Field Notes No.2

Welcome back to Field Notes, a glance away from the algorithm to see if we’d invite any creative ideas from the past back into our modern lives .

Hello subscribers,

I treated myself to a book from 1945 with 73 colour plates in it for Valentines day, so thought I would share my favourite images with you today.

Above is the initial image I discovered that enticed me to buy the book. It’s in the home of Mr. William Vestey's house in Hampstead, London, 1933. I wished that this beautiful space belonged to someone deserving but on googling William, the Vesty’s imported meat, refused to pay their workers a wage and didn’t want to pay UK tax so moved to Buenos Aires. We often talk about divorcing a work of art from its problematic maker but can we divorce a room and its beautiful rug from it’s owner?

The Decor is by John Hill, made by Green & Abbott Ltd. I couldn’t find any more of John’s work apart from the rooms that feature in the book. However, interestingly Green & Abbott are known as the makers of the Mae West Lip sofas. Patron of the arts, Edward James alongside Salvador Dali commissioned the making of five versions of the sofa in 1938. Three were made for the surrealist interiors of Monkton House, owned by Edward James.

Mae West Lips sofa 1937-1938 (designed), 1938 (made)