Casa Del Herrero

NOTICIAi, Quarterly Magazine Of The Santa Barbara Historical Society Vol. XLI, No. 2

Summer 1995

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Casa del herrero, thefotmer home ofthe Qeorge Steedmanfamily,is one ofthefew

^ Montecito properties that has remained virtually unc/idngec/since its construction during the era of K the great estates. Built in the early igzos,the Restate embodies the shared vision ofthree remarkable men:owner Steedman,architect Qeorge Washington Smith,and antiquarian expert Arthur Byne. Today,a non-profit corporation operates the estate and offers tours to the public. We offer ourown tour o/Casa del Herrero through the words ofauthorJean Qoodrich and imagesfrom the estates collections.

Front couerphotograph ofthe Casa was taken earlier this year by David F.Myrick Backcover illustration and the sketches interspersed throughout the text arefrom the notebooks ofQeorge Steedman. Illustration above is Steedman s personal hallmark Bird border digitally drawn by Judy Sutcliffe froma tile sketch by Steedman.All other photographs were taken in the early ig;}OS and arefirm the collection ofthe Casa del Herrero, unless otherwise noted.

informationFOKCONTRJBVTOKS:NONCIASisa quarterlyjournal devoted to the study ofthe history ofSanta Barbara County. Contributions ofarticles are welcome. Those authors whose articles are acceptedfor publication will receive ten gratis copies ofthe issue in which their article appears. Further copies are available to the contributor at cost. The authority in matters ofstyle is the. University of Chicago Manual of Style, i^th edition. The Publications Committee reserves the right to return submitted manuscriptsfor required changes. Statements and opinions expressed in articles are the sole responsibility ofthe author.

Michael Redmon, Editor Judy Sutcliffe, Designer

® 1995 The Santa Barbara Historical Society 136 E. De la Guerra Street, Santa Barbara, California 93101 ● Telephone; 805/966-1601 Single copies $5.00 ISSN 0581-5916

Casa del Hcrrero ●. ●

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C.asa dd Herrero(House of the Ironworker)is a home; a collection of medieval treasures, primarily from Spain; an architectural gem of Mediterranean inspiration; anc a magnificent garden, Spanish, Moorish, yet very Cali:ornian. A product of Montecito of the 1920s, it reflects the combined inspiration of three people, owner George Fox Steedman, ar chitect George Washington Smith, and their antiquarian consultant and agent in Europe, Arthur Byne. It has been pre served intact for our continuing apprecia tion and enjoyment by Steedman's daugh ter. Medora Bass, and her family.

Santa Barbara is infused with the ambi

opinion makers, of property owners and architects, created a Spanish Revival town.

A seminal figure was Bernhard Hoffmann, who employed architect James Osborne Craig to create a "City in Spain" at the downtown El Paseo in the early 1920s. In 1925, an earthquake leveled many build ings. which allowed Pearl Chase and others to push for a united vision to rebuild Santa

ence of Hispanic architecture, anchored around the venerable Mission Church, the

Barbara in the vocabulary of the Spanish Colonial Revival architectural style epi tomised by the 1915 Panama-California

remaining old adobes, and the rich orches tration of Mediterranean decorative and

Exposition in San Diego.1 Important, too, was the construction of the Potter Hotel in 1902, and the re

building elements of the county court house. A collaboration of civic leaders and

building of the Arlington Hotel in 1911, both in the Hispanic/Mediterranean mode.

Members of the wealthy elite visited these great resort hotels and often remained to

can Smith Goodrich Jean Qoodrich holds a M..A. in history from Bryn TAaivr College and a secondary teach ing credential from California State College, Los Angeles. She has served as president ofthe Junior League of Pasadena and, in Santa Barbara, ofPlanned Parenthood, Qirls, Inc., and The Little Toum Club. She is former board president ofthe Casa del Herrero Foun dation and the Santa Barbara Historical

build homes, attracted by the benign cli mate, the wide variety of fragrant flowers and plants, and the beauty of the moun tains and the sea. Many found the His panic architecture exotic yet liveable and adopted it for their homes.

By 1920, a number of Montecito homes featured the idea of a Mediterrane

Society. She is presently board secretary ofthe Historical Society.

an villa set within a garden. Sophisticated owners traveled to Spain and the Mediter ranean, sometimes with their architects.

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One ofmany pen and pencil sketches made by Qeorge Steedman in pocket note books during his travels in the Mediterranean.

then returned to build their estates. An outstanding example of this was El Fureidis, with its pools, fountains, and water channels, designed by Bertram Goodhue for James Waldron Gillespie in 1903.2 The architecture was not just Spanish Co lonial Revival; there were elements from Italian villas and Moorish palaces, Upon this stage now stepped architect George Washington Smith, whom histo rian David Gebhard has called, "markedly above his fellow practitioners,”2 Born in Pennsylvania in 1876, Smith was the son of an engineer who designed railroad bridges. He attended Harvard University for two years, then went to work in Phila delphia as an assistant draftsman for an architectural firm. His pay was so low he left to become a securities broker and was so successful he was able to retire to study painting at the Ecole des Beaux A?ts in Paris. When World War I drove him home, he continued painting and exhibited at the Chicago Art Institute, the Pennsyl vania Academy and the Gallery of Fine Arts at the 1915 Exposition in San Diego.

Seeing the Santa Barbara area as a wonderful site for an artist, he designed and built a Spanish Colonial-style home in Montecito in 1916. He discovered that no

one cared co buy his paintings, but chat everyone "wanted a white-washed house like mine."^ His home was soon featured in the magazines, Architectural Forum and House Beautiful. His fame also rested on designs for fine commercial buildings like the Daily News (now Santa Barbara News-Press) offices and the Lobero Thea tre. Smith enjoyed national renown and benefited from having the similar educa tion and social status of his clients. It be came in the 1920s "a hallmark of success” to have a house designed by Smith.

