Franco Scalamandré
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Franco Scalamandré | |
---|---|
Born | |
Died | March 4, 1988 | (aged 89)
Alma mater | Royal Polytechnic School of Naples |
Known for | Textile design and co-founder of Scalamandré Silks (later Scalamandré Inc.) |
Spouse |
Flora Baranzelli
(m. 1929; died 1987) |
Awards |
|
Franco Scalamandré (April 15, 1898, Naples, Italy – March 4, 1988, Plandome Manor, New York) was a co-founder of Scalamandré Inc., a US manufacturer of traditional textiles, decorative textile trims, wall covering, and carpeting.
He was the son of Giuseppe Scalamandré and Maria Teresa Ambrosina Scalamandré. His father was a broker of silk, and a textile importer in Calabria.
Education, immigration and founding Scalamandré Silks
1923 Scalamandré completed a doctorate in engineering from the Royal Polytechnic School of Naples, and in 1924 immigrated to the United States. In 1925 he worked as a draftsman for the Westinghouse Electric Company in Newark, New Jersey. In 1926 he began teaching drawing at the E. A. Seeley School of Decoration in Paterson, New Jersey. In 1929 Scalamandré married Flora Baranzelli a designer and painter. The same year they formed Scalamandré Silks.[1] Founding of the company coincided with a growing movement in the United States of restoring historic houses and furnishings. Scalamandré began recreating historic fabrics based on the collections of historic homes and museums.
Scalamandré Museum of Textiles
In 1936 Scalamandré opened the Scalamandré Museum of Textiles, located in the company's Manhattan showroom. The museum displayed the company's collection of historic European and American textiles. The museum continued in operation, with a mission of showing historic textile documents to the public, often alongside the company's careful reproductions, until the late 1960s.[1]
Recreating historic textiles
Scalamandré and his company reproduced historic textile documents for prestigious homes and museums including the White House, the United States Capitol, many state houses, governors' mansions, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Hearst Castle in San Simeon, California. A 1989 exhibition at the Paley Design Center of the Philadelphia College of Textiles and Science titled "Scalamandre: Preserving America's Textile Heritage, 1929-1989" credited Franco Scalamandré and his firm with having recreated over 600 historic textile reproductions.[2]
Work at the White House
Scalamandré was commissioned to produce silk fabric for the
Subsequent refurbishments of the White House during the Nixon,[5] Carter, Reagan, Clinton, and both Bush administrations used stock and custom woven textiles from Scalamandré workshops. And the firm has provided silk lampas and silk and wool velvets to restoration projects in the United States Capitol.
Civic and design recognition
Scalamandré received several design awards including the Gordon Gray Award for Achievement in Preservation from the
References
- ^ a b c d Slesin, Suzanne (March 4, 1988). "Franco Scalamandre, 89, Leader In Making of Decorative Textiles". The New York Times. p. B9. Retrieved 2008-06-26.
- ^ "The Warp and Weft of History, on Display". The New York Times. September 28, 1989. p. C6. Retrieved 2008-06-26.
- ISBN 978-1476662046.
- ISBN 978-1423634959.
- ISBN 978-1476662046.
Further reading
- Abbott, James A. (1995). A Frenchman in Camelot: The Decoration of the Kennedy White House by Stéphane Boudin. Boscobel Restoration Inc. ISBN 0-9646659-0-5.
- Coleman, Brian; Mayers, Dan (2004). Scalamandre: Luxurious Home Interiors. Gibbs Smith. ISBN 978-1-58685-408-9.