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Gari Melchers Home and Studio

Gari Melchers Home and Studio

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Wonderful Wallpaper

May 22, 2020 by Michelle Crow-Dolby 5 Comments

Wonderful Wallpaper
Wonderful Wallpaper

Whenever American artist Gari Melchers (1860-1932) found something he thought especially aesthetically pleasing, he tended to incorporate it in his work over and over again. Whether a favorite patterned cape, a particular dress, or a special chair or vase, they appeared in his paintings on numerous occasions. This was true for models as well (more on that in a future blog post).

One element that he added to the background of more than 10 paintings is a colorful floral patterned wallpaper. Melchers used this motif to embellish otherwise white walls in a series of light-infused interior genre scenes painted in the early 1900s shortly after his marriage to his wife, Corinne. The setting was a parlor in a home called Schuylenburg near Egmond aan den Hoef, Holland. The house and its richly appointed interior belonged to friends George and Henriette Hitchcock.

Schuylenburg as shown in Gari Melchers’ painting ‘In My Garden,’ The Butler Institute of American Art
Modern day view of Schuylenburg
Melchers and Hitchcock
left to right, Henriette Hitchcock, Corinne Melchers, George Hitchcock and Gari Melchers, GMHS archives

These cozy scenes of upper class domestic bliss were no doubt enlivened by the pink rose wallpaper, a sample of which we are lucky enough to have in our collection.

Wonderful Wallpaper
Wallpaper Sample, GMHS Archives

Here are the paintings!

  • The Green Lamp, private collection
    The Green Lamp, private collection
  • Penelope, National Gallery of Art
    Penelope, National Gallery of Art
  • Woman Sewing
    Woman Sewing
  • The Debutante
    The Debutante
  • At Home (Winged Victory)
    At Home (Winged Victory)
  • The Open Door
    The Open Door
  • The Open Fire
    The Open Fire
  • Nellie Kabel, private collection
    Nellie Kabel, private collection
  • Mrs. Gari Melchers, The Detroit Club
    Mrs. Gari Melchers, Detroit Athletic Club
  • Room Full of Color, private collection
    Room Full of Color, private collection
  • Interior: Mother and Child
    Interior: Mother and Child
  • Woman Reading
    Woman Reading
Wonderful Wallpaper

~ Michelle Crow-Dolby, Education and Communications Manager, Gari Melchers Home & Studio

Category iconArt,  Gari Melchers,  Gari Melchers Home and Studio,  Visual Arts

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kirk Darrough says

    May 22, 2020 at 9:42 pm

    An interesting and important observation and explanation concerning Gari Melchers and one of his
    favorite backgrounds – the rose wallpaper in the Hitchcock home. Well done, as always!

    Reply
  2. P.J Zwart EaZ says

    May 25, 2020 at 2:29 am

    Interesting, funny somehow, to see “how things work”…
    Thank you.

    Reply
    • Michelle Crow-Dolby says

      May 27, 2020 at 8:26 pm

      Indeed, love the tidbits of information our archival collection provides.

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. An Artist’s Fascination with Light – Gari Melchers Home & Studio says:
    June 24, 2020 at 2:38 pm

    […] Wonderful Wallpaper – May 22, 2020 […]

    Reply
  2. An Artist's Fascination with Light - Gari Melchers Home and Studio says:
    November 3, 2021 at 1:43 pm

    […] not a personal studio, a house in Holland served as the backdrop for more than ten of Melchers’ paintings. It is no wonder given Schuylenburg’s gloriously high […]

    Reply

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Falmouth, VA 22405
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