Monday, February 25, 2013

Reflections

A month ago a correspondent sent me this link to an article about the eighty-seven-year-old Patricia Cavendish O'Neill's latest memoir A Chimp in the Wine Cellar. Her brother, of course, is not mentioned in the video embedded in the article but what I found interesting was her accent – of an age long gone and of a class that, however notorious its behaviour might be to outsiders, saw privacy as its right. This video has set me off down another path in my personal search for this man, Roderick Cameron, who proved to be so influential in twentieth-century decorating – all without being a decorator himself.

If a compilation of eulogies is not a mirror, giving glimpses of subjects and authors as it does, I'm not sure what is. One such, Anne Cox Chambers' Remembering Rory, has proved to be a source of much pleasure – odd word, I know, pleasure, when used in relation to eulogies, but what else can said when each page is a source of connection, learning and reading? Also, when reading them, how can one not be conscious that all reputations will be subject to revision by a following generation.


Remembering Rory sits slipcased in all its green leather, gold tooling and marbled paper glory next to Patricia Cavendish O'Neill's memoir A Lion in the Bedroom, Roderick Cameron's own The Golden Riviera and now, Some of My Lives by Rosamond Bernier – the author of one of Cameron's tributes. I'd hoped to find traces of Roderick Cameron in Bernier's book but so far, at a cursory glance, have not. Not that it matters, for Rosamond Bernier's book is proving to be a good accompaniment for those hours after midnight, when the soft ticking of a clock that has done so since before Napoleon became emperor, the rustle of sheets from the bedroom I have just left, the occasional siren of an ambulance racing along the continental divide outside the window, and the scent of hyacinths, all suggest that if heaven were here on earth, this is how it would be.


In her eulogy of Roderick Cameron, Rosamond Berniers speaks, as do many in the book, of his aesthetic, quoting other people as she does so:

"Rory Cameron in his own houses worked for a quality of repose. Bustle and confusion and untidiness were not for him. Having shopped with him in former years, I know that his eye for size, shape, and predestined location were unerring. Planning for his house in Ireland he selected piece after piece almost without bothering to measure them, only to find on arrival in Donegal that every one of them fitted snugly into the space that he had in mind for them.

"Mark Hampton remembers, amongst much else, the range of color that Rory allowed himself – 'coarse linen the color of Caen stone, yellow in warm shades running from heavy cream to deep maize, celadon greens, and every possible shade of white.' He liked large, calm, yet grand pieces of furniture – perhaps they echoed his own large, calm presence – but he never allowed them to dominate. Other, smaller pieces of miscellaneous provenance were encouraged to come forward and sing their songs, and sometimes he dressed the room down where everyone else would have dressed it up.

"Unlike scholars who 'know everything' but cannot conjugate their knowledge with the business of living, Rory Cameron had an infallible sense of what to do with a house. To mix and mate one object with another was both this genius and his greatest pleasure. Better than almost anyone around, he knew how to release the conviviality of objects. People never forgot their first introduction to one of his houses. Thirty years after the fact, Kenneth Jay Lane remembers the moment in Paris when luncheon was wheeled in on a lacquer table by Jansen. The silver was English, eighteenth-century, there were black lacquer bowls from Japan, and very grand but rustic French dishes come on heavy silver plates, with glasses hand-blown and full of bubbles from Biot, in the south of France. There was a set of grass mats woven by the Queen of Tonga and given to Rory."

A lacquer table by Jansen, English eighteenth-century silver, Japanese black lacquer bowls, hand-blown bebubbled glasses from the south of France, grand but rustic dishes on heavy silver plates."


So, the other path I mentioned in the first paragraph is one I'm not yet walking and wonder if  I should. There is not much more that, however many eulogies I might quote, can be written about of Roderick Cameron's aesthetic and the influence he had. Since I began writing about him, I've not been too exercised about this much-loved man's private life but, inevitably, there have been glimpses of that in a lot of what I've written and quoted. What has always interested me the most are connections. so when I read, for example, of his acquaintance with Unity and Diana Mitford, the Moseleys, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor (actually friends of Cameron's mother), Greta Garbo, Grahame Sutherland, David Hicks, Peter Quennell, Freya Stark, Somerset Maugham, Alvide Lees-Milne, Elizabeth de Chavchavadze, Louise de Vilmorin... the actual list is much longer... I wonder about his politics.

I wonder too about prurience (not Cameron's, ours) –  though why I would in a society where every celebrity's doings are fair game for the press – when I read this about one of the heroines of many a style blogger's fantasies.

