Robert Denning
| Robert Denning | |
|---|---|
Robert Denning, c. 2002
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| Born |
Robert Dennis Besser March 13, 1927 New York, New York |
| Died | August 26, 2005 (aged 78) New York, New York |
| Cause of death | Heart attack |
| Occupation | Interior design |
| Parent(s) |
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Robert Denning (March 13, 1927 – August 26, 2005) was an American interior designer whose lush interpretations of French Victorian decor became an emblem of corporate raider tastes in the 1980s.
Denning was born Robert Dennis Besser in New York City, New York, to Jean (née Rosen) and Jacob Besser. Denning, as he was often called, developed an early interest in his body and health, a characteristic instilled in him by his mother. He was just fifteen when he met Edgar de Evia who was the research assistant to Dr. Guy Beckley Stearns and would go on to become a noted photographer. He became a testing subject for this Homeopathic medical research and when his parents and younger brother moved to Florida, he stayed in New York City living with de Evia and his mother Miirrha Alhambra. He would often say that he saw his first lampshade in this home, as he grew up with a bare bulb being adequate. His first effort with decorating was perhaps in imitation of Syrie Maugham when Edgar and he, painted everything in Miirrha's room white and put her bed on a dais. Her only response was: "Did you have to paint even my Baccarat perfume bottles?" He never used white again.
From 1960 the firm of Denning & Fourcade would become known for colorful extravagance and over the top opulence. Clients beginning with Michel David-Weill; the Ogden Phipps family, for whom they did fifteen houses;Henry Kravis, whose home, and their decorating, was parodied in the 1990 movie "The Bonfire of the Vanities" with Tom Hanks; Charles and Jayne Wrightsman;Henry Kissinger;Diana Ross;Oscar de la Renta both in Manhattan and Connecticut; Beatriz and Antenor Patiño, the Bolivian tin magnate and Jean Vanderbilt, to name only a few, began to roll in. Soon they were established and known for creating an established and 'old money' atmosphere anywhere. For thirty years they were courted on both sides of the Atlantic. Denning kept the fragrance Sous Le Vent in his automobiles to remind him of Lillian Bostwick Phipps who always wore the scent. Longtime clients such as Spencer Hays, the Richard Merillats for whom he has designed homes in Naples, Florida and Michigan, the Countess Rattazzi, for whom he did homes in Manhattan, South America and Italy (15 houses in all) looked forward to shopping sprees with him be it in the wholesale import markets in New York City or the Paris flea market. Denning's five story townhouse for Phyllis Cerf Wagner is described as: "... cozy and grand at the same time, but not elaborately fussy."
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Wikipedia