Will Barnet (1911-2012)

Sadly, the art world lost one of the greats yesterday, when Will Barnet died in New York at the age of 101.

Will Barnet

I think Will Barnet may have been the first one to open my eyes to art, and so I share a huge feeling of gratitude toward this man, along with a sense of loss.

Will Barnet’s daughter, Ona,  was one of my best friends, whom I met at a summer job in Maine, the summer before college.  Neither one of us was very good at our respective jobs that summer and so we naturally bonded  in a “mysery loves company” kind of way.   I’d never met the daughter of an artist before and I remember that when I first visited Ona’s house on New York’s upper west side, I was blown away by the amount of art on her walls, and the fact that she and her mother, Elena, both exotic looking beauties, were the subject of so many paintings.  It wasn’t just art that populated their walls; the Barnet’s house and lives were foreign and fascinating to me and I loved being a part of it.

Paintings like this one, "The Blue Robe" (courtesy Alexandre Gallery) of Ona and her mother, filled the walls at the Barnet's house.

Will Barnet loved a good audience and Ona and I were easily captivated, giggling as he entertained us with stories that often mixed brilliance with charming absent mindedness. I remember one time, when we spent a wonderful week in Paris staying in a friend’s gorgeous apartment on the Place du Palais Bourbon (there were original Picasso plates hanging on the walls, oh my, and a fabulous bakery around the corner), Will Barnet got up early one morning and later complained about a stomach ache. We were a little concerned and I thought I was going to be called into translation mode with a local hospital until he admitted to us, sheepishly, that he had eaten eight croissants for breakfast that morning, and wondered if maybe they were a little too rich.

That was typical of this fascinating man, who on the one hand held his own with all the N.Y. glitterati, but never lost the wide eyed fascination with the world and innocence of a young boy from Beverly Massachusetts. He was tall, opinionated and delightful and he clearly enjoyed the attention and admiration of his audience, whether students at the Art Students League or other prominent artists or just his daughter’s best friend.

Ona and I sealed our friendship over the years, first in neighboring colleges in Pennsylvania, where we each took courses on each other’s campuses so we could at least see each other once a week, and then at a resort in Maine, where we were both a little better suited for our respective summer jobs of waitress and chambermaid. When I discovered art history in college, I was thrilled to tell Will Barnet that he had opened my eyes to art. And I couldn’t wait to get to the 20th century, so that I could better understand the influence of the worlds that shaped him and his art. I hadn’t heard of them at the time, but I wasn’t surprised to later learn that Will Barnet had taught, among others, Cy Twombly, Mark Rothko, Alex Katz and Donald Judd. When friends and classmates touted the great influence of Marcel Duchamp or the abstract expressionists of the 20th century, I quietly defended the timeless beauty of Will Barnet, the stoic classicist in a midst of avant-guard mania.

I loved understanding where Will Barnet came from in his art, from his print block days of social commentary to his stripped down stylized color-blocked images, mostly of Ona and her mother. The influence of print making was clear, but his style changed and evolved over time. And I remember that when I studied the Japanese influence on the Impressionists, I could better understand where Will Barnet got some of his stylistic pull.

All of us who have a developed a deep love of art can probably pinpoint at least one person in our lives who opened our eyes to the complex beauty of art. I know that for Meg it was her mother, a beautiful artist in her own right, who dragged a young miss Meggie, sometimes kicking and screaming, to all the great art museums around Europe (and for which she is now eternally grateful!). For me, it was a few people, including my Art Historian aunt, Elizabeth Holt, and the wonderful professor in college who was kind enough to give me my first A on a paper (and for which I thanked him by majoring in his subject). But probably most of all, it was my friendship with a real artist, Will Barnet, who helped me develop a more discerning, compassionate and critical eye that eventually led to my work with, and representation of, other artists.

With gratitude, I extend my sympathy to dear Ona, Elena and their family. Will Barnet was a great man and a masterful and influential artist. May his work live on forever!