"Mummy had known Windsor for many years and, although I do not think he had been one of her lovers, she liked him very much. It was not long after this that they came to Fiorentina with Jimmy [Jimmy Donahue]. After lunch, everyone was sitting on the terrace talking when the duchess said, 'I just want to take Jimmy and show him the marvellous view from your point.' The duke sat around reminiscing, saying, 'When I was monarch ...' while everyone knew the duchess was having it off with Jimmy in one of the upstairs guest rooms. Mummy told me that the duchess was famous for her expertise in fellatio: rumour had it that she had had lessons in China on this particular art. She was a very masculine woman; there was nothing soft or feminine about her, and I personally did not think she was at all good-looking. She had a presence. I suppose that was the best one could say about her."

If I were to write a biography of Roderick Cameron, I would have to overcome my distaste of knowing too much about someone's sexual habits. Perhaps I'm a prude.

Beyond all that, what is clear at this point is that Roderick Cameron, his circle of friends and those whose aesthetic he influenced, is that they sit at an ever-increasing distance (Cameron died twenty-eight years ago, Billy Baldwin forty years ago, David Hicks fifteen years ago, Van Day Truex thirty-three years ago), hidden in the pages of books, and the focus has blurred and in some cases been obliterated. Their work, when compared to what is published today, has a quality of being edited, of having things taken out rather than added to. Those rooms were photographed on their best behavior, reserved but not standoffish, awaiting patiently for the music of voices, for the clink of ice, the scents of flowers and warm pulse points, and time's passing.


Quotations from Remembering Rory, Anne Cox Chambers, and A Lion in the Bedroom by Patricia Cavendish O'Neill. Photographs from A Lion in the Bedroom.

23 comments:

  1. I very much like your thought on editing. It occurred to me that the major players involved were doing their thing at a time when Zen Buddhism was being discovered in the West- that is- the late 50's and early 60's. Could there be a correlation between the two? Buddhism sees things differently, of course, where objects are seen in relationship to one another in terms of the space between them, that same space being a connecting element.

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    1. Daniel James Shigo, thank you and my apologies for a late reply. If you read the subsequent post you'll see I've been out of the country for a week and had little time to answer you.

      I'm not sure if there is a connection with Zen in the editing but your suggestion is an interesting idea – one I might follow up with later.

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  2. Blue, I am a relatively new reader here and have spent a lot of time going back into your archives in an attempt to catch up with your blog. I want to say, first and foremost, you are a splendid writer and I envy your adroit way with words. The one subject that seems to be a reoccurring theme is Rory Cameron. What is it about this man that so fascinates you? Yes, he had impeccable taste and traveled extraordinary circles. Your interest has turned into an obsession of sorts. Can you explain. Is there something about him that reminds you of your own life and times? While I have obviously not read every word written about him, it would be beneficial to know how he supported his lavish lifestyle since he was not a designer/decorator by profession.

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    1. Anonymous, thank you. I'm sorry for my late reply but I was out of the country for a week and am just getting back into the swing of being at home again. Funny thing, jet lag.

      I did not set out to write about Cameron so much – I was ticked off by what I saw as a negative comment made about him by a man called Taki who writes a column somewhere or other and it all grew from there. The more I looked into that generation he was frequently in the background.

      An obsession? I don't see it that way though I will admit I found him fascinating. Cameron's life certainly does not reflect mine - except in that I, as was he, have been extremely fortunate.

      As to his income: inherited, I assume from his mother who seems to have been a very rich woman.

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  3. I like your phrase "ever increasing distance". But I wonder if it's not just a rather prettier way of saying "nostalgia". The lives you describe did appear to be conducted with much more "style" than that about which we read today. But surely the point is who is doing the telling? The obvious subjects of tittle-tattle by the Tatlers of our day, (the tabloids) mostly make for pretty grim reading, if one ever bothers to, but I do still know people who live stylish lives, some with ineffable decency, and some without. Perhaps there is nothing new under the sun.

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    1. Columnist, thank you. One of the differences between the celebrities of then and now – and its an important one – is that then people however well- or badly-behaved valued and frequently paid for privacy. Nowadays, whatever the level of behaviour its all grist to the mill of celebrity. Style has very little to do with anything anymore – why would it be when salaciousness rules all? Feeling cynical today!

