Similar to the regime’s current leader, we also receive daily briefings at WLBOTT. But there are some distinct differences: we show up, pay attention, have the ability to read and write, and in general love humanity.
Today’s briefing was on the Robert Graves Wallpaper company, a New Your City business that made and sold wallpaper between 1843 and 1929.
As always, Sister Magdalena‘s presentation was thorough and well researched.
But initially Sister Magdalena‘s 7:00am presentation was under-received.
As we explore this topic and consider our own line of wallpaper (W-WLBOTT), Elder G expressed his doubts:
One suspects WLBOTT would immediately misuse this power.
The Peacock Room
Probably the most famous wallpaper was created by James McNeill Whistler (the Whistler’s Mother guy). The wallpaper is part of The Peacock Room (now at the Freer Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.).
From Elder G:
James McNeill Whistler James McNeill Whistler (1834–1903) was an American-born painter and printmaker who became a central figure in the Aesthetic Movement in 19th-century Britain. Renowned for his tonal harmony and innovative style, Whistler championed the idea of “art for art’s sake,” separating artistic beauty from moral or narrative concerns.
Famous works: Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1 (“Whistler’s Mother”), Nocturne in Black and Gold: The Falling Rocket, The Peacock Room
Interesting Semi-Sequitur
Elder G:
Controversy and the Ruskin trial In 1878, Whistler sued critic John Ruskin for libel after Ruskin derided Nocturne in Black and Gold as “flinging a pot of paint in the public’s face.” Although Whistler technically won, the token damages left him bankrupt. The case became emblematic of debates over modern art’s meaning and value.
More Details: The Peacock Room
Harmony in Blue and Gold: The Peacock Room (better known as The Peacock Room) is a work of interior decorative art created by James McNeill Whistler and Thomas Jeckyll, translocated to the Freer Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., which is part of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art. Whistler painted the paneled room in a unified palette of blue-greens with over-glazing and metallic gold leaf. Painted between 1876 and 1877, it is now considered one of the greatest surviving Aesthetic interiors, and the best examples of the Anglo-Japanese style.
By Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M Sackler Gallery – https://www.flickr.com/photos/freersackler/14063370032/, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=32462467
By Votpuske – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=152683161
Whistler took advantage of his patron’s absence (British shipping magnate Frederick Richards Leyland) to unleash his artistic vision, but it was not met well
Upon returning, Leyland was shocked by the “improvements”. The artist and patron quarrelled so violently over the room and the proper compensation for the work that the relationship with Whistler was terminated. At one point, Whistler gained access to Leyland’s home and painted two fighting peacocks meant to represent the artist and his patron, which he titled Art and Money: or, The Story of the Room.
Whistler is reported to have said to Leyland, “Ah, I have made you famous. My work will live when you are forgotten. Still, per chance, in the dim ages to come you will be remembered as the proprietor of the Peacock Room.”
The dispute between Whistler and Leyland did not end there. In 1879, Whistler was forced to file for bankruptcy, and Leyland was his chief creditor at the time.
When the creditors arrived to inventory the artist’s home for liquidation, they were greeted by The Gold Scab: Eruption in Frilthy Lucre (The Creditor), a large painted caricature of Leyland portrayed as an anthropomorphic demonic peacock playing a piano, sitting upon Whistler’s house, painted in the same colours featured in the Peacock Room.
The Splendid Table has a nice photo essay and radio story about the Peacock Room, with a little spice – Betrayal in blue: the story of the world-famous Peacock Room.
As odd as it sounds, a place where we don’t seem to be eating a lot these days is the dining room. For some people, it’s more of a rec room or storage area, a place where your nicest furniture gathers dust. But at their height, during the Victorian era in Europe and America, dining rooms were the power center of the home; it was one of the only spaces in your house that you allowed people to see.
“The Victorian period was the apogee of the dining room as a domestic space. The dining room comes into its own in the 19th century. Part of the reason has to do with the advent of consumer culture and the rise of the middle class, along with an increasing division between public and private space.” – Lee Glazer
We learned of a Portland, Oregon company, Bolling & Co., that is really into historic wallpaper, especially from the Gilded Age.
We love people who follow their passion. From the founder:
Bo Sullivan grew up in a 200-year-old house in a 300-year old-town that had been forgotten by time. He spent his teen-age years digging up bottles and bits of china, and exploring cobwebbed attics and abandoned garages.
“We found these in the basement of our house,” said the young couple, dropping two boxes of old wallpaper rolls in front of Bo at the architectural salvage desk… “Want to buy them?” Deeply embossed and richly colored, these rolls looked just like actual tooled leather, with burnished metallic highlights and hand-brushed stain finishes that were breath-taking in their beauty. The seed of a wallpaper obsession had been planted.
Wallpapers produced by the Graves company are in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Brooklyn Museum.
Here’s the on-line collection. Enjoy!
Back to WLBOTT
To further enhance stockholder value, we will design a wallpaper that the user need to log into, and pay a monthly subscription, and view personally curated advertisements.
Elder G‘s comment: Elder JZ… this is precisely how civilizations decline.
WALLPAPER AS A SERVICE™ (WaaS™)
Against Sister M.’s objections (but shareholder enthusiasm),WLBOTT has decided to launch Wallpaper as a Service (WaaS™).
The basic tier only includes:
beige,
one fern,
and intermittent peacock access.
To unlock chrysanthemums: $14.99/month.
Sister Magdalena’s Revolt
Sister Magdalena finally snaps after the chapel wallpaper demands two-factor authentication.
She stands before the Elders holding a paste brush like a medieval spear.
Behind her: a wall repeatedly flashes:
“Your free trial of Wallpaper Premium™ has ended.”
She declares:
“A WALL SHOULD NOT REQUIRE A PASSWORD.”
Thunderous silence.
Then Elder JimZim quietly asks: “What about biometric crown molding?” The meeting immediately deteriorates.
Some Setbacks
Occasionally the wallpaper will display the “Blue Screen of Death.”
We also received complaints that users were becoming addicted to “wall time”, spending hours a day wall scrolling.
Sometimes the wall time interferes with major life events.
The WLBOTT Collection
O Lord, grant us a quiet night and a peaceful end.
Outtakes
The following images did not meet our exacting standards, and will not be published below.