Blue Bicycle

Ta ta,

AH

PS  Will Barnet is represented exclusively by the Alexandre Gallery in New York, and most of these images are courtesy of the gallery’s website.

One of the many paintings of Ona by Will Barnet

Will Barnet receiving the 2011 National Arts and Humanities Medal from President Obama.

One of his most recognizable and famous paintings, from 1970 "Woman Reading"

An abstract from 2009, "Flight" at the Alexandre Gallery

One of my favorites of Ona reading, with Minou

Our Soiree with Danielle Rollins

Thank you so much to everyone who came out to our book signing for Danielle Rollins! It was a soiree to remember, and luckily we took lots of photos to share.

 

We were ready to go with oodles of books for Danielle to sign....

An army of Huffingtons were on hand to assist with all of Danielle's eager admirers.

 

Tasty nibbles were ready to be served...

Danielle's signing tools were at the ready (don't you just love that color Sharpie?! We're all dying to have one now.)

 

A sneak peek inside Danielle's gorgeous book.

 

Always the gracious hostess, Danielle inscribed the most beautiful and thoughtful notes in the books.

 

(Wouldn't we all just love to be able to write like that?  Hmmm... maybe we should try it sometime ...)

Despite some rainy weather, we still had a the loveliest crowd.

Mesdames Meg and Danielle

 

What do you get the Hostess with Mostess...? We found something in the store that we thought would be perfect for the perennial entertainer.

 A Rendez-Vous apron that oozes style and transitions from the kitchen to the party with ease!

We'd say our soiree was a smashing success!

And of course the best part about a party is recapping all the fun that was had...

 

We're all dying to throw our own fabulous soiree now that we're armed with Danielle's helpful tips and knowledge. Thank you, darling Danielle, for inspiring us all to entertain with grace, humor and elegance.

PS:  We still have a few signed copies of the book in the store if you weren't able to make it to the party. (We think it would be the perfect hostess or Christmas gift for any hostess with the mostess ...  we all know lots of those!)

We Welcome the Hostess with the Mostess

We’re beyond excited that Atlanta’s own queen of fetes, Danielle Rollins, will be at the store next week to wow us with her new book, Soiree.   Hands down, this is a girl who knows how to throw a party.

Danielle Rollins' new book: Soiree

And, speaking of wow!, this book is a coffee table show-stopper, filled to the brim with creative and gorgeous ideas for effortless entertaining.  The photography is rich and elegant and we have all been drooling over the advance copy that Danielle was kind enough to drop off.

Leafing through it (we all snuck a couple minutes to peek at it in between rearranging vignettes and unpacking the fifth inventory arrival of the day), we were struck by Danielle's laser beam attention to detail...and especially her spontaneous sense of fun that includes not panicking at a sudden thunder storm opening up on her immaculately set table or biblical proportioned floods that hit Atlanta right before her over-the-top dinner for Oscar de la Renta.  We love the idea that Danielle is a Southern girl at heart and that means she's all about being gracious, kind, funny and creative.

And did we mention she's also blessed with tons of style?

We're loving many of Danielle's little words of wisdom which (surprise! surprise!) mirror our own philosophies at the gallery and at Huff Harrington Home:

Live the High/Low Mix:  we adore this smart kind of reasoning.  Spend your hard-saved pennies on a one-of-a-kind 19^th century Louis XVI mirror or fabulous piece of art - but the accessories around it don't have to cost a fortune.  We had Emily take a picture of this with her Iphone:

High and Low at Huff Harrington Home. A gorgeous 19th century Louis XVI mirror that we found at Les Puces in Paris ($3,400.00 ) paired with eye-popping mercury glass spheres (from $42) and glass votives (from $12).  The wooden-based lamps are $390.00.

In fact, they're much more interesting if they have a little story behind them and didn't just come off a shop's shelf.  We do a lot of this everyday, even with clothing.  We'll mix a Target t-shirt (Mossimo is the best!) with a good (but not necessarily great) pair of jeans but throw on a pair of well-worn Chanel flats or a fabulous old belt.

