5 minute read
Conserve
A New Lease of Life
BY CLAUDIA CHAN SHAW
Everglades is unique among Australia’s Art Deco heritage, an original blend of style, sculpture and design in both home and garden. But this iconic property needs work to return it to its former glory.
Art Deco was a global phenomenon. A delicious pastiche of design ideas that looked to the past for stylistic influence. It also looked to the future and was the embodiment of speed, progress and modernity. Its zigzags, chevrons and arcs captured the vibrant spirit of the time. It reached its peak at the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes in Paris in 1925, and continued to influence architecture and design around the world. In Australia, the Deco explosion was between 1932 and 1941.
If you were asked to create a list of Art Deco buildings in NSW, the line-up would probably include the heroic Anzac Memorial (1934), the sleekly streamlined Minerva Theatre Kings Cross (1939) and the New York-style City Mutual Life Assurance Building (1936). While grand Art Deco civic buildings, cinemas, apartments and corner pubs take all the glory, Everglades, the stylish 1930s weekend retreat of industrialist Henri Van de Velde in Leura, is a fine example of the style.
By the 1930s, the Blue Mountains was known as the ‘Playground of the Commonwealth’ and had emerged as an ideal setting for the wealthy to establish weekenders. Van de Velde saw potential in 13 acres of land known as Everglades, with breathtaking views over the Jamison Valley. Collaborating with Danish landscape gardener Paul Sorensen, Van de Velde created what would become one of Australia’s most significant gardens, integrating European-style formal gardens with native bushland and modernist influences. Extravagant, inspired, iconic Construction of Everglades House began in 1935, blending different styles. The modernist exterior has Mediterranean references with its rendered walls and arches. The streamlined curved bay window at the rear of the house hints at the stylistic inspiration of the Art Deco interior. The house’s centrepiece is a curved concrete staircase winding from the basement to the first floor. It features a striking Art Deco wrought iron balustrade made up of sinuous beckoning tendrils.
The flamboyant ‘his and hers’ bathrooms have all the hallmarks of Art Deco with a touch of Hollywood. Mrs Una Van de Velde’s bathroom is pure geometry. A deep octagonal bath sits
Below The exuberant wrought metal balustrade of the main stair is one of the key Art Deco features of the home (photo by Harold Cazneaux, 1936).
Right from top The Otto Steen relief panel with its central fountain in the dining room shows a light-hearted view of food production (photo by Georgie Conyngham Greene).
in the centre of the room. Mythical beasts act as water spouts, and mottled cream tiles give the bathroom a warm golden glow. The extravagance of the design and the sheer scale of the bath contrasts with the understated modernism of the rest of the house. In the ground floor bathroom, which was Henri’s domain, rich vermilion tiles are a spectacular counterpoint to the black fittings.
A large mural by sculptor Otto Steen adorns the Everglades dining room and depicts a humorous take on gathering food. Steen, who also designed sculptures and reliefs throughout the gardens, was an important figure in Australian Art Deco design. He assisted sculptor Rayner Hoff on the iconic sculptures associated with the masterpiece Anzac Memorial (1934), and created reliefs for Sydney Art Deco landmark, the AWA Building (1937).
Original, stylish and sympathetic Everglades is unique. The vision of Henri Van de Velde and Paul Sorensen brings together an outstanding example of Art Deco domestic architecture with a magnificent garden that speaks of its era and the lifestyle of its inhabitants. The house offers a rare glimpse into the exclusive retreat of a wealthy family. The ultra-modern design was considerate of its surroundings, taking advantage of its panoramic views and bringing the outside in via large minimalist windows.
Sorensen also designed original, built-in functional furniture, the clever designs concealing cupboards, shelves, radios and lights. Photographs taken by Harold Cazneaux, published in The Home in December 1936 and Australian Home Beautiful in April 1938, along with original manufacturer’s drawings, give clues as to the look and style of the original furniture. Much of this furniture disappeared in the years following Henri Van de Velde’s death in 1947.
Elegant decorative wrought iron panels found throughout the garden bring the house and garden together. External balustrades have playful geometric zig zag, sunburst and chevron patterns synonymous with Art Deco. The wrought iron work is some of the finest produced in Australia in the 1930s.
Heritage worth restoring But while the house is intact, it is incomplete. The National Trust has plans to return Everglades House to its proper state. Restoration work is required to preserve this significant example of Art Deco domestic architecture, situated within a World Heritage site, surrounded by pristine bushland. The delightful Otto Steen mural requires conservation work. The rooms are missing the original furnishings and objet d’art that would have completed the elegant scene when the Van de Veldes were entertaining.
We have only to look at Harold Cazneaux’s photographs to experience the furnished rooms, and the ingenious built-in custom-made pieces. Recreation of the furniture and the acquisition of appropriate furnishings and objects will complete the picture, presenting an intact time capsule of a privileged 1930s lifestyle in grand Art Deco style.
Sydney-born creative, Claudia Chan Shaw, has a love of Art Deco and a diverse career spanning art and design, curating, broadcasting, arts commentary and collecting. Claudia was co-host and presenter on ABC TV’s long-running program, Collectors. She now hosts and produces Arts Friday on Eastside Radio and regularly appears on Weekends with Simon Marnie on ABC Radio Sydney.
Help us restore Everglades House & Gardens
When you support the National Trust, you are helping us conserve special places. Now more than ever, we rely on your support. Together, we can restore Everglades to its former glory for future generations. Donate today to the Everglades House Appeal at nationaltrust.org.au/donate-nsw
