Elsie de Wolfe (New York, 1865 - 1950, Versailles)
Sofa Table, early 20th century
Beech, 67.5 x 99 x 30 cm (26 9/16 x 39 x 11 13/16 in.)
This beech wood sofa table has a plain, flat oblong top that curves forward in the middle and has curved corners. There are two flat legs, one on each end. The legs start with a flared top secured to the tabletop, become thinner in the middle and then flares and splits into two near the floor in order to create two legs a piece. The piece is a uniform medium brown color.
Early Italian Room
Commentary
Time and time again Gardner juxtaposed modern design with old masters. A good example of this practice is a beech sofa table by the legendary New York designer Elsie de Wolfe that Gardner transformed into a silk-covered altar for her sparkling tabernacle by the fourteenth-century Sienese painter Bartolomeo Bulgarini. Unlike other society grand dames, Gardner was not de Wolfe's client, but she did support female professionals, and the two New Yorkers forged a friendship based on their shared love of beauty. De Wolfe declared in a newspaper article that Gardner had no equal in America. She made a final visit to the museum near the time of Isabella's death, comparing her host's pallid appearance to "primitve pictures of saints."