Only active for ten years, until his death in 1930, he left a lasting imprint with his inspired, disciplined use of his themes and attention to every detail. He enjoyed the essential collaboration of Lutah Maria Riggs, a trained architect, who joined his firm in 1921 as a draftswoman. She helped to shape and hone his creative vision, draw ing his designs in superb detail. After Smith's death, she would enjoy her own ca reer of distinction. In the early 1930s, she would design a fascinating small library an nex for Casa del Herrero — an intimate, oc tagonal medieval tower, off of the living room. It is one of the most charming archi tectural features of the home.^ Smith’s vocabulary for his Hispanic de signs was simplification and abstraction, reminiscent of his favorite artists from his

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CASA DEL HERRERO student days in Paris, the Impressionists and the Cubists, with broad white surfac es. reflecting the sun. and deeply shad owed doors and windows. He also incor porated many Moorish elements in his designs. He used a limited number of ma terials — tile for the roof, tile or wood for the floors, wood ceilings and doors, and white plastered walls which often look like whitewash over thick adobe. His in teriors are quiet, cool, shadowed, a perfect environment for Spanish furniture. As seen at the Casa, rooms are separate spac es with a small central foyer anchored at each end by living and dining rooms. A central staircase mounts to a loggia from which branch the upstairs rooms.

Smith made sure that garden settings were appropriate in plan and Mediterrane an in theme. He worked closely with such fine landscape architects as Ralph T. Ste vens and Lockwood de Forest,]t7 Smith’s client, George Steedman. shared his vision.

From 1922 to 1925, they collaborated closely in the creation of CasaddHerre.ro.

George Fox Steedman was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on January 5, 1871.

There he attended Smith Academy, until graduating to the Manual Training School, where he honed his skills for a life long interest in crafts. After a year at Washington University in St. Louis, he left for Harvard University. He graduated in the class of 1892. magna cum laude,

The name ofQeorge Washington Smith became synon-^nous with the Hispanic architecLural style ofthe Santa Barbara area. Courtesy of Architectural Drawing Collec tion, University Art Museum, University of California, Santa Barbara.

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Smith’s colleague, Lutah TAaria Riggs, designm the distinctive oc tagonal libraryfor Steedman in the ig^os. Courccsy of Archiceccural Drawing Collection, University Arc Museum, University of Cal ifornia, Santa Barbara.

doubled production. He proud ly declared chat he "never dis appointed on a delivery dace or broke a promise.”9 The stress of his war work and of running the foundry cook its toll. He was diagnosed with incurable heart disease and was forced to retire.

He and his family came west to visit his brother James Harrison Steedman, who had come to Santa Barbara for his health. Liking the area, the family found eleven acres in Montecico to build a summer home. In hiring George Washington Smith, Steed man found someone of his with a degree in Engineering, Arc and Sci ence. He later gave the library in Sc. Louis a fine room to house rare archiceccural books, many donated by him.8 All his life, Steedman collected books on every subject and established a superb library of his own at the Casa.

Steedman joined the family firm, the Curtis Manufacturing Company, a foun dry making saws and pneumatic machin ery, and he soon was president of a thriv ing business. He married Carrie Robb Howard in 1903 and they had two daugh ters, Katherine, born in 1904, and Medora, born in 1909. During the First World War. Curtis Manufacturing produced eight-inch shell casings, first for the Brit ish. then the U.S. He conceived a manu facturing process chat saved money and

own education, age, and interests and "bought in" to Smith’s concept of Spanish/Medicerranean architecture. In quest of complete authenticity, Steedman accom panied an architect friend from Sc. Louis, Louis La Bcaumc, on a buying crip to Spain for six weeks in May and June of 1923. There he obtained the help of a re markable architect and expert antiquarian, Arthur Byne, and his wife, Mildred Shipley.

Arthur Byne was born in Philadelphia in 1882. He attended the Philadelphia School of Architecture and the American Academy in Rome. He had lived in Ma drid for several years and "knew Spain as few foreigners do . . . endlessly travelling her highways and byways.”10 He was a fine photographer, draftsman, and water

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CASA DEL HERRERO

QeoT^e Fox Steedman, ca. igi8. The stress and danands ofthe First World Warpennanently affected his health.

colorist. He and his wife co-authored a

Milica for scientific research, at a ceremo

number of books on Spain, one on iron work in 1914, on sixteenth-century archi tecture in 1917, and on gardens and patios in 1928. Byne was the recognized Ameri can authority on Spanish arc. architecture, and culture, a member of the Hispanic So ciety of New York, and an honorary member of the American Institute of Ar

ny attended by Spanish society, experts in his field, and representatives from the American Embassy.il "Those travelers whose footsteps may be guided along the Spanish by-ways by these accomplished docents are fortunate indeed,” said Louis La Beaume.12 Byne's letters to Steedman present the picture of a crusted expert, architect, and agent who searched out many of the treasures now at

chitects. In 1927. the Spanish Minister of War awarded Byne the Cross of Merito

Qeorge Steedman’s handlettering at the age ofsixteen.

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ironwork, in particular iron graces {rejas) for windows. In his final accounts there are

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O the Casa, until Byne's untimely death at the age of fifty-three in 1935.

The three men. together with Mrs. Byne. travelled in Spain and Majorca, vis iting palaces, churches, and gardens. Steedman meticulously measured and recorded, in photographs and sketches, architectural details and artwork. The Spanish preferred braziers, but his sketches included fine ex amples of fireplaces, such as chat in the foutteenth-cencury Castle Guadamor near Toledo, which he later replicated in his dining room, and a charming cooking area in an old peasant house which he carefully detailed and used in his bedroom.