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  4. I know the Windsor-Donahue story has gone around for years, apparently encouraged by Donahue. (Sometimes the story includes both Windsors). But considering the preferences of both parties, I cannot think it was anything beyond that -- just a story. And I think Mr. Cameron was enough of a jokester to perpetuate it, not to mention boosting book sales.

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    1. The Devoted Classicist, thank you. The difference here is that it was Cameron's sister who reported it in her book as behaviour she'd observed at Fiorentina. Personally, I don't care one way or the other for none of the crown is at all sympathetic.

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  5. Greetings Blue,
    I am having some trouble tracking the title "Remembering Rory" by Anne Chambers. Can you offer some bibliographical help? Thank you, David

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    1. David, thank you. Sorry for the late reply but I've been out of the country on vacation but now i'm back and trying to catch up.

      I bought the book form Abe Books after a correspondent sent me a tip that it was available there and it was as far as I know the only copy available. It was privately printed and sent as mementoes to those who'd written for the book – and to others as well, because Cameron's sister referred to it in her book I mention.

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  7. The one thing you do with certainty Blue is wet the appetite for more information. In my reading elsewhere last night about the Windsor/Donahue story, it seems that the Windsors who by all accounts were given large stipends by the royals never seemed to have enough. Donahue seems to have financed much of their lifestyle until an unfortunate episode where Jimmy kicks the Duchess in the shins and causes her to bleed. It might have been the only time the Duke ever manned up by telling Jimmy that he and the Duchess were through with him. Think of the most disgusting figure in popular culture today and you have yet to adequately depict Donahue. I can only imagine the fodder for entertainment media the Windsor/Donahue triangle would make in today's climate.

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    1. Anonymous, thank you. Yes, I can imagine it – the love story .... the love triangle .... the throne he left behind ... and all that garbage.

      One of my thoughts though unexpressed in the post is how even the most scurrilous and grasping characters are, in the blogs, forgiven everything if they have a modicum of style – witness Wallis Windsor and her man.

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    2. You are so correct, Blue. Had the Duchess been 30 lbs heavier and the pair having no affiliation with the royals, the blogosphere would erupt in a tirade the likes of which not even Jersey Housewives have received. What does this say about our vacuous society?

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  8. Cameron was a professional decorator, of course, just with a more discrete profile than that of the publicity hounds of today. The publishing of media mogul Anne Cox Chambers' apartment was a final tribute to his work.

    As far as the Windsors were concerned, they were far from broke, but that did not stop them from sponging off any and everyone they could. But as far as this story goes, it would be as ridiculous as Elton John getting a job from the Duchess of York.

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    1. Really! Thank you. Was Cameron a professional decorator? Everything I've read, unless I've misread, points the other way.

      As to the Windsors: they were rich, complained about never having enough and, as you say, sponged off many in their circle. I wonder if the sponged-off were willing enough for what they perceived to be the status of having the Windsors to stay.

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  9. I wonder if you know where it was that R Cameron had his house in County Donegal? I hope to be in that part of the world later this month and would love to track down the house.
    Thanks and best wishes from Ireland,
    The Irish Aesthete

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    1. Irish Aesthete, thank you. My apologies for a late reply. If you read the subsequent post you'll see I've been out of the country for a week and had little time to answer you.

      Unfortunately, I don't know which part of County Donegal but I wonder if it was near to the house of the painter Derek Hill.

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    1. Kristen Linnea Backe, thank you and you're welcome.

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  11. I never thought the Duchess of Windsor was attractive although she was slender. I did see a photo of her taken in the 60's with a different hairstyle I was amazed at how much better she looked . I went to the New York Social Diary site today and in the section titled Palm Beach Social History there are several pictures or Rory Cameron I had not seen before. There is also mention of the selling price of the villa at 2 million .

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    1. ted, thank you. The Duchess was never a good-looking woman but she certainly did dress well. I remember as a child, they were both all over the press and tv but I never understood the fascination anyone ever had with either.

      Thank you for telling me about the NYSD article as I might have missed it as usually I only look on Fridays at the House section.

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  12. Yes, I take your point. I didn't really think of the "stars" of the past as falling into that awful category of "sleb". The people I am talking about that I know today are certainly not "slebs", and they cherish privacy above everything. I've often thought that privacy is the most desirable thing one can have; that and a scarcity of people around you, which is even achievable in a populuous city, and living in a condo. But here I rarely see anybody - we almost 99% of the time have the pool or gym to ourselves - and the staff are pretty adept at being invisible, unless required, or providing security, all in a very obsequious way, which one gets used to, I'm afraid; but that bit is cultural.

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