.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
拍品专文
EDWARD F. CALDWELL & CO.
The firm of Edward F. Caldwell & Co. was the preeminent designer and retailer of fine lighting fixtures to the captains of industry who heralded America’s Gilded Age. Known for their European-inspired decorations which often rivaled the best French foundries, the firm received commissions from a host of affluent clientele whose lavish homes lined Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue and sprung up on the shores of Newport and Long Island’s ‘Gold Coast’. As chief designer at Archer & Pancoast Manufacturing Co., producers of fine gaslight and electric fixtures, Caldwell oversaw designs provided to the renowned architectural firm McKim, Mead & White. Caldwell’s genius certainly left a lasting impression on the architectural titan, Stanford White, particularly following their collaboration on fixtures for the New York State Building at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. The pair would often collaborate on residential and commercial projects following the establishment of Caldwell’s New York foundry in 1895.
The design for the present lot, modeled with reclining tritons recalling Italian Renaissance works such as the iconic Cellini salt cellar (c. 1542), first appears in the Company client ledger on 4 January 1905 (A5) for Isaac Guggenheim. Intended for his Long Island mansion 'Villa Carola' (1907), the center-bowl is shown in situ in the Summer Dining Room circa 1920 (illustrated left). Another example of this model sold Christie’s, New York, 25 October 2007, lot 308 ($97,000).
CLAREMONT: A ‘PETIT TRIANON’ IN AMERICA’S WEST
Inspired by the Neoclassic pleasure palace bestowed on Louis XV’s maîtresse-en-titre, Madame de Pompadour, the former Colorado Springs residence of Charles H. and Virginia Baldwin has remained an enduring tribute to the French style nestled in America’s heartland. Christened ‘Claremont’ by the Baldwins in 1907, and frequently referred to as ‘Trianon’ thereafter, the house was initially designed by Stanford White and was ultimately completed by the celebrated Colorado architect Thomas MacLaren following White’s untimely demise at the hands of Harold K. Thaw in 1906.
Hailing from Newport, Rhode Island, the Baldwins, flush from family mining exploits, relocated to the Pikes Peak area for Virginia’s respiratory health. Both had travelled extensively through Europe amassing an enormous collection of fine paintings, sculpture and opulent decorations, including European-inspired ornaments such as the present piece by Caldwell. Virginia survived her husband and their three children and eventually sold Claremont to Blevins Davis, a New York impresario and then President of the Ballet Theater of New York. He remodeled and updated the house, formally named it ‘Trianon’, where he revived social and cultural events. The disposition of Davis's wife's estate resulted in the sale of of the entire property and contents to an order of Catholic nuns in 1952.
John W. Metzger (d. 1984), former Attorney General of Colorado and an active Denver business leader, had assisted Blevins Davis and the Catholic sisters in their transaction and responded to the sisters’ desire to sell the property in 1960. Metzger established a foundation for cultural preservation and educational advancement; however the residential neighborhood proved unsuitable for an active museum operation. To fulfill the mission of perpetuating arts education, much like the Baldwins did a half-century earlier, the residence and grounds became the permanent home for the Colorado Springs School for Girls in 1967. The lavish contents were relocated to downtown Denver in a French-style building which Metzger purchased and operated as the Trianon Museum & Art Gallery for the appreciation of the public until his death. Betty Metzger, John’s wife and concert pianist whose life was devoted to artistic endeavors, maintained the museum until her death in 2008. J. William Metzger, John and Betty’s son, now pursues the preservation and dissemination of the remarkable collection.
The firm of Edward F. Caldwell & Co. was the preeminent designer and retailer of fine lighting fixtures to the captains of industry who heralded America’s Gilded Age. Known for their European-inspired decorations which often rivaled the best French foundries, the firm received commissions from a host of affluent clientele whose lavish homes lined Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue and sprung up on the shores of Newport and Long Island’s ‘Gold Coast’. As chief designer at Archer & Pancoast Manufacturing Co., producers of fine gaslight and electric fixtures, Caldwell oversaw designs provided to the renowned architectural firm McKim, Mead & White. Caldwell’s genius certainly left a lasting impression on the architectural titan, Stanford White, particularly following their collaboration on fixtures for the New York State Building at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. The pair would often collaborate on residential and commercial projects following the establishment of Caldwell’s New York foundry in 1895.
The design for the present lot, modeled with reclining tritons recalling Italian Renaissance works such as the iconic Cellini salt cellar (c. 1542), first appears in the Company client ledger on 4 January 1905 (A5) for Isaac Guggenheim. Intended for his Long Island mansion 'Villa Carola' (1907), the center-bowl is shown in situ in the Summer Dining Room circa 1920 (illustrated left). Another example of this model sold Christie’s, New York, 25 October 2007, lot 308 ($97,000).
CLAREMONT: A ‘PETIT TRIANON’ IN AMERICA’S WEST
Inspired by the Neoclassic pleasure palace bestowed on Louis XV’s maîtresse-en-titre, Madame de Pompadour, the former Colorado Springs residence of Charles H. and Virginia Baldwin has remained an enduring tribute to the French style nestled in America’s heartland. Christened ‘Claremont’ by the Baldwins in 1907, and frequently referred to as ‘Trianon’ thereafter, the house was initially designed by Stanford White and was ultimately completed by the celebrated Colorado architect Thomas MacLaren following White’s untimely demise at the hands of Harold K. Thaw in 1906.
Hailing from Newport, Rhode Island, the Baldwins, flush from family mining exploits, relocated to the Pikes Peak area for Virginia’s respiratory health. Both had travelled extensively through Europe amassing an enormous collection of fine paintings, sculpture and opulent decorations, including European-inspired ornaments such as the present piece by Caldwell. Virginia survived her husband and their three children and eventually sold Claremont to Blevins Davis, a New York impresario and then President of the Ballet Theater of New York. He remodeled and updated the house, formally named it ‘Trianon’, where he revived social and cultural events. The disposition of Davis's wife's estate resulted in the sale of of the entire property and contents to an order of Catholic nuns in 1952.
John W. Metzger (d. 1984), former Attorney General of Colorado and an active Denver business leader, had assisted Blevins Davis and the Catholic sisters in their transaction and responded to the sisters’ desire to sell the property in 1960. Metzger established a foundation for cultural preservation and educational advancement; however the residential neighborhood proved unsuitable for an active museum operation. To fulfill the mission of perpetuating arts education, much like the Baldwins did a half-century earlier, the residence and grounds became the permanent home for the Colorado Springs School for Girls in 1967. The lavish contents were relocated to downtown Denver in a French-style building which Metzger purchased and operated as the Trianon Museum & Art Gallery for the appreciation of the public until his death. Betty Metzger, John’s wife and concert pianist whose life was devoted to artistic endeavors, maintained the museum until her death in 2008. J. William Metzger, John and Betty’s son, now pursues the preservation and dissemination of the remarkable collection.