Sceedman bought an astonishing amount of authentic materials from the fif teenth, sixteenth and seventeenth centu ries. Spain’s Golden Age; chairs, cables, chests, rugs, tapestries, fabrics, hundreds of old tiles, and an enormous amount of

at least thirty antique Spanish and Moor ish doors, some bought as lace as 1928, three years after the family moved into the house. Smith used the doors at every en trance and as decorative elements in rooms, hanging them from sculptured an tique corbels lying against the walls. In 1927, Byne recommended chat Sceedman buy two scone Catalan windows for "dirt cheap" to "help to age Casa del Harew im mensely.

Hie architect's plans incorpo rated doors and rejas and he used old iron brackets to hang lamps and antique door handles, iron hinges and nails as decorative detail. Craviocco Brothers, in Santa Barba ra. created additional ironwork. Many old window shutters were purchased and, when they did not fit, craftsmen built an tiqued frames to fit around them.

Above all, his daughter Mcdora wrote, her "perfectionist father wanted both [house and garden] to be authentically Spanish, He wanted to be involved in every detail and sent Smith many careful ly measured sketches. Scecdman’s letters to Smith are scored, as are many sheets of details for the construction of the Casa, in the archives at the University of Califor nia at Santa Barbara, preserved by Lutah Riggs and given by her to Dr. David Gebhard. The drawings evidence constant communication and collaboration. Steedman wrote to Smith in 1923. "For the nth time, let me repeat chat I do not attach any importance to my details and that you are absolutely and perfectly free to cast them out and suggest better ones. . . .

I am probably a nuisance . . . yet hope there is sufficient meric or newness in some to warrant bothering you with them.” In 1924, he wrote Smith. "I have certainly been an awful client—let us hope the results may be good." Ac last, in 1925.

CASA DEL HERRERO

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he could write, "You have been a longsuffering martyr over this house, and you take a great weight off my conscience when you say that you believe it is suc cessful.”15 The Casa was nearly complete in 1925. Early on June 29th, a devastating earthquake struck Santa Barbara, leaving much of the town in rubble. Steedman had been staying at his club which was badly damaged. He moved into his new home, which had suffered no harm. He could now uncrate his treasures.

Besides the huge amount of art and an tiques collected in 1923 with Bync, Steedman had travelled to France in 1924 and gathered other medieval wares such as col umns, capitals, and bases for the garden.

statuary, and French and Flemish tapes tries and Italian art. He also found a won derfully carved old oak door which was originally in the sacristry of the church at Etretat. It now hangs in the Casa library.16 Moorish influence is very much in evi dence in the architecture and art of the Mediterranean region. In the late seventh century, the Moors had conquered most of North Africa and swept into the Iberian Pe ninsula defeating the Visigoths, whose in ternal divisions made them ripe for con quest. Moslems accommodated other religions, if they could use their skills, but Christian enclaves in northern Spain con tinued to fight, preventing the spread of Is lam into the rest of Europe. From a no man’s land in central Spain, forays against

Steedman adapted thefireplace in the master bedroomfivm a peasant kitchen he had seen dur ing his travels in Spain (see his sketch,opposite). Note the austere,frailero chairs at left.

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Vargueiios Jlank the door way leading firm the front hall to the living room. Atop the vargucno on the right sits a reliquary ofSaint Barbara.

Terracotta tiles accented with antique colored tiles lie in a bask}et weave pattern upon thefloor.

the Moors were ever more successful, and the marriage of Isabella and Ferdinand in 1492 united the Spanish into a single Christian kingdom able to overthrow the last Moslem stronghold at Gra nada. Spain became a world power and, with their coloni al acquisitions in the New World, a wealthy one. The defense of Catholicism be came a keystone in Spanish royal policy.

Among the results of this policy was

fices. adorned with gold and silver. This

the expulsion of Jews, who made up a large

was the period of the artists El Greco and

part of the mercantile middle class. Soon,

Velasquez.1^ It was in this period, which

the Moors were also dispossessed, who

was stern, spare, strong and emotional,

made up a large part of the artisian class

yet dignified, that the pieces bought for the Casa were created. Within the

and the agriculturists. This was tragic for Spain. The

multitude of petty

nobles

churches enormous retablos and altar piec

thought labor was for inferior races and

es rose to the vaulted ceilings and held

scorned commerce and agriculture. Spain was now a nation of soldiers and herdsmen.

great numbers of religious figures, carved

Foreign wars drained resources and by

could not be Spanish,” wrote Byne.20 The

the early nineteenth century Spain had lost

sculptor might cover his wood carving

and

gilded. "Without color, sculpture

many of its colonial possessions. Growing

with fabric, gesso and then polychrome

poverty and simmering resentment against the rich establishment led to increased

paint, to attain

tones, as may be seen in a wonderful bust

anti-clericalism and despoliation of con

of Princess Clara Eugena, daughter of

vents, churches, and palaces.18 Arc and furniture became available to the collector.

Another exceptional example stands in the

During the Golden Age, the treasure

front hall, a 16th-century statue of Qod

particularly fine flesh

Charles V, in the living room of the Casa.

pouring into Spain from their empire sus

the Father, an original carving by Alonzo

tained military adventures, a rich life style

Berruguete, who, according to Byne, was

and the construction of great religious edi¬

"the greatest sculptor of the Spanish Ren-

CASA DEL HERRERO aissance.’’2l Tlie face is individualized, emocional. but austere.

The Spanish, in carving their furniture, preferred sharp contrasts of shadow and relief. Walnut was the wood of choice.

Tabletops were often made of single boards, several inches thick, which required sturdy legs and decorative iron stretchers to hold them up. There are a number of these at the Casa, including the dining table, a rare example of an exten sion table made only in Aragon during this period [see pages 32-33].22 The vargueho chests at the Casa again demonstrates the Spanish love for rich gold and ivory decoration. These are rich ly carved, inlaid with ivory, and share iron

: 29 decorative elements mounted over red vel vet inserts. The vargueno was uniquely Spanish and developed out of the chest sit ting on the ground, of which there are many examples at the Casa, painted, carved or bound in leather, with nail heads and iron decorations. The vargueho is a chest raised on a trestle, usually arcaded.

