walter gay (1856-1937)… an american in paris. his interior’s are to me like rooms in a dreamy underwater palace; this in stark contrast to the interiors of today which are reproduced in such crisp and clear fashion, so much so that there is often little atmosphere conveyed of the space, it almost becomes as sterile as a surgeons handbook with nothing left to the imagination. walter gay’s interiors allow for that atmosphere and although confined to a particular style, the value lies in the fact that the viewer brings takes their own version from it. a case in point would be the photographs i have seen of elsie de wolfe’s salon, but i never sensed its warmth until i came across gay’s painting of it.
of course walter gay’s marriage into means allowed the opulence of his left bank parisian apartment and later chateau le bréau to inspire the works, leaving decorators with an astounding contribution of these precious interiors. his desire was to capture the empty decorated spaces and i believe he succeeded. no wonder everyone believes they can decorate, each issue upon the next is another volume in the diy decor guide; in contrast i would actually appreciate seeing more of an inspirational quality in the styling of contemporary interior design publications…
