Living Room, William Haines, Los Angeles, CA
Artist/Designer:
William (Billy) Haines
Project Location:
California, United States
Figure 1: Billy Haines stands in the living room of the house that he and his partner owned and lived in together for about 30 years. "Haines often used murals in his commissions, and he was proud of this hand-blocked French Empire wallpaper depicting Pizarro conquering Peru."--from Class Act: William Haines, Legendary Hollywood Decorator, page 178.
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Photographer: Class Act: William Haines, Legendary Hollywood Decorator, page 178 )
Figure 2: Nearly all of the furniture in the living room was designed by William (Billy) Haines, including this table, a design that was included in many of the projects executed by William Haines, Inc. The chandelier is an 18th-century candle-lit Waterford.
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Photographer: Class Act: William Haines, Legendary Hollywood Decorator, page 179 )
Figure 3: "The painting over the fireplace in my living room is late seventeenth century. I think it's from Guadalajara. It's not an important painting, but I've always liked it. I was changing my house around years ago, as I do every once in a while, and I decided to sell the picture. I sold it to Warner Bros. for $150. A couple of years ago, I decided I would like to have it back, I had seen it in just about every Bette Davis picture Warner's ever made and got fonder of it each time I saw it. I called Jack Warner and offered him the $150 he had paid me for it. he told me the frame was worth more than that by now, but nostalgia won out and he sold it back to me."--William (Billy) Haines from Class Act: William Haines, Legendary Hollywood Decorator, page 180
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Photographer: Class Act: William Haines, Legendary Hollywood Decorator, page 180 )
Style/Period(s):
Modern
Primary Material(s):
Fabric, Wood, Paint
Function(s):
Residential Structure
Related Website(s):
Significant Date(s):
20th Century, 1940-1949, 1950-1959, 1960-1969
Additional Information:
Schifando, Peter and Mathison, Jean H. Class Act: William Haines, Legendary Hollywood Decorator (New York: Pointed Press, 2005).
Mann, William J. Wisecracker: The Story of Hollywood's First Openly Gay Star (Penguin Books, 1998).
Mann, William J. "William Haines: Creator of a Smart New Look for the Hollywood Scene", Architectural Digest, January 2000.
http://www.williamhaines.com
Building address: 601 Lorna Lane, Los Angeles, CA, in the Brentwood area of L.A.
Dates: William Haines and his partner, Jimmy Shields, purchased the house in 1944 and lived there until their deaths in 1973 and 1974.
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