The front panel would drop onto pull-out supports, revealing a wealth of small drawers and a writing surface for use as a desk. There might be architectural detail, so popular in the Renaissance, but the Spanish artisan took from Italy only what he found compatible with his Gothic pref erences. The chest was made separate from the legs so that it could be carried on

Interesting features ofthe living room include a papal escutcheon above the fireplace, altered by Sieedman to include the estate's chain^title.luimpshades are vellum manuscript pages of music, purchased for $z.oo apiece. The bone inlaid vargueno against the rear wall to the left, is one ofthe home 5 rarest pieces.

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(scout!) mules. Very Spanish, coo, are the many "grip ta bles” or cavern stools which were moved by cuc-ouc hand holds.23 When authentic pieces could not be found, even by the resourceful Bync, Steedman had replicas made in Cali fornia or in Spain from antique models. He did not hesitate to alter old pieces, adding draw ers or refitting them for mod ern storage. As he wrote Mrs. Byne of the Casa. "It is not a museum - it is just a good, sat isfying house.”24 Still, much of the furniture and arc at the estate is mu seum quality. In the front hall sit choir stalls, which Byne called "the best ot Spanish XV century Gothic,” Pieces like these were becoming very hard to come by, as American dealers had ''swept the markets clean” for clients such as William Randolph Hearse, and wealthy people in Florida and Califor nia who were also building in the Spanish Revival mode.25 In 1930, Byne wrote to Sccedman chat he was in charge of "the demolition of a huge stone building for Hearse.”26 A particularly noteworthy feature of the home is the coffered, beautifully fig ured, painted ceiling in the entry hall. Mcdora Bass has said chat Smith had to redesign the area to use the ceiling. Byne wrote, The monastic house from which your XV century ceiling came is, or rather was, el Convento dc San Francisco, near the town of Darroca in the Province of Tcruel. once part of the old Kingdom of Aragon [about 140 miles slightly northeast of Madrid], Like many other monasteries.

A Flemish tapestry hangs above Spanish choir stalls in thefront hall. Flajiders was under Spanish Fiahsburg rule during much ofSpain s Golden Age. The doors, produced in Spain, show obvious Tdtoorish influaices.

it was fired by the Liberal mobs in the anti-monastic uprisings of 1835. Your ceil ing is all that remains of the covering to the old claustral (Latin for cloistered] walk.”22 Throughout the house arc many fraileros—austere, strong, and simple chairs usually with leather backs and seats, but also sometimes with velvet and embroid ery. Every friar was entitled to have one in his cell. Byne reported he had some dif ficulty getting six from the convent in Palma since "the old ladies can't make up their minds whether or not they wish to part with the chairs” and there had been

CASA DEL HERRERO

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I home the Casa de Hierros (House of the Ironwork), CauFerrat(the same in Cata lonian), and Casa de las I{ejas I (House of the Screens). There are folders of classical de signs. in which Steedman copied in detail pictures of gods of the forge and of cen taurs. half man/half horse.

He settled on the centaur as the estate’s hallmark, which can be seen on the front pil lars, above the front door, and on the fireplace in the dining room. The centaur over the front door is work ing at an anvil; the one in the dining room faces a fox and holds a mug and plate. [See photo pages 32-33.] Steedman’s sense of humor and love of creative detail are

The painting of Don Juan of Austria, set above two frailcros, dominates the upstairs loggia. Chanla tile bisects the wall.

clearly seen here. His name may be read as a man on a steed having the middle name, Fox. who makes objects of metal.

quilted, a favorite Spanish treatment, with bullion trim, also grace the home.

Also of particular note in the dining room is the painting of the Martydom of San Lorenzo. San Lorenzo was a Spanish martyr from the fourth century who, af ter many tortures, was put to death on a gridiron over a bed of hot coals. The gridi ron is on display in Rome in the church that bears his name. Ironically, he is the patron saint of cooks.29 Byne wrote that

Perhaps of all the saints represented at the Casa, it is St. Barbara with whom

he had difficulty exporting the painting, as authorities at the Barcelona Museum

Steedman felt the most affinity. She was not only patron saint of his adopted town, but also of architects and of armorers. Be cause of his foundry, Steedman liked to chink of himself as an ironworker, a black

tried to retain it as a piece of national im portance. Byne knew that the museum

dealing in art. The license was forthcom-

smith. In his notebooks, he played upon this theme and thought of calling his new

ing.30 In 1926, a law was passed limiting the export of national treasures.

three different Mothers Superior in the last six months. At twenty dollars apiece, he considered them "expensive but good.”28 A number of superb bishops' "throne” chairs in rich red velvet, often

chairman, though politically powerful, would not want it known that he was

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32

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Another of Steedimn s Mediter ranean sketches. This fireplace drawing is labeled "La Qartera, High Class Peasant Antique House, For Cooking."

The centerpiece of the dining room is the unique table fixnn Aragon, which Stecdman in part redesigned to fit modem needs. The chairs at the table are fixnn Catalonia. To the left hangs a painting of San Lorenzo’s martyrdom, a piece Byne had great difficulty in acquiring. The Casa’s hallmark graces thefireplace.

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CASA DEL HERRERO

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furnishings and artistic riches were well in hand, Stcedman turned to the creation of a

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Spanish garden. He hired the eminent land

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scape architects Ralph T. Stevens, Lockwood de Forest, Jr., and horticulturalist Peter Rie del to work with him

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self and Smith to lay out a plan.

In Spain, gardens reflected the mingling of a number of earlier

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age was of a kind sene CO all government cen ters, as we today send pictures of presidents to post offices.

