The Fabrics of Life
Emily Ellis
Plants were an important part of Bunny Mellon’s life, and so were the textiles created from them. Throughout her long life, she collected unique and rare linens, many of which were adorned with flowers, vegetables, animals, and other motifs from nature. As the sky-blue flax waving in the formal garden and scattered throughout the fields was an important part of Oak Spring’s outdoor landscape, so were the delicate fabrics that billowed from windows and draped over tables in the beautiful indoor spaces that Mrs. Mellon created.
The flax bed in the formal garden.
While much of Mrs. Mellon’s linen collection was sold or given away after her death in 2014, the basement of the Main Residence remained full of historic textiles. In 2021, the Oak Spring Garden Foundation inventoried the linen collection alongside several expert appraisers. We are very pleased to announce the opening of a temporary exhibit featuring some of the highlights of that collection, “The Fabrics of Life”, which will be part of our spring 2022 garden tour. We’re excited to share this unique facet of Mrs. Mellon’s life – one that continues to inspire the fiber and textile artists whom we support through our residency and fellowship programs at the foundation today - and invite you to scroll down to read about several of the items featured in the exhibit.
Family Tree
Photo by Lucy Brown Armstrong
The Oak Spring Garden Foundation commissioned Middleburg based artist Anthony Barham to paint this beautiful “family” tree which displays monogrammed hand towels and pillowcases that once belonged to the families of Paul and Bunny Mellon. Because of the many pruned apple trees scattered throughout the Oak Spring property, an apple tree seemed like the ideal species to display these special items. Every child in the family had monogrammed Christmas linens (as well as everyday bed linen and towels) indicating that their mother shared her love and appreciation for linens with those closest to her.
Givenchy Cabbages
Photo by Lucy Brown Armstrong
The intricate Pont de Beauvais embroidery is the perfect technique for mimicking the delicate lines and folds of cabbage leaves, a stunning vegetable that is also featured in two paintings Mrs. Mellon commissioned from French artist Sophie Grandval-Justice. Of course, the gallery isn’t the only place full of stunning cabbages - we grow some beauties at our Biocultural Conservation Farm as well!
Farm manager Christine Harris with a beautiful BCCF cabbage. Photo by Caitlin Etherton.
Painting by Sophie Grandval-Justice (`1980s)
Mrs. Mellon’s long friendship with legendary French fashion designer Hubert de Givenchy resulted in some incredible collaborations, and this embroidered cabbage tablecloth was among the most charming. The cloth is part of a set that she likely purchased in the 1970s or 80s, which were used over tea tables and other smaller tables in the Main Residence and Library. They are embroidered in Pont de Beauvais style embroidery, a style from the town of Beauvais in France, where Givenchy was born. The tambour-style embroidery, which uses a hook to create a chain stitch, likely originated in India or China and spread to Europe during the 18th century.
“Hanging the Laundry out to dry”
Berthe Morisot (French, 1841-1895)
Photo by Lucy Brown Armstrong
Oak Spring’s linens were occasionally draped over stone walls, split rail fences and clean grass to dry in the Virginia sun, and that peaceful aspect of country life is reflected in this 1875 painting by French impressionist artist Berthe Morisot, who worked alongside Édouard Manet and many other legendary artists.
The Flood (2003). Photo by Bret Payne of Mrs. Mellon’s linens drying after a flood in the basement of the Main Residence. Mrs. Mellon then used the photograph for that year’s holiday card.
Photo from the Oak Spring Garden Library Archives.
The painting was a favorite of both Paul and Bunny Mellon; Paul even recounted its acquisition in his memoir, Reflections in a Silver Spoon, writing that after admiring the painting half a dozen times in the 1950’s inPaul Rosenberg & Co. gallery in New York City, he decided to purchase it. “It provided a breath of country air, a sense of tranquility, some essence of the French countryside,” he wrote. The painting seen here is a facsimile of the original, which the Mellons gifted to the National Gallery of Art in 1985. This painting may have brought back memories of this particular photograph Paul took in Belgium during World War II
“The Fabrics of Life: A Mellon Collection of Linen” will be part of our 2022 spring garden tour this April on Monday the 18th and Tuesday the 19th. Learn more about the event here.
Banner image: Lucy Brown Armstrong