We love a cute tee from Target with...

...classic ballet flats from Chanel that cost a fortune but will last a lifetime.

We love scouring markets in Paris and Provence and are constantly bragging about our little finds - which add the perfect pop of whimsey, humor and personality.

We found this image of flea market finds on Pinterest and fell in love with the whimsical mix of objets.  And of course, it's all off-white, which makes it even better.

Use What You Own: There's nothing lovelier than a little nod to the past when you use your grandmother’s china and silver on an everyday basis.  And, that crusty old painting you inherited from Aunt Betty will add an honest and tender touch to wherever you use it - especially if you mix it up with something edgy and contemporary. (Gallery tip:  does Aunt Betty's painting need a fresh lease on life? Try re-framing it.)

There's nothing sweeter than using pieces (or art or jewelery) inherited from your favorite Aunt Betty. From Soiree.

Look to your own garden and snip hydrangeas and roses galore.  We love them even more if they're a little less than florist-standard perfect.

Late summer hydrangeas are perfect just the way they are. From Pinterest.

Raid your cupboards for all kinds of inspiration:

The lowly mason jar never looked so chic.

Voila: instant centerpiece from the pantry.

Mix and Match: is there anything better than this?  We adore this rule and it's our favorite rule not to break.   Mix your precious stuff with some great flea market finds - and have fun with it.  Let your personality shine through.

Lots of mixing and matching going on here but it all works beautifully and doesn't take itself too seriously...

Mix and match at the table...and have fun. From Soiree.

(Here's a great example of the high/low mix-and-match:  vintage hotel silver wine buckets paired with Govino acrylic wine glasses and disposable cotton/linen cocktail napkins, all at Huff Harrington Home.)

The acrylic flutes are $13.00 for four, the cotton/linen blend disposable napkins are $28.00 for a roll of 50 and the vintage hotel silver ice bucket is $175.00.

One of the elements we kept coming back to in Soiree is Danielle's belief that entertaining should be fun - never stressful or fraught with anxiety.  We love the idea of living a rich and full life surrounded by family, friends and beauty (that doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg) Throw in some humor and a soupcon of graciousness and we believe that is the perfect recipe for life - not to mention a perfect Soiree!

The hostess with the mostess...

Danielle will be at Huff Harrington Home to sign her book, mingle and chat on Tuesday, October 30th from 7-9 p.m.  We can't wait!

Ta ta.

Huffington Hound Heads to Broadway

Lost Scurry is widely circulated on Facebook

Thank you to those of you who have inquired about and sent us good wishes for the return of Scurry, Ann’s peripatetic gallery dog, who spent a few hours last Thursday on an exciting escapade around Buckhead while several people went crazy trying to find her.   Based on the dramatic adventures of Scurry, we have decided to produce a Broadway play, with an all-star cast in an artistic setting:

Huff Harrington Fine Art

The setting:  Huff Harrington Fine Art, a charming little cottage in Buckhead, filled to the brim with a mix of contemporary art, an oasis of peace and tranquility except for this fateful, sunny October afternoon, when the door was left open to let the fresh air in, and a little white dog happened to wander outside, looking for her boyfriend, Johnny.
The characters:

Scurry

Scurry  -- sometimes known as Scruffy, but for this show will be the impeccably groomed, perfectly behaved and deliciously adventurous bichon frisee, who hates to wear her collar and loves to wander out of the gallery, particularly after she is visited by:

Sam and her beloved charge, Queen Scurry

Sam – a wonder-woman jack of all trades, who, in addition to being Huff Harrington’s queen of design and merchandising, has been known to take care of Scurry when her owners are out of town, and whose only mistake on that Thursday afternoon, was driving her husband Johnny’s car to the gallery, which misled the intelligent puppy to deducing that her boyfriend was somewhere in the parking lot …

