Acknowledgments

I

This book is both a scholarly elucidation of the Oak Spring trompe l’oeil and a personal tribute to the cultivated aesthetic of Paul and Bunny Mellon. Both of us knew Paul and Bunny Mellon well. Through the opportunities that they provided the Mellons had a profound influence on our individual professional development. This book is dedicated to both of them with gratitude.

We acknowledge with appreciation all those who helped to bring this project to fruition. Lisa Chien skillfully translated the initial draft of the main text from the Italian original and contributed in many other ways to the success of the project. Therese O’Malley at the National Gallery of Art read the entire manuscript and made many helpful suggestions for revisions. Jim Morris at Digital Color Productions, was responsible for most of the high-quality photographs and helped with the reproduction of several other images. Magda Nakassis expertly copyedited the manuscript and the superb design is by Antonio Alcalá and Helen McNiell at Studio A in Alexandria, Virginia. Peter Crane, President of the Oak Spring Garden Foundation, coordinated every aspect of the book’s production from editing the manuscript to the final proofreading.

We offer special gratitude to Elinor Crane for her research that brought to light many new details and materials relating to the Oak Spring trompe l’oeil. She also helped obtain several important photographs, including that of Fernand Renard.

Several colleagues and distinguished scholars gave valuable advice during the development of the manuscript, including Alessandro Tosi at Università di Pisa; Michelle Fondas, Anne Halpern, and Aaron Wile at the National Gallery of Art; and Alison Parman at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art. We owe special thanks to Fabio Garbari, who identified the plants, and to the late Paolo Tongiorgi, who identified the insects and shells, that are depicted in the Martin Battersby and Fernand Renard trompe l’oeil paintings.

We extend our sincere gratitude to all the institutions who have granted permission to use images of works in their collections. We are especially indebted to Derry Moore for the photograph of Fernand Renard, Philippe Garner for the photograph of Martin Battersby, Beverly Carter for helping to obtain images of the Brick House, and Joël Cadiou for providing the image of La Déchirure (The Tear). Thanks go to the many staff of the Oak Spring Garden Foundation who contributed in different ways to the success of this project, including Lori Anderson, Ronnie Caison, Nancy Collins, Kimberley Fisher, Giulia Hines, Jordan Long, Allissa Montgomery, Kathy Olimpi, Angie Ritterpusch, Max Smith, Ricky Willis, Jacquelyn Wong, Gloria Woodson, and Judy Zatsick.

Finally, our deepest gratitude goes to Bunny Mellon for her foresight in establishing the Oak Spring Garden Foundation to help promote scholarship and practice relating to plants, gardens, and landscapes, including especially those areas where the arts, humanities, and sciences come together.

Lucia Tongiorgi Tomasi Università di Pisa

Tony Willis Oak Spring Garden Foundation