We went to Manhattan for our son’s engagement party recently. The party was just beautiful. The whole evening was a wonderful melding of family and friends, but the surprise of the trip and essential for a lover of the arts was staying at New York’s famed Hotel Chelsea. Born during the Gilded Age and once the tallest building in New York, the twelve-story landmark has long been a magnet for artists, writers, musicians of all stripes. A few of the figures who occupied one of the most alluring, and storied residents at one time or another are Jackson Pollock, Robert Mapplethorpe, Patti Smith, Dylan Thomas, Arthur Miller, Bob Dylan, Arthur C. Clarke, Andy Warhol, William S. Burroughs, Janis Joplin, Eugene O’Neill, Rufus Wainwright, Betsey Johnson, R. Crumb, Thomas Wolfe, and Jasper John. If you are interested, it became the star in a recent documentary about its history entitled, Dreaming Walls: Inside the Chelsea Hotel. It had closed its doors to the public for 11 years and reopened in March of 2022, so 6 months prior to our visit. It had been a soft opening and most don’t know the hotel is available to the general public. Interestingly there are still around 50-60 people who call the hotel their personal home and who did not die or move out during the long, long grueling renovation process. Stanley Bard, who was the 50 year manager and part owner of New York’s notorious Hotel Chelsea, acquired many works of art during his tenure. Bard died in 2017 at the age of 82, and one hundred works of art, acquired personally by him went under the hammer at Freeman’s Auctions in Philadelphia. More than any other individual he can be credited with curating the residents whose diversity defined the legendary institution in the second half of the 20th century. Stanley fostered a unique attitude of respect, tolerance and a willingness to accommodate all guests, regardless of their unconventional lives, and believe me there are stories that will make your toes curl! As the gatekeeper of this creative enclave, his mission was to appreciate the need for professional and personal privacy and it is this incredible foresight and determination to create a safe haven for all types of creative genius that made him legendary and adored. The Featured Lots in the May 16 2017 Auction entitled The Stanley Bard Collection: A Life at the Chelsea included: Tom Wesselmann (American 1931-2004) “Face #1.” Estimate $600,000-800,000 ,Tom Wesselmann (American 1931-2004) “Study for Blue Nude #14.” Estimate $50,000-80,000 , Larry Rivers (American 1923-2002) “Art and the Artist: Portrait and Painting of Arshile Gorky.” Estimate $20,000-30,000 , Barry Flanagan (Welsh 1941-2009) “Jackass and Elephant.” Estimate $150,000-250,000 Philip Taaffe (American b. 1955) Untitled. Estimate $20,000-30,000 , Christo (Bulgarian b. 1935) “The Mastaba of Abu Dhabi (Project for UAE).” Estimate $12,000-18,000. I haven’t follow up to see what actually happened at that auction but I was interested in some of the pieces left on the walls while I was there, or where they curated by someone recently? Previously artists would simply place their works on the wall and the collection would rotate! Can you imagine?! The hotel has finally landed in the hands of Hoteliers Ira Drukier, Richard Born and Sean MacPherson of BD Hotels. It is decorated with such deep style that only the legendary Sean MacPherson knows how to create. Among the paintings (not quite as arresting as Tom Wesslemann was inspired to create), We also found velvety Art Deco carpets, lusciously chubby mohair sofas, inviting breakfast seating with the perfect coffee, yogurt and granola. The sheets were crisp and monogrammed. Heck, even the door handles and inlaid wood floors had monograms. From a visual arts perspective Hotel Chelsea was a feast for the eyes. From a hotel owner’s perspective it was a long and winding road. From an art history buff’s perspective, you could almost hear and see ghosts, of decades past, pirouetting down the corridors. The hotel is a tribute to the spirit of so many who live(d) on the fringe. It is a singular tribute to a great salon that will not let art go unnoticed, but like Thomas Wolfe said in the book he wrote here, You can’t go home again.
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