Once the house, its

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traditions. The Egyp tians dammed ponds for water lilies and fish, creating small, separate plots joined by canals, to be enjoyed as out^ door palaces. Persian influence added the ex

Wealthy patrons of Spain’s Golden Age often sponsored religious arc or por traits and the Casa contains a number of fine examples of portraits from the six teenth and seventeenth centuries. Byne felt chat they were perhaps not great arc but "supremely decorative, in the manner of Velasquez. ”31 Perhaps the finest is the sixteenth-century painting in the living room of a boy with his handsome red vest, but in the upstairs hall there also is a portrait of Don Juan of Austria, in buff costume, a great hero who fought against the Moors in 1571, and an official portrait of Philip IV (1621-1665). This latter im-

tensive use of tile; at the center of an axis formed by flowing water in shallow run nels was a fountain. The Persian word for paradise translates as "enclosed area” and their gardens were often surrounded by high walls pierced by tall gates.32 The conquest of Spain by the Moors brought architects and artisans to create palaces and gardens using plants imported from all over their world. By 1492, the vocabu lary of the Spanish garden was well estab lished.

The garden tradition of Spain became the inspiration for the lovely gardens of the Casa as interpreted by Ralph Stevens,

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CASA DEL HERRERO who had studied in Europe. The main gar dens. facing south from the house, have an axial orientation with a long vista between high clipped Eugenia hedges, pierced by gates The gardens are centered by a run ning rivulet of water and punctuated at each of several descending levels by foun tains. shaped like stars or octagons, with small garden rooms branching off to each side.

In Arab countries, the fountain is con sidered essential and is found in front of palaces and mosques even in town squares, for the frequent ablutions required

by Islam and for the storage of water in the dry climate. A Persian proverb states that there are "three beautiful sounds, the voice of a beloved woman, the clink of gold, and the murmur of running wa ter."33 So, too, at the Casa water produces the loveliest of grace notes.

As in Spain, each end of the main axis at the Casa frames beautiful views, to the

mountains and to the sea, with arbors and benches. The Moors loved surprises and did not want the whole plan revealed at a glance.34 At the Casa, going around a corner reveals something new, such as the "rooms" to the east, where there are ar cades, flower beds, and wonderful tileadorned fountains. This small garden was planted with blue and white flowers, matching the tile, and, as Medora Bass wrote, were the favorite white flowers of her parents, "who often enjoyed the gar den in the moonlight.” Hidden stairs lead down to lovely tree roses, a favorite with Steedman due to their "medieval look."35 The roses are divided into plots by low box hedges. Orchards of lemons, oranges, and avocadoes, interspersed with vegeta ble plantings, create a lush abundance be side the paths. Palms of many varieties accent the architecture and frame the vis tas. At the southern edge of the lawn, gates lead into a cactus garden dominated

The garden at the east end ofthe house was obviously inspired by the sketch opposite, drawn by Steedinan during his traveb in Spain.

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NOTICIAS

by a clump of huge "dragon trees.” Every where. there arc ceramic pots of flowers, for a garden was not "furnished” without 36 pots, They greet you as you drive through the gates and down the curving drive and across the pebbled entry to the front door.

In Spain paving was often of brick, perhaps laid in basket weave patterns with small tile insets such as at the Casa del Qreco and Alcazar Gardens. This theme is used in many of the tile floors in side the Casa, including the entry and dining room, where there arc some seven hundred tiles dating from the reign of Charles V, Another common treatment was the use of white, black, and gray peb¬

bles. sometimes set in heraldic patterns.

The Alhambra has fine examples of this in the Patio de la In the forecourt of the Casa there are Spanish themes in pebblework. a castle for Castile, lion for Leon, and the Hapsburg eagle. These were set by the local Da Ros family firm, which continues to do fine stonework to the present day.

Upon arrival at this pebbled entry, centered around a beautiful bubbling foun tain, it becomes apparent that owner and architect both shared the Spanish love of tile. The beauty and distinction of the whole estate rests not least on the glorious tile found everywhere, even in the most utilitarian areas of house and garden.

The centerpiece ofthefront court is the octagonal tilefountain, drawnfrom the Persian tradition. The court’s pebblework,illustrates a number ofthemes ofSpanish history.

An antique iron reja graces the balcony over thefont door.

CASA DEL HERRERO

37 A Steed7nan sketch shounng complex patterns qfpebble paving.

cheir favor. In fact. I have re fused CO buy tiles for anyone as I considered the Spanish product too inferior artistical ly CO recommend.”38 Smith had written to Sceedman in August of 1923 saying chat he, too. thought current Spanish tile very poor in quality. He suggested chat Sceedman "ask Mr. Byne what he can do as to pur chase of the tile that I have used and like, and what is known in this country as Tu nisian tile, made by an old Spanish family in Tunis.”39 Byne followed this sug gestion. A letter from Mrs, Byne to Sceedman dated Jan uary 4, 1924. tells the story: Fourth day in Tunis and at last sun consents to shine— fitjully ... don’t advise[Tunis] as a winter resort...unless you adore Arab dirt and disease Here, more than anywhere else, may lie the value of the close collaboration of Sceedman and Byne.

Although Sceedman bought many crates of tile in 1923, he needed a great deal more tile, not necessarily old. but with a beauty of its own. He was willing to wait until Byne found the exact tiles,

Imagine how our hopes were dashed on finding Chemla ill; we were left free to ramble over his pottery works - a mere yard where a number ofArabs are working in the same primitive manner that you saw out side Qranada. At the entrance, a little sales roomfull ofcups Gr saucers & bawls &dec

filling empty spaces with boarding or leaving the plaster unadorned at the Casa.

orative panels inspired by Persian rugs. It didn't take long to grasp thefact that Chemla et Fils[Les Fils de J. Chemla] were artistic potters basing their work on the oldest Arab

In reference to currently produced Spanish tile Byne wrote, "I have nothing to say in

Gr Persian specimens in the museum and pro ducing it in the same way as the ancients did;

NOTICIAS

38

This 16th-century Catalonian window frame in the living rootn looks out upon a garden scene which features a charming birdhouse built by Qeorge Steedman.

