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Dorothy Draper
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Dorothy Draper
Dorothy Draper (November 22, 1889 – March 11, 1969) was an American interior decorator. Stylistically very anti-minimalist, she used bright, exuberant colors and large prints that encompassed whole walls. She incorporated black and white tiles, rococo scrollwork, and baroque plasterwork, design elements now considered defining elements of the Hollywood Regency style of interior decoration.
She was born into the upper-class Tuckerman family in Tuxedo Park, New York, one of the first gated communities in the United States. Her parents were Paul Tuckerman (1856–1940) and Susan (née Minturn) Tuckerman (1866–1956). In addition to the house in Tuxedo Park, the family had a Manhattan townhouse and a summer cottage in Newport, Rhode Island Her brother Roger was the father of Nancy Tuckerman, the 12th White House Social Secretary who was appointed by Jackie Kennedy.
Her maternal grandparents were John Wendell Minturn (son of Robert Bowne Minturn) and Louisa (née Aspinwall) Minturn (daughter of William Henry Aspinwall). Draper's great-grandfather, Oliver Wolcott, was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Drapers's cousin, Sister Parish, would also become a major interior designer of the 20th century.
Educated primarily at home by a governess and tutors, Draper spent two years at the Brearley School in New York City. The family took yearly trips to Europe, and she was a debutante in 1907.
According to Donald Albrecht, the curator of architecture and design at the Museum of the City of New York, Draper's "background not only provided Draper with a valuable network of clients and an innate sense of entitlement and authority, but also offered her a first-hand acquaintance with the historical styles that she would freely interpret and transform."
After Dorothy's 1912 marriage to George Draper, the couple bought and sold houses, which allowed her an opportunity to cultivate a flair for decorating. She redecorated her homes in such style that other high society friends began to do the same for their homes. Encouraged by her friends, Draper started Architectural Clearing House in 1925, "arguably the first official interior design business." After several successful apartment lobby renovations, Draper changed the firm's name to Dorothy Draper and Company in 1929.
Draper's first big break came in the early 1930s when Douglas Elliman hired her to redecorate the Carlyle Hotel on Madison Avenue in Manhattan. This would be the first of many important hotel commissions. Draper was again hired by Elliman to redecorate a block of former tenement homes (today known as Sutton Place) because prospective buyers were not purchasing the homes. She painted all the buildings black with white trim and added colors to the doors.
Draper did a great deal of hotel design, including the Sherry-Netherland in New York, the Drake in Chicago, the Fairmont in San Francisco. At the height of the Depression, she spent $10 million designing the Palácio Quitandinha in Petrópolis, Rio de Janeiro. Also during the Depression, she wrote the Ask Dorothy Draper column which ran in 70 newspapers, and advised people to "take that red and paint your front door with it," and many people followed her advice. They also bought more than a million yards of her signature cabbage rose fabric.
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Dorothy Draper
Dorothy Draper (November 22, 1889 – March 11, 1969) was an American interior decorator. Stylistically very anti-minimalist, she used bright, exuberant colors and large prints that encompassed whole walls. She incorporated black and white tiles, rococo scrollwork, and baroque plasterwork, design elements now considered defining elements of the Hollywood Regency style of interior decoration.
She was born into the upper-class Tuckerman family in Tuxedo Park, New York, one of the first gated communities in the United States. Her parents were Paul Tuckerman (1856–1940) and Susan (née Minturn) Tuckerman (1866–1956). In addition to the house in Tuxedo Park, the family had a Manhattan townhouse and a summer cottage in Newport, Rhode Island Her brother Roger was the father of Nancy Tuckerman, the 12th White House Social Secretary who was appointed by Jackie Kennedy.
Her maternal grandparents were John Wendell Minturn (son of Robert Bowne Minturn) and Louisa (née Aspinwall) Minturn (daughter of William Henry Aspinwall). Draper's great-grandfather, Oliver Wolcott, was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Drapers's cousin, Sister Parish, would also become a major interior designer of the 20th century.
Educated primarily at home by a governess and tutors, Draper spent two years at the Brearley School in New York City. The family took yearly trips to Europe, and she was a debutante in 1907.
According to Donald Albrecht, the curator of architecture and design at the Museum of the City of New York, Draper's "background not only provided Draper with a valuable network of clients and an innate sense of entitlement and authority, but also offered her a first-hand acquaintance with the historical styles that she would freely interpret and transform."
After Dorothy's 1912 marriage to George Draper, the couple bought and sold houses, which allowed her an opportunity to cultivate a flair for decorating. She redecorated her homes in such style that other high society friends began to do the same for their homes. Encouraged by her friends, Draper started Architectural Clearing House in 1925, "arguably the first official interior design business." After several successful apartment lobby renovations, Draper changed the firm's name to Dorothy Draper and Company in 1929.
Draper's first big break came in the early 1930s when Douglas Elliman hired her to redecorate the Carlyle Hotel on Madison Avenue in Manhattan. This would be the first of many important hotel commissions. Draper was again hired by Elliman to redecorate a block of former tenement homes (today known as Sutton Place) because prospective buyers were not purchasing the homes. She painted all the buildings black with white trim and added colors to the doors.
Draper did a great deal of hotel design, including the Sherry-Netherland in New York, the Drake in Chicago, the Fairmont in San Francisco. At the height of the Depression, she spent $10 million designing the Palácio Quitandinha in Petrópolis, Rio de Janeiro. Also during the Depression, she wrote the Ask Dorothy Draper column which ran in 70 newspapers, and advised people to "take that red and paint your front door with it," and many people followed her advice. They also bought more than a million yards of her signature cabbage rose fabric.
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