National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior

Resource History and Description of Existing Conditions
ability to integrate a great variety of materials and media in his interiors, most of which
contained antique architectural elements, furniture, and decorations. He was also the
consummate collector; he shopped compulsively and stored all kinds of objects in his office, his
studio, with friends, and many other places eventually including a large warehouse. 492 Aline
Saarinen best described his passion for beautiful things:
Stanford White was obsessed with visual beauty. On his trips abroad he bought
compulsively, extravagantly, in enormous quantities anything and everything that appealed
to him. He bought not as an antiquarian, for he cared nothing about authenticity, but as an
artist seeing an effect. 493
The issue of authenticity was irrelevant not only to White, but also to Frederick
Vanderbilt. The essential quality was aesthetic and the major concern was the look of the
objects and the effect that they created when assembled. The pieces at Hyde Park are a mixture
of true antiques, furniture assembled from old parts, and reproductions. The incorporation of
antique-looking objects gave the mansion an air of Old World gentility. This look combined
with the historic character of the setting and the old-money nature of the neighbors all imitated
the historic qualities of landed estates owned by the English nobility.
Another important aspect of the decoration of the Vanderbilt Mansion appears in the
different sub-contractors who were selected to execute McKim's designs showing another facet
of the period eclecticism: Herter Brothers and A.H. Davenport. 494 Both firms were well-known
for their work, including furniture and interiors of their own design. Herter Brothers had been
responsible for the design and decoration of Frederick's father's houses at 459 and 640 Fifth
Avenue. In addition, Mr. and Mrs. Vanderbilt hired two other contemporary designers:
Georges Glaenzer and Ogden Codman to decorate several rooms, both public and private. The
distinction that Glaenzer and Codman were commissioned directly by the Vanderbilts is an
important one, as it sets the designs apart from the style, as well as the control, of the architect,
Charles McKim. It is worth noting that the Lobby and Den, both decorated by Glaenzer were
not included in McKim's September 1897 memorandum. The Reception Room also by
Glaenzer is mentioned as follows: "Look up old room in Paris. Style Louis XVI, and, if you find
anything worth while, cable, but do not use any part of the money for this room." 495 As there is
no record of White finding anything appropriate, Glaenzer decorated this room, too. In all,
Georges Glaenzer designed the Lobby, the Den, the Reception Room, Frederick's Bedroom,
and submitted designs for the Mauve Room and possibly other guest rooms on the second floor.
Ogden Codman designed Mrs. Vanderbilt's Bedroom and Boudoir and submitted designs for
her Bathroom. The majority of the lighting fixtures were either antique pieces purchased by
Stanford White in Europe or antique style ones made by E.F. Caldwell & Co. of New York. The
sconces in the Elliptical Hall, the Dining Room, the Living Room, the Reception Room, the Stair
Hall, the Second Floor Hall, Mr. Vanderbilt's Bedroom, and Mrs. Vanderbilt's Bedroom can all
be documented in the photographic archives of E.F. Caldwell & Co. 496 The fixtures were most
492 Paul Baker, Stanny, 234-238.
493 Aline Saarinen Papers, Archives of American Art, Roll 2073, Frame 207.
494 The tradition of using many different decorators is seen as early as the 1870s in the
Lockwood-Mathews Mansion in Norwalk, CT. Another prominent example is the Seventh
Regiment Armory in New York City, dating from the early 1880s.
495 Letter, MMW to FWV September 17, 1897, SW Papers, Box 19:2.
496 E.F. Caldwell & Co., Photograph Archive, Cooper-Hewitt Library. Wall Brackets, volume 3, contains
photos of the sconces in those rooms with their model numbers. See the individual rooms for these
references.
100