Note the antique file below the window.

I

r(

The first order for 7670 tiles was placed in 1923 and ar rived in 1924, being so hand some and satisfactory that another order was placed at once. A letter from Steedman

,\ ,/ V

i

/

to Chemla dated June 9, 1927. tells of his frustration,

r

A

"Two and a half years ago I

r ●w.

placed an order with you for a lot of tile which you have not as yet shipped. . . . The

4

tile which you shipped me

\\

about three years ago was highly satisfactory, and I am sorely distressed . . . be per fectly

frank

and

tell

me

whether you are going to ship. . . . 1 pray of you to please write to but also it ivas evident that they hadn’t a

Mr. Bync, who informs me that you do

structural idea in their heads. We picked out

not answer his letters." In June of 1928,

the files whose design most approached the

Steedman

Spanish, had a large basket of them brought

granted that dear, d—n Chemla has not as

to the hotel and have since been laying the floor of our room in a thousand different

yet started" and urged him to deal with "the rascal.” Effusive assurances came

schemes. . . . The technique surpasses every

from Chemla that, despite having many

thing in Spain. . . unusually beautifid. . . As

important orders he could not fill, the

foreseen, Chemla . . . had never seen a blue

very

print. . . . Never mind, we are going to see it

would be a top priority. Despite many

through - your money & our time shall not be

problems, including an epidemic of ty

wrote Byne, "I take it for

esteemed

Mr. Steedman’s

order

spent in vain. Chemla promises to be well by

phoid. tile began to arrive. Anyone seeing

tomorrow

the beauty of the tile at the Casa can un

then we 'll l^eep pounding it all

into his head all day long, & every day,

not

leave till it has penetrated.

derstand both the persistence and the frus tration.

According to Peggy Hayes, who has

This started a long commercial rela

researched the origin of the tile at the San

tionship requiring enormous patience and

ta Barbara County Courthouse, Chemla

persistence by both Byne and Steedman.

provided much of the new tile there, per-

CASA DEL HERRERO

39

haps through agents in New York or San Francisco. This in part may explain the delays in supplying Steedman with tile since the Courthouse was built in 1927.

pressed into the mold and then removed for firing. The depressions between the re sulting ridges would then be filled with colored glazes and fired. Chemla tile at the

By 1923, in a fairly primitive work shop. Jacob Chemla had been working for a number of years to reestablish a tile in dustry chat had flourished in the area in the lace eighteenth century, but had be come almost moribund in the nineteenth

Casa seems to be of these two types and is very distinctive in its bold geometric and stylized animal, bird, heraldic, and

century. Helped by his children, by 1929 he had over one hundred workmen and, sometime later, was to receive the Croix de la Legion d'Honneur from the French government for his achievements. He wrote Steedman in 1940 inquiring about the possibility of sponsorship if he should move to the States. Steedman wrote Glad ding McBean, the Los Angeles tile maker, who discouraged the idea, saying the de mand for Spanish tile was over and chat "practically everything is Modern.”'^0 The Chemla factory was moved to France by the Chemla grandchildren in 1957 and is still turning out tile and ocher ceramics to day.

Judy Sutcliffe, in A Primer on the Tile of Casa del Herrero, prepared for the docents of the Casa, discusses tile preparation and decoration. In Europe, red or brown clay available to the craftsman would be fired CO harden it and to remove the chemically combined water. There were three main decorative techniques, still in use and all three to be seen at the Casa. In the first, called Cuerda Seca (dry line), the crafts man would cake the fired tile and paint on lines of manganese and oil. When colored water-based glazes were painted on and fired, the color would stay in place, held by the oil, and be outlined by the manga nese oxide. The second is called Cuenca, meaning cub or small basin. A mold of plaster would be made in which lines are etched. The clay would be poured or

floral patterns, together with vibrant plain tile of pure blue, green, yellow, and black.

Antique tile at the Casa may be pro duced by the third technique. In attempt ing CO emulate the effect of Chinese porce lain even without the clays essential to its manufacture, Renaissance European craftsmen used a ninth-century Persian technique of adding tin oxide to transpar ent glaze, to make it white and opaque.

Fired tile could be dipped into the glaze, or the glaze could be applied. Once dry, de signs could be brushed or stenciled on be fore the tile is fired again.

Purchases of antique tile recorded by Steedman on his crip in 1923 included 2600 geometric tiles from a sixceenchcencury convent in Segovia, 97 large Alcora tiles and 100 medium-sized tiles from Cordova, dating from the eighteenth cen tury, as well as 150 seventeenth-century, medium-sized tiles from Andalusia. All but the first feature birds, fish, animals, faces, figures, and scenes from myth and everyday life.

In Steedman’s archives there is a care fully kept inventory of the tiles, rendered in color, showing size and exquisite detail, Steedman noted how many tiles were used, where, and how many remained on hand of both antique and Chemla tiles.

Today, there is still a large stock scored in the basement for any future repair work which may be necessary as water works its cumulative damage on benches and, es pecially, in the fountains. Tile was still be ing put in place, especially in the garden, as late as 1930. Steedman clearly loved

40

NOTICIAS

the living room which would "conflict with the doors which are sufficiently in

cess, and the causes and possible cures for any imperfections. All of this he recorded carefully in many files full of detailed notes.

teresting in themselves. I like to see the corbels supporting the doors project from the unadorned plaster; if set in tile they lose all interest."4i There was a limit to the amount of tile a house could beautiful

Hc corresponded with experts every where, asking for advice. He asked such companies as Handy and Harmon in New York, foremost dealers in precious metals, what they used as alloy to harden silver.

ly absorb!