Scurry and le boyfriend

Johnny – Scurry’s all-time favorite person, married to Sam, who begs Ann to go out of town so that he and Sam can watch Scurry.  This sweet and thoughtful man will in no way be portrayed as a villain because his only flaw is that he loves Scurry very much (and is sometimes prone to spoiling her just a little … which only partly explains Scurry’s strong attachment to him, the rest being his sweet and loving personality …)

Rachel, The Guardian Angel

The Angel Rachel – An innocent by-stander who happened to be in the Publix parking lot on that sparkling October afternoon, and found Scurry wandering around, looking for Johnny’s car.   Immediately recognizing that this was not a stray dog but a beautifully groomed Buckhead Bichon , and not knowing that Scurry was on the hunt for her man Johnny, the Angel swooped her up and took her to the manicure salon where she assumed Scurry’s owner was having her nails done.

Ann, spinning in circles, calling "Scurry!"

Ann – Scurry’s harried and highly stressed  owner, whose only role in the play is to run around the parking lot frantically calling “Scurry!” at the top of her lungs, spinning in circles and scaring shop owners and patrons into thinking she is the obsessed and crazy shop owner that she is.

Sarah, aka Wonderwoman

Sarah, aka Wonder-woman.  She is played by a tall, beautiful Botticelli-like actress, who is calm under duress, has the presence of mind to take her crazy boss Ann’s cell phone and download a picture of Scurry from a screen shot, simultaneously posting it on Facebook and pasting it in a word document , printing 30 copies, which she calmly distributes around the Publix parking lot, learning from several shop owners that the Angel has taken Scurry to a local vet to have her claimed by an owner.

"Lost Dog" flyers appeared on every door and window within minutes

Drama unfolds as Scurry continues her adventure in the front seat of a white SUV, happily driving around Buckhead with the Angel, visiting different Veterinary offices, and blissfully oblivious that the microchip she is wearing is, for some reason, unregistered, and that nobody can identify her while Sarah and Ann have divided up the yellow pages  and are frantically calling every veterinarian in the Atlanta area hoping that one of them has recently seen their anonymous little fluff ball.

Scurry, riding around Buckhead

The scene ends happily a few hours later (we have a few more adventures to fill in …) with a positive identification at one of the vet’s offices, and the Angel kindly returning the princess to her castle, refusing any financial reward and happily contributing to the tearful reunion.

The happy, tearful reunion

 The final act brandishes one more important character:

The benefactress (with her prized possession)

 Melissa – the beautiful benefactress (also known as one of Huff Harrington’s tremendously talented artists), who,  realizing that  Scurry wasn’t wearing her collar because it wasn’t pretty enough for her, produces a magnificent, diamond studded collar that is befitting of a princess and personalized with the unique and highly distinguished  dog tag that says it all: “Scurry.  #1 Huffington.”

The evil owner, trying to steal Scurry's new necklace

 The plot thickens a little when Ann, the evil owner, thinks that she may want to keep the beautiful collar for herself, modeling it as both a choker and bracelet.  But in the end, bowing to peer pressure and under Melissa’s magical sweet spell, gives the collar to Scurry and promises to keep a better eye on her wandering puppy happily ever after.

Facebook Friends – The final characters are the dozens of Facebook friends who followed Scurry’s scurrilous adventures and will hopefully help us come up with an appropriate name for our Broadway debut.  Will it be a clever, fast paced, high drama filled with double ententes and innuendos, called  “The Importance of Being Scurry”?  Or a theatrical version of the classic, “The adventures of Huffleberry Hound”?  Or an upbeat musical called, “Hello Scurry!”  Or, in the spirit of the new trend for single-word Broadway shows like “Rent” and “Once,” be a powerful, one-word hit called, “Scurry”?



Thank  you, Facebook friends for your friendship during duress.  And remember, we are actually fading out our old Huff Harrington Facebook page, so if you haven’t done so already, please LIKE our new business page for Huff Harrington Fine Art.

Otherwise, you may not follow the continued adventures of our Scurrilous Scruffy Scourge, aka the adorable little fluff ball, Miss Scurry!

Scurry and friend, plotting another performance

Woof woof!

HH