fuchsia loveseat at the entrance of a home. The raw image of the nude paired with the vibrant color of the fabric perfectly punctuated the homeowners’ personalities: bold and fun. Making this statement in the foyer gives guests a snapshot of the rest of the home.”

Elizabeth Martin

A Lucian Freud drawing sits above a fuchsia loveseat at the entrance of designer Elizabeth Martin’s home.

 

Julia Edelmann, Buckingham Interior Design, Chicago

"There is nothing more dramatic than the human form. It is timeless and never too modern. Even when executed in a Cubist manner, it always blends in and is appropriate in any design environment."

Julia Edelman

On a wall of her Chicago design studio, Buckingham Interiors + Design, designer Julia Edelman curated this exhibit of local artist Francine Turk’s many nudes.

Julia Edelman

An oversized but very subtle nude adds elegance to a neutral living room by Julia Edelman of Buckingham Interiors + Design.

 

Grant K. Gibson, San Francisco

“Nudes can lend a room a collected, layered, even masculine element. I think that it is important to have the nudes in different frames, as well as at different angles, and in various styles.”

Grant K. Gibson

Grant K. Gibson accents the bar and wing back chair in this space with a collection of nudes in mismatched frames. Two of them came from the flea market in Paris and the other was an eBay find.

 

 

Urit Chaimovitz, Boston

“As one of my clients exclaims, ‘Nudes get you in the mood!’ If you are game, purchase a voluptuous woman reclining and eating fruits for your dining room. Her joy of eating will help create a celebratory and sensual environment for your dinner parties.

What is so wonderfully democratic about nudes is no matter what style and period of art you most enjoy, nudes will be available in that genre. The human body has always been explored, revered and captured.”

Urit Chaimovitz

  • A colorful print rests against the dresser in my bedroom. We got it for a great price this summer at an auction at Truro Center for the Arts at Castle Hill on Cape Cod.

  • We inherited this reclining nude print from my husband's grandfather. On the bottom right is a woodblock with an abstract nude by Joan McDonald Miller. She and her husband gave it to us as a wedding present. Excuse the pile of stuff . . . we're recuperating from a renovation.

  • A simple drawing that I adore. I think my mother-in-law gave it to me. The framer recommended a black matte, since the newsprint is yellowing, and will continue to over time, making it impossible to match with an ivory shade.

  • This lovely painting of a partially clad woman is by Sidney Simon was a gift from my in-laws. The photograph is in the foreground is a print by Jessica Bruah from 20x200.

  • A small nude watercolor painted by my sister, D.C. artist Dana Ellyn about ten years ago. I just spotted a brand new nude on her website that I plan to purchase. (Love that family discount!)

  • One of my favorites, a drawing by sculptor Chaim Gross, framed in a curlicue gold frame that echoes the lines of the artwork. It's a gift from my in-laws, who are enthusiastic buyers at the Provincetown Art Association and Museum.

  • I purchased this on eBay while working on a story for The Inside Source this past spring. Since then I've purchased several others, all for under $100.

  • We just started creating a picture wall around our new banquette in the kitchen. We're mixing nudes with abstracts, landscapes, and photography.

More nudes on eBay:

Roll over items for details
Original Female Nude Pastel Portrait Signed
(buy it now price, $14.14)
Nude Boy in Shoes Signed
(buy it now price, $34.95)
Jeffrey Bedrick Drawing Female Nude
(buy it now price, $25)
Michael Werner Abstract Male Nude
(buy it now price, $24)
Russian Signed Nude
(buy it now price, $19.99)
Original Latvia Nude Watercolor Signed
(buy it now price, $95)
The Nude: Rooms in a State of Undress

 

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