Steedman's genius, versatility and a willingness to follow up on every creative opportunity is nowhere more evident than in his workshop, a large, light-flooded building which he had built next to the house in 1930. Here was a man who was forced to retire because his heart was fib-

They recommended copper, but warned too much would leave a yellow cast. He wrote to Douglas Aircraft and to Consoli dated Aircraft asking what finish they used on the aluminum of their planes. All wrote back suggesting things to try on his furniture. He made many aluminum chairs and tables for the garden that repli cated the Spanish designs of the furniture in his house, imitating leather upholstery, and added his own centaur signature. In the same files are folder after folder of de

the effect of the tile, but Byne urged him. in a letter in 1928. not to use tile reveals in

rillating, who built a house exactly to his vision, traveled widely to find treasures to furnish and adorn it according to a preor dained scheme, oversaw the creation of a garden fit for Hispanic royalty and, at the same time, was absorbed in all sorts of crafts, including silversmithing and bronze casting.

In 1925, while he was still spending only winters in Santa Barbara and the rest of the year in Boston and St. Louis, he wrote to the famed silversmith company, Reed and Barton, for advice on silversmithing. Ever eager to learn the exact re quirements of anything in which he be came deeply interested, he apprenticed himself to the best silversmith in Boston, George Gebelein, in 1927. In his notebook he refers to Gebelein as an "inventive gen ius” who, when tools were not available, designed his own. Steedman made meticu lous drawings for tools to be forged for him by the Curtis Company when his in numerable contacts with companies all over the country did not satisfy his needs.

For years he experimented with all sorts of alloys and finishes, the heat of his kiln, the length of time required for each pro-

sign ideas copied from antique objects, old books, and magazines.

He was particularly interested in the "lost wax" method of casting bronze and silver. He experimented with different for mulas for the wax and for the mold, final ly deciding that the material used by den tists for their castings was the best material for molds. He wrote that "If I succeed as well as I expect to in revamp ing the [lost wax] process I expect to pub lish some illustrated notes of my experi ments” at his own expense and provide the material to libraries and technical magazines. His handwritten, completed treatise dated March, 1937, is in the files, but there is no indication as to whether he published it. He cast silver and hammered it into handsome plates, vases, and bowls.

He even made a complete set of flatware for his wife. Very little of this remains at the Casa, since it was his pleasure to make these creations gifts, inscribing his name, that of the recipient, and the date.

41

CASA DEL HERRERO

Qcorge Stecdman,fledgling silversmith, in his beloved workshop.

There presently remain two lovely vas es which he made for his wife. She was president of the Santa Barbara Garden Club and won many ribbons at the Santa Barbara County Fair for her floral arrange ments, which Steedman proudly displayed on an entire wall of his shop. She grew gorgeous roses and arranged them so beau tifully that Steedman thought it a shame such loveliness should be so fleeting. He adopted the hobby of photography to record her triumphs and set up a darkroom beneath his shop to do his own film pro cessing.

Confident of his own ability to master any subject given enough expert advice, he next moved into wine making. In a room below the shop, beside the darkroom, there is to be found all the barrels, bottles.

and the rest of the paraphernalia to make his own wine. Of course, he kept very careful records of the fermentation time, temperature, grapes, and bottling.

Although he usually had the help of at least one apprentice, whom he tutored with kindly patience, it is difficult to see how any one man accomplished so much, with such thorough preliminary investiga tion and successful results. Steedman worked five hours a day. sometimes seven days a week, in his shop. His already poor health continued to deteriorate to the ex tent that he wrote to Dr. Paul Dudley White, with whom he had been in con tact for years, in April 1937. to say that he was suffering ten or more attacks of fibrillation every month. On April 28, 1940. George Fox Steedman passed away.

42

NOTICIAS

Noc very many of us would be fortu nate enough to have a daughter like Medo ra Bass, who preserved what he had creat ed and saw its great value for the community; nor grandchildren like George and young Medora Bass, whose generosity provided additional essential endowment; nor great-grandchildren like Stecdman, Margot and Catherine, who gave up their share of the estate so that Casa del Herrero can live on.

MedoraStecdmanBass, 1929. Uwasherdream to have Casa del Hererro persenied in perpetuity for the enjoyment ofthe public.

Frequently, supremely gifted men can not be separated from the worlds they create through their vision, genius, and perseverance. As with Thomas Jefferson at Monticello, Andrew Jackson at the Hermi tage, George Washington at Mount Ver non, they become identified with the homes into which they poured their most committed, personal statements. So it is with George Fox Stecdman as we stand before his superb white, sun-splashed home and marvel at his accomplishments.

Perhaps we all share in the estimation of George Stecdman as presented in the obit uary printed in the 50th Anniversary Edi tion of the Harvard yearbook for the class of 1892.

Qcorge Steedman’s outstanding trait was that quality which called "whiteness." This term implies not only integrity ofcharacter and high ideals, but an insistent desire to serve hisfellow man.^^

The twelve community and family members on the board that manages the Casa del Herrero Foundation arc well aware of their trust and opportunity. The estate will be open for reservations startingjunc of 1995. For more information, write the Foundation at 1387 East Valley Road, Santa Barbara. CA 93108 or call(805)565-5653. — Ed.

CASA DEL HERRERO

43

N0TII5 1.

David Gebhard. Incroduccion co Qcorge Washington Sjnith iSyb-iggo: The Spanish

2.

Heritage Publishing Co., 1972). 28-41, 7294, 103-115.

Colonial R^evival in California(Santa Barba

18. Ibid., 142.

ra: The Arc Gallery, University of Califor

19. Ibid., 21.

nia. Santa Barbara. 1964). unpaged.

David Gebhard. Santa Barbara—The Crea-

20. Arthur Bync and Mildred Shipley Byne,

tion ofa New Spain in America (Santa Bar bara: University Art Museum, University of California at Santa Barbara, 1982), 13.

Catalogue: Spanish Art Collection of the Conde de las Almenas(New York: Ameri can Art Association, 1927), 185.

