Sunday, August 19, 2018

Living Artfully: At Home with Marjorie Merriweather Post Hardcover by Estella M. Chung (G / D Giles Ltd)



Even though I read the reviews of others, I still decided to order this book, and it lived up to my expectations based on those reviews. This is the sort of book that one would buy in the gift shop after touring Hillwood, a lovely reminder of the tour with a bit thrown in about two of her other houses. There is nothing here particularly revealing about Mrs. Post, just a superficial look at a very rich woman and how she organized three of her homes, which is what the title promises. The cover photograph is gorgeous, so it makes a nice coffee table book from that perspective. And one certainly shouldn't expect this book, written by a staffer at Hillwood, who certainly didn't strain to gather lots of information or photographs, to offer anything revealing about Mrs. Post's personality or motives or even her husbands. If you want an in-depth, gossipy look, there is at least one biography of her, that I read years ago, for that. Otherwise enjoy this for what it is, a souvenir of your visit to Hillwood or, if you can't visit, a surface look at Mrs Post's life with "text lite" and far fewer photos than you will want.

This is a beautifully illustrated account of the three main homes of Marjorie Merriweather Post (1887–1973), through the 1950s to 1970s. From 1957 onwards Post lived in stately Hillwood in Washington, DC, for spring and autumn, retreated to Camp Topridge in the Adirondacks for the summer, and enjoyed the winter season at her glamorous villa Mar-A-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida. Post was one of America’s most stylish and powerful women and this book, strongly evocative of the lifestyle magazines of the period, offers a vibrant and intimate picture of life in each residence—for Marjorie Post, her guests, and her staff.

About the Author

Estella M. Chung is head of oral history and curator of American material culture and historian at Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens, in Washington, D.C. As a curator and cultural historian she combs photographic archives, documents, and the not-so-ordinary artifacts that tell life stories of remarkable people who may, or may not, have been yet recognized for their contributions in history. As head of Hillwood's oral history program she conducts interviews with those who worked for and were entertained by philanthropist and art collector Marjorie Post, which she weaved into the publication Living Artfully: At Home With Marjorie Merriweather Post - a book about Post's private homes complete with butlers, personal maids, and footmen - a Downton Abbey story set in the Mad Men era. The book has an accompanying museum exhibition at Hillwood to January 12, 2014. In 2013 and 2014, Chung has Living Artfully book events scheduled in Washington, D.C. and Palm Beach. 

Previously, Chung co-curated the landmark museum exhibition Once Upon a Time in Italy: The Westerns of Sergio Leone (2005) at the Autry National Center in Los Angeles, the largest artifact based exhibit ever devoted to a director of cinema. Chung contributed the introduction "Leone's West: Finding the Fairy Tale" detailing the hunt for film set artifacts to the catalogue authored by preeminent Leone scholar, and the exhibit co-curator Sir Christopher Frayling. In addition to Clint Eastwood's iconic poncho, and Marjorie Post's glimmering mansions, Chung explored stories connected to Chinese American immigration, bridges in rural Texas, gallant churros, and the many delicious uses of Jell-O.

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