How the Antique Paper in Condé Nast’s 1920s Ballroom Became a Beloved Decorator Deep Cut

Hannah Martin
·2 min read

Photo: Simon Upton.

Nast’s ballroom, circa 1927.
Nast’s ballroom, circa 1927.
Photo: Courtesy of New-York Historical society.

The 18th-century Chinese wallpaper that decorator Elsie de Wolfe installed in publishing tycoon Condé Nast’s Park Avenue ballroom around 1925 lived a long life before landing in the Big Apple—it was unearthed in the attic of the English mansion Welbeck Abbey and hung at Beau Desert Hall, the Marquesses of Angelesey’s estate in Staffordshire. By the time the scene depicting a dreamy walled garden was mounted in the magazine man’s Manhattan party pad, it served as a backdrop for fashionable functions of all sorts (Nast owned Vogue and several other titles, after all), cementing it in the memories of aesthetes then and now.

A Gracie artisan at work.
A Gracie artisan at work.
Photo: Courtesy of Gracie.

Fast-forward to the 1950s: After Nast’s death, Gracie, the hand-painted and antique wallpaper dealer, purchased that famed surround and, in 2011, sold the remnants to interior designer Michael S. Smith. “I was always obsessed with its distinctive architectural quality,” says the AD100 talent, who installed restored fragments in his New York dining room. “There’s a real magic to it.”

The Art of Gracie (Rizzoli).
The Art of Gracie (Rizzoli).
Photo: Courtesy of Gracie.

For decades, Gracie, a family-run company that celebrates its 126th anniversary this year (they just published The Art of Gracie with Rizzoli), dealt in top-shelf antiques such as this one. At some point when clients started requesting extensions or adaptations to fit the particular rooms, the firm began offering hand-painted coverings based on this and other historic specimens. Such papers have landed in luxurious homes steadily since, oblivious to trends. As fifth-gen creative director Jennifer Gracie reasons, “Beauty never goes out of style.”

Alex Papachristidis installed a version of Condé Nast’s iconic design—enlarged and realized in grisaille—in his 2016 Kips Bay room.

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Alex Papachristidis installed a version of Condé Nast’s iconic design—enlarged and realized in grisaille—in his 2016 Kips Bay room.
Photo: Tria Giovan

In 2016, when interior designer Alex Papachristidis inquired about this Ming Garden pattern for the Kips Bay Decorator Show House, Gracie worked with him on a spin-off—supersized and recolored in grisaille—suited to the grand proportions of the dining room. “It’s actually an incredible bargain,” reasons Papachristidis, acknowledging the hefty price tag. “You don’t need to buy paintings! The wallpaper is the artwork.” graciestudio.com

Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest

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