21. Ibid.. 142.

3. Gebhard, Qeorge Washingtmi Smith.

4. David Gebhard, "George Washington

22. Bync co Steedman. 2 December 1926.

23. Rafael Domencch and Luis Perez Bueno,

Smith," in Herb Andrcc and Noel Young.

Atitique Spanish Furniture, crans. Grace

Santa Barbara Architecture (Santa Barba

Burr (New York: Bonanza Books, 1965), 129.

ra: Capra Press, 1980), 89.

5. Ibid.. 91.

A

24. Steedman co Mildred Bync, 10 September 1935.

6.

David Gebhard, Lutah Maria

Wennan in Architecture, igzi-igSo (Santa

25. Bync to Steedman. 2 December 1926.

26. Bync to Steedman, 30 June 1930.

7.

Barbara: Capra Press, 1992), 15.

Gebhard, Santa Barbara Atvhitecture. 92.

8. Harvard College, Class of i8gz, P^eport XV, Fiftieth Anniversary (Norwood: Plimpton Press. 1942). 402.

9. Harvard College, Class ofi8gz, Thirtieth An

27. Bync to Steedman. 12 September 1923.

28. Bync co Steedman. 14 September 1923.

29. Scan Kelly and Rosemary Rogers, Saints Preserve Vs!(New York: Random House, 1993). 176.

niversary Peport, 1892-1922 (Norwood;

30. Bync to Steedman. 24 September 1923.

Plimpton Press, 1922). 239,

31. Byne co Steedman, 2 December 1926.

10. Obituary. Times ofLondon, 17 July 1935.

11. Bync to Steedman, 8 June 1927.

12. Louis La Beaumc, "A Little Tour in Spain."

32. Rose Scandish Nichols, Spanish and Portuguese Qardens (Boston and New York:

Journal of the Americari Insititute of Archi

Houghton Mifflin Co., 1924), 1-15.

33. Ibid., 122. 256.

tects 12. nos. 2. 4. 11 (1924): 48.

34. Ibid.. 124.

13. Byne to Steedman. 8 June 1927.

35. Vcrcy, Ainerican Wennan's Qarden, 26.

14- Quoted in Rosemary Vcrcy and Ellen Sam

36. Nichols, Spanish and Portuguese Qardens, 250.

uels. The American Woman’s Qarden (Bos ton: Little. Brown and Co., 1984), 23.

15. Steedman co Smith, 19 October 1923. 11 August 1924. 3 June 1925.

37. Ibid.. 122, 256.

38. Bync co Steedman, 2 December 1926.

39. Smith co Steedman.

16. Notebooks of George Steedman, Casa del Herrero.

40. McBcan to Steedman, 19 August 1940.

17. Mclvccna McKcndrick, The Horizon Con

42. Hai-vard College, Class ofi8gz, Fiftieth An

cise History ofSpain(New York: American

41. Bync to Steedman, 28 September 1928. niversary, 401.

●* ●

●. ●

●, ♦

rii5 issue 0

NOTICIAS rias DcciA maoc possiD c through the generous financial suppo of the:

Smith-Walher Foundation ana Donald & Jo Beth Van Qelderen

|jlj| ●I »

●. ●

●. ●

SANTA BARBARA HISTORICAL SOCIETY BOARD OF TRUSTEES Richard Glenn Jo Bcch Van Geldcrcn .

Lani Mcanlcy Collins .

Jean Goodrich Warren Pullman Miller Peter Brown Foster Campbell Barbara Cleveland Dan Cross George E. Frakes Neal Graffy

Presidenc . . First Vice Presidenc Second Vice President Secretary Treasurer

Lawrence Hammett Robert G. Hansen

Jack Overall John Pitman Barbara Robinson Ruth Scollin

John W. Hunt C. Seyberc Kinsell Thad MacMillan Jane Mueller

George M. Anderjack, Executive Director

MAJOR CONTRIBUTORS The Santa Barbara Historical Society wishes to thank and to acknowledge with pride the following members and institutions for their recent and most generous annual contributions MUSEUM CIRCLE

BENEFACTORS

SUSTAINING

($10,000 and above)

($1,000 and above)

($500 and above)

Larry and Astrid Hammett Mcricos Foundation Santa Barbara Foundation Smith-Walker Foundation

William and Faye Azbcll Robin and Denise Bieker Ruth Braun Carnzu A. Clark Charles and Patricia Cleek Zelva Pierce Fischer

Donald and Nancy Balch The Bank of Montecito

Donald and Jo Beth Van Geldercn E. L. Wiegand Foundation

MAJOR BENEFACTORS ($5,000 and above) Danielson Foundation Louis G- Dreyfus Unitrust Jean Goodrich Donald and Perri Harcourt Thomas and Eleanor Harriman Joan Smith Alice Tweed Tuohy Foundation Wood-Clacyssens Foundation

Keith and Peggy Gledhill Richard and Kay Glenn Ann Jackson Family Foundation Beverley Jackson Joan Irvine Smith Fine Arts, Incorporated Pat Licker Thad and Laurie MacMillan Warren and Nancy Miller Jane Rich Mueller David F. Myrick Frederica D. Poett Rena Redmon Paige Rense Virginia Riddcr Paul and Leslie Ridley-Tree Ronald L. Wolfe and Associates, Inc. Santa Barbara Bank and Trust Santa Barbara Capital Management Ruth B. Scollin Weather Family Foundation

Bartlett Tree Experts Mario and Marguerite Borgatello Boyd Move Management. Inc. Ernest and Gay Bryant Chubb and Sons, Incorporated Insurance Companies Richard and Barbara Cleveland John V. Crawford Benjamin and Ruth Hammett E. Khashoggi Industries MacFarland, Faletii, and Company Nancy Moure William G. and Nancy Myers A. Dibblec Poett Theresa Siebert Judith Sutcliffe Hugh and Mary Thorson Universal Systems.

Incorporated

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CONTENTS Pg.21: Casa del Herrero