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Lot Essay
For over 25 years a global clientele from the East Coast, to the West Coast, England, Spain and, of course, the White House have sought out Michael Smith to create homes that reflect their inhabitants’ personalities and lifestyles, but that also incorporate that ineffable Michael Smith magic. What does it mean to live in a Michael Smith designed home? It definitely includes traditional proportions, exceptional craftsmanship and a nod to history, along with accommodations to the comforts of modern life. It means having a well-informed mix of works and styles from different periods and places, not for the sake of eclecticism but in order to create a deeply personal environment.
His interiors also share the element of surprise. Whether it’s a particular object or painting that creates a sense of wonder, or an entire Southern California home inspired by a Portuguese colonial mansion in Goa, or a Malibu retreat based on a Palladian villa, Michael’s approach is akin to something Steve Jobs once said – a lot of times, people don’t know what they want until someone [in this instance, Michael] shows it to them. A natural curiosity is necessary to anticipate a client’s wants – both about the client’s personality and lifestyle and of course, the objects. Michael has often discussed his near-obsessiveness with research – whether it be a particular period in history, or a type of object. This dual curiosity allows him to conjure a world for his clients beyond their imagination, or what they may have been able to articulate, and yet that one that they are entirely at home in. Many clients have described the visceral pleasure of being completely at home, and yet completely in awe of a Michael Smith interior.
Rooms as Portraits encompasses material from four Michael Smith designed interiors. In each, he created spaces that reflected how its occupants lived, and a sense of place. The London pied-à-terre conveys an elegant and layered sense of history; the New York apartment, crisp big-city glamour; the two Los Angeles homes have an airy sophistication.
With Eaton Square, Michael created a London base for longtime clients that despite its formality and abundance of treasures, is bright and comfortable. All of the objects create wonderful vignettes throughout the apartment - such as the English gilt mirror surrounded by Turkish tiles above a marble fireplace surround; the Chinese cloisonné objects and Japanese pen cases arranged on a table under a painting by the 19th Century Orientalist Jean-Léon Gérôme; and the Bonnat composition of a young Samson fighting a lion, its painterly bravura adding to the scene’s ferocity, hanging above a rosewood and leather sofa in the entrance hallway. Yet each object has an integrity of its own, its own exquisite proportions, meticulous craftsmanship, and virtuosity. The strength of each object on its own, as it leaves its current setting to find a new home is a testament to Michael’s superb eye. How they have been brought together to create rooms so intimate as to be considered portraits of their owners, is a tribute to his virtuosity as a designer.
David Snowdon
His interiors also share the element of surprise. Whether it’s a particular object or painting that creates a sense of wonder, or an entire Southern California home inspired by a Portuguese colonial mansion in Goa, or a Malibu retreat based on a Palladian villa, Michael’s approach is akin to something Steve Jobs once said – a lot of times, people don’t know what they want until someone [in this instance, Michael] shows it to them. A natural curiosity is necessary to anticipate a client’s wants – both about the client’s personality and lifestyle and of course, the objects. Michael has often discussed his near-obsessiveness with research – whether it be a particular period in history, or a type of object. This dual curiosity allows him to conjure a world for his clients beyond their imagination, or what they may have been able to articulate, and yet that one that they are entirely at home in. Many clients have described the visceral pleasure of being completely at home, and yet completely in awe of a Michael Smith interior.
Rooms as Portraits encompasses material from four Michael Smith designed interiors. In each, he created spaces that reflected how its occupants lived, and a sense of place. The London pied-à-terre conveys an elegant and layered sense of history; the New York apartment, crisp big-city glamour; the two Los Angeles homes have an airy sophistication.
With Eaton Square, Michael created a London base for longtime clients that despite its formality and abundance of treasures, is bright and comfortable. All of the objects create wonderful vignettes throughout the apartment - such as the English gilt mirror surrounded by Turkish tiles above a marble fireplace surround; the Chinese cloisonné objects and Japanese pen cases arranged on a table under a painting by the 19th Century Orientalist Jean-Léon Gérôme; and the Bonnat composition of a young Samson fighting a lion, its painterly bravura adding to the scene’s ferocity, hanging above a rosewood and leather sofa in the entrance hallway. Yet each object has an integrity of its own, its own exquisite proportions, meticulous craftsmanship, and virtuosity. The strength of each object on its own, as it leaves its current setting to find a new home is a testament to Michael’s superb eye. How they have been brought together to create rooms so intimate as to be considered portraits of their owners, is a tribute to his virtuosity as a designer.
David Snowdon