Attendees for the Dallas Museum of Art’s Decorative Arts Symposium expanded their understanding of art on Thursday, September 21. Thanks to Symposium Chair Beverly Nichols assembling John Hays, Ann Pailthorp and P. Allen Smith, the event showcased how art is not limited to canvases and sculptures. Here’s a report from the field:
The Dallas Museum of Art‘s Decorative Arts Symposium Chair Beverly Nichols, welcomed attendees to the Symposium on Thursday, September 21, at the Dallas Museum of Art.
Guests like DMA Board of Trustees Chair Melissa Fetter, Ann Hobson, Cara French and her mother Prissy Gravely, Janet Evans, Debbie Raynor, Penny Hardie and Mollie Crow arrived and enjoyed coffee and light breakfast bites outside the Horchow Auditorium. On view in a vitrine were two pieces from the Museum’s decorative arts collection which had served as the event’s signature pieces: a Free form shape bowl with Tropicana pattern decoration (designers Frank Irwin and Helen McIntosh), (maker Metlox Potteries), c. 1955, earthenware, Dallas Museum of Art, 20th-Century Design Fund, 1996.111) and a silk brocade (maker and date unknown, silk, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Mr. and Mrs. Earl Hart Miller, 1947.21.23).
Once seated inside the auditorium, the DMA’s Eugene McDermott Director Agustín Arteaga welcomed everyone and thanked them for attending the second annual event which supports the DMA’s Decorative Arts Acquisition Endowment Fund.
Beverly followed to introduce the esteemed line-up of symposium speakers, which included award-winning garden designer, acclaimed author, television host and conservationist P. Allen Smith; John Hays, deputy chairman of Christie’s America and specialist in American Furniture and Decorative Arts; and Ann Pailthorp, Farrow and Ball’s leader of the North American Colour Consultancy Program for British craftsmen in paint and paper.
Hays took the podium first and under the theme, Commander in Chief: A Few War Stories from John Hays’ Travels, he shared stories of extraordinary pieces he has found across the United States, which were sold at auction by Christie’s. Pailthorp followed with details about Farrow and Ball’s unmatched collection of paint and wallpaper, including details on what makes their colors and finishes distinctive. Smith, who designed the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Gardens’ new edible garden, closed by sharing a virtual tour of Moss Mountain Farm, his American Greek Rival style-home, which included his stunning organic flower and vegetable garden “rooms,” orchards, farm animals and his heritage poultry breeds.
The event concluded with an opportunity for audience members to ask questions of the panel. Immediately following, P. Allen Smith’s book, “Seasonal Recipes from the Garden,” and Farrow and Ball’s “How to Decorate,” were available for sale and for signatures by Smith and Pailthorp.
As guests departed, they received a Farrow and Ball favor bag with a coveted fan deck featuring all 132 Farrow and Ball colours and an Autumn and Winter Inspiration guide.
* Photo credit: Tamytha Cameron Smith