Abstract

Henry Francis du Pont's Chinese Parlor at the Winterthur Museum is perhaps the most well known Chinoiserie room of the 1930s by virtue of its preservation, accessibility to the public, and immense scale. Du Pont's room may have been one of the grandest examples of a Chinese style room, but it certainly was not the first; he installed it approximately twenty years after the first documented twentieth-century Chinoiserie room appeared in the United States. Chinoiserie wall decoration constituted a significant trend in high-style interiors during the early twentieth century. Prescriptive literature devoted to interior decoration from the period, as well as specific examples of Chinoiserie inspired rooms in private homes and theater design, reveal that Chinoiserie wall decoration created an exotic fantasy environment for westerners. Chapter 1 traces the historiography related to this field. Chapter 2 considers the relevant histories (geo political, social and design) leading up to the fashion for Chinoiserie in the early twentieth century. Only by considering what came before it—from an interdisciplinary perspective—can we determine why it gained prominence when it did. Chapter 3 explores the installation, characteristics, and specific usage of Chinoiserie wallpaper during the period. Chapter 4 introduces the importance of Chinoiserie as a vessel of Eastern fantasy, albeit beholden to Western perceptions and stereotypes. Finally, Chapter 5 presents case studies of specific Chinoiserie rooms belonging to Condé Nast, J. A. Lloyd Hyde, Henry Davis Sleeper, and finally, H. F. du Pont. Not only do these rooms share design sensibilities and styles, they also exemplify Chinoiserie's potential for constructed fantasy and escapism in the most rarified environments.