Isabella Stewart Gardner had a particular way of doing things. Her museum is unlike any other worldwide. Viennian fans and lace are displayed in the walls. A statue of a pineapple is turned upside down in a random corner of her elaborately decorated courtyard. Mexican tile decorates walls next to Greecian sarcophicous placed under a custom made Frank Llyod Wright stained glass window. The whole museumis an ode to her interests and friends and place in society, which makes it a mash of old and contemporary and, refreshingly, very untraditional.Gardner's museum was my favorite place in Boston. Everyone knew where to find me on a Third Thursday. You can imagine my delight when I walked into the Grainger Museum on the other side of the world and discovered a personality whom I instantly recognized.
As one of the few Austalians in the international music world Percy Grainger felt justified in meticulous documenting every fascite of his life and preserving it for the benefit of future Mulbournians. He was, in fact, a celebrated concert pianist and Australia's first world reknowned composer and arranger. Those in the music world will recognize his name associated with American big band arrangements and his celebrated classic Country Gardens. His music was classed as a "simple" due to its upbeat tempo, but admirers will tell you about his underlying complexity and play with polyphonetic tones.
He explored the physical world as much as the musical, finding practical solutions for contemporary 1900 problems. He designed clothing out of easy-to-launder towels and conceptualizing the sports bra almost 10 years before such undergarments existed.
As soon as I learned that Percy's European success was facillatated by John Singer Sargent, I felt sure Grainger and Gardner had made contact. Surely Sargent (a close friend to Gardner) would have insisted these characters, who were definitely cut from the same cloth, meet. I wasn't surprised, then, when a friend who works at the Gardner Museum confirmed that there are several pieces of corrspondence between the two in their collection. When I shared this info with the Grainger curator he was unduly excited. Grainger spent most of his life in the US and had a home in White Plains, NY. Yes, it's cool that they interacted, but it's not astounding that someone in New York knew someone in Boston. The excitement, the curator informed me, stemmed from the prolonged search for a Grainger connection to Boston. I just presented him with the perfect opportunity for collaboration.
As soon as I learned that Percy's European success was facillatated by John Singer Sargent, I felt sure Grainger and Gardner had made contact. Surely Sargent (a close friend to Gardner) would have insisted these characters, who were definitely cut from the same cloth, meet. I wasn't surprised, then, when a friend who works at the Gardner Museum confirmed that there are several pieces of corrspondence between the two in their collection. When I shared this info with the Grainger curator he was unduly excited. Grainger spent most of his life in the US and had a home in White Plains, NY. Yes, it's cool that they interacted, but it's not astounding that someone in New York knew someone in Boston. The excitement, the curator informed me, stemmed from the prolonged search for a Grainger connection to Boston. I just presented him with the perfect opportunity for collaboration.
Go me.
photo courtesy from : http://www.grainger.unimelb.edu.au/collection/
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