ABODE & BEYOND
Grace Notes CELEBRATING 115 YEARS DESIGNING HAND-PAINTED WALLPAPERS FOR MANHATTAN’S SOCIETY CROWD, GRACIE IS HAVING A FASHION MOMENT. BY SUZANNE CHARLÉ
132 GOTHAM-MAGAZINE.COM
Gracie wallpaper in her apartment entryway, chose a pattern inspired by an 18th-century Chinese design for her Spring 2012 runway. Aerin Lauder used Gracie papers in a display of her jewelry and also papered her dressing room with Gracie panels; Anna Sui used its designs for the walls of her Paris apartment. Of course, interior designers are Gracie’s main clients-cum-devotees, among them society designer doyenne Bunny Williams, David Easton, and Victoria Hagan. This “moment” has, in fact, been the culmination of a rather long winning streak: 115 years, to be precise. Charles R. Gracie, a furniture restorer, opened his studio in 1898, selling architectural moldings made by Italian craftsmen along with Asian antiques and porcelain to decorate New York society homes. (The firm continues the tradition by selling fine antiques and porcelain, as well as lacquered furniture from the Far East.) The Asia connection dates to 1927, when an antiques dealer introduced Charles Gracie to a Chinese business dealing in hand-painted wallpaper that Gracie soon began collecting. His clientele—the Rockefellers, Vanderbilts, and Astors as well as the Hollywood elite—appreciated Gracie’s eye for fine detail, as did their decorators: Elsie de Wolfe, Dorothy Draper, McMillen Inc., and William Haines. The Depression and World War II restricted import, but Gracie resumed business with the Chinese firm during the postwar years. Today about 100 Chinese artists paint wallpapers to Gracie’s specifications, creating new works inspired
from top:
Aerin Lauder’s dressing room features Gracie wallpaper. All Gracie papers are painted by hand says Mike Gracie. lower left: Gracie wallcoverings served as backdrops for Tory Burch’s Fall 2012 runway show.
“ People appreciate the high level of artistry and beautiful details.” —MIKE GRACIE by 18th- and 19th-century Chinese, Japanese, European, and American scenic wallpaper designs. Mike estimates that one 3-by-10-foot panel takes about 75 to 100 man-hours of painting alone. “Everything is done by hand,” he explains. “But such attention to detail and demand has its rewards. Business is brisk.” Most of Gracie’s work continues to be for private (and not so private) houses—including the White House, which, as Mike explains, is not surprising. “George Washington had Chinese hand-painted wallpaper in his home, as did many of the well-todo in Colonial America,” a perk of the growing China trade that was so important to the young country. Generations later, America’s well-heeled are enjoying a new version of this China trade. D&D Building, 979 Third Ave., Ste. 1411, 212-9246816; graciestudio.com G
PHOTOGRAPHY BY MIKE COPPOLA/GETTY IMAGES FOR MERCEDES-BENZ FASHION WEEK (MODEL); SIMON UPTON/THE INTERIOR ARCHIVE, COURTESY OF ELLE DECOR (THE DRESSING ROOM IN AERIN LAUDER ZINTERHOFER’S MANHATTAN APARTMENT FEATURES A CHANDELIER BY BAGUES, WALLCOVERING BY GRACIE AND A CIRCA-1970 DESK BY GABRIELLA CRESPI)
“W
e’re having a ‘moment,’” notes an obviously pleased Mike Gracie, president of Gracie, a fourth generation New York–based family business, which for decades has created elegant hand-painted wallpaper for le tout Manhattan. Sitting in his office in the D&D Building, Mike motions to the wallpaper, appropriately named Gracie Square, that serves as a setting for his work. People appreciate the high level of artistry and beautiful details, he says. One can see why, looking at the finely painted birds and butterflies that flit among the exuberant flowers, all on a Hermès-like orange background. The fashion crowd certainly does. Gracie wallpaper frequently serves as a backdrop for fashion shoots for top magazines. Tory Burch, who has