House on Long Island Locust Valley, New York Home of Mr. And Mrs. Renzo Olivieri
The Living Room
Excerpted from “100 Most Beautiful Rooms in America” (1958 and 1965) By Helen Comstock p. 208
Photographs: Wendy Hilty
Thoroughly modern in feeling is the manner in which a large scale eighteenthcentury Bolognese painting of classic architecture is used as a wall decoration in this living room. The arts of eighteenth-century Italy predominate here, but French and modern pieces are used also. The manner of arrangement only seems casual; actually the relationship of each piece to the rest has been carefully considered so that from every angle the room shows good design. The Italian eighteenth-century sofa and armchairs, painted blue and gold, are upholstered in white linen, while the cushions on the sofa are covered in Florentine silk with a floral pattern after Botticelli. On either side are Neapolitan eighteenth-century console tables in silver, gray, and white. The old gilt tôle sconces above them are designed as tall urns of flowers and have candle arms in foral form. The walls of the room are pearl gray, and a gray Fortuny fabric covers the Louis XV chair which is drawn up at a low circular marble-topped table, as seen in the view on the opposite page. The large sofa, which stands in front of a handsome pair of torchères in the form of blackamoors, is covered in green damask. An Aubusson carpet has a pastel blue and rose flower design on a pale gold ground.
Helen Comstock (1893-1970), author and expert on Early American furniture, authored numerous articles on antiques, prints, and paintings. She served as a contributing editor to Antiques Magazine and was the American editor of Connoisseur magazine for 30 years, starting in 1931.
Oscar Wendellin Hilty (1913-1978), photographer, was born in Liechtenstein and trained as an architect in Zurich. He worked as an instructor at the Engelberg Ski School in Switzerland. In the 1950s, his photography was featured on numerous record albums for the RCA Living Stereo series and in advertisements and magazine covers, primarily based in Manhattan. In 1958, Hilty moved to St. Croix in the Virgin Islands, where he became a successful real estate developer.
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