Sunday, May 29, we got our act together this morning and were ready to head into Nashville before 11:30 to visit Cheekwood Botanical Garden & Museum of Art south of Loop 440 on Hwy 70. There wasn't much traffic on the Memorial Holiday weekend.
Christopher T. Cheek moved to Nashville in the 1880's and founded a wholesale grocery business. His son, Leslie Cheek joined him as a partner. In 1896, Leslie Cheek married Mabel Wood of Clarksville, Tennessee. Their son, Leslie, Jr. was born in 1908 and their daughter, Huldah, in 1915. By that year, Leslie Cheek was president of the family firm.
With their income secured by the proceeds from the sale, the Cheek's bought 100 acres of what was then woodland in West Nashville for a country estate. To design and build the house and grounds, they hired New York residential and landscape architect, Bryant Fleming, and gave him control over every detail - from landscaping to interior furnishings. The result was a limestone mansion and extensive formal gardens inspired by the grand English houses of the 18th century. Fleming's masterpiece, Cheekwood, was completed in 1932.
The development of the property was spearheaded by the Exchange Club of Nashville, the Horticultural Society of Middle Tennessee and many other civic groups. The Nashville Museum of Art donated its permanent collections and proceeds from the sale of its building to the effort. The new Cheekwood opened to the public in 1960. Named to the National Register of Historic Places, the mansion and the original boxwood gardens are an amazing work of architecture and design and the ideal setting for the gardens and art museum.
Hostas, astilbes, European ginger, ferns, hydrangeas and hellebores are planted at ground level. My favorite trees, Weeping Chinese Dogwoods, (Cornus kousa, var. chinensis) were blooming a magnificent white in almost geometric shapes.
American fashion designer Halston, whose clients included Jackie Kennedy, and whose minimalist style changed the fashion industry, is showcased in an original exhibition May 14 - August 21, 2005 at Nashville’s Cheekwood Museum of Art.
Halston Fits America: Fashion and Innovation from the Collection of Lipscomb University, is organized by the Cheekwood Museum of Art and Lipscomb University in Nashville. The exhibition, sponsored by Lexus of Nashville, highlights Halston’s extraordinary influence on fashion over the last forty years. On display are garments, including dozens of gowns and eveningwear ensembles, and original sketches, patterns, and photographs.
Born Roy Frowick Halston in 1932, the designer who became known simply as Halston entered the fashion scene as a hat designer in the early 1960s. His first hat was featured on the cover of Harpers Bazaar when he was only 28. His most famous hat became the pillbox, worn by Jackie Kennedy at President John F. Kennedy’s inaugural in 1962. From hats, Halston expanded to a full fashion line in 1968 and, within seven years, became one of the top designers in the world.
“Cheekwood is pleased to collaborate with Lipscomb University to showcase this extraordinary collection,” said Jack Becker, interim president of Cheekwood. Becker described the collection as a “Nashville treasure” since it is now permanently housed at Lipscomb University’s fashion design department. Acquired upon the recommendation of the president and CEO of Borghese cosmetics company, Georgette Mosbacher, who has family ties to Nashville, the extraordinary repertoire has never before been on public exhibition.
Halston’s minimalist aesthetic is credited with influencing designers who worked in the late 1980s and 90s. Many of today’s popular designers like Gucci’s Tom Ford and Donna Karan still credit Halston as a major influence.
Halston Fits America portrays a designer known world-wide as a pioneer of the fashion business. Halston was the first to use print models in runway shows – precursor to the “supermodel.” He elevated American sportswear to a new level, reinvented the twin set sweater set, made ultra suede a staple in the American closet, and helped establish America as a recognizable force in international fashion.
Halston Fits America includes blouses, suits, jackets, skirts, dresses, evening dresses, books filled with sketches, press clippings, drawers with orders, patterns, videos, collection presentations, TV spots, and interviews with Halston at the time.
“I have a theory that less becomes more in fashion as well as everything else,” said Halston. “One thing I’ve tried to do is sort of relax the mood of fashion for Americans, so Americans could believe in American style. What we did was to make it understandable, stylish, comfortable, relaxed and good-looking for a lot of people.” The Halston look was based on minimal and conceptual art principles: cashmere sweaters, shirtwaist dresses, simple elegant pants, rather than "fancy dress." Even his evening wear was glamorous and sexy in its very simplicity. His color palette was ivory, black, and red, with strong accents for emphasis such as fuschia, electric blue, and deep burgundy. Halston's best known garment was the Ultrasuede shirtwaist dress that he introduced in 1972. It was one of the most popular dresses in America in the 1970s. Its success stemmed from its plainness, the designer’s color choices, and the convenience of being machine washable. I actually had a shirtwaist dress in high school that resembled one in the exhibition. Mine was knockoff of course! Halston’s minimalist, yet dramatic designs reflected the modern lifestyle of women coming of age after the sexual revolution of the 1960s. He was intimately linked to the fine arts and entertainment industries; his eveningwear having been inspired by the flashy, disco nightlife associated with New York’s Studio 54 and stars such as Mick Jagger and Andy Warhol, who gathered there. Halston’s philosophy that “You’re only as good as the people you dress” foreshadowed today’s alliances between designers and the stars they dress. Halston, who also designed for Hollywood celebrities like Liz Taylor Lucille Ball, Lauren Bacall, and Liza Minelli, created clothes that reflected the mix of practicality and glamour dominating the seventies. As fascinating as the people he dressed, the designer was often spotted in his hallmark black turtleneck holding a drink in one hand and a cigarette in the other. Although Halston was the first American designer to be as much of a celebrity as his clientele, his work ethic and perfectionism were an equally important part of his persona. Halston may have been out almost every night with friends, but the designer was usually home by midnight readying himself for the next workday. Halston sold stock to Norton Simon Inc in 1973, several years before the company’s popularity peaked. In 1982 the company decided to expand Halston’s designs to the general public by creating a line for JC Penny. By the mid-1980s many fashion insiders felt Halston’s artistic merit and business savvy had waned. Based on his 1973 contract Halston no longer had the rights to his name, but, beginning in 1984, the designer fought to get it back, hoping to resuscitate his label. Due to lengthy negotiations and illness Halston was never able to regain his name. He died of AIDS at the age of 57. Halston’s firsts were myriad. He was first to create humorous, sometimes biting, even controversial store windows. He created a window to commemorate the kidnapping of Patty Hearst. He tiled the floor of his show window with Andy Warhol’s “Philosophy of Andy Warhol” books. He was the first to sell his business to a corporation in its entirety. He had famous artists Andy Warhol and Larry Rivers create ads, and was the first American designer to show clothes in China (1979 when China re-opened). Unfortunately they didn't allow us to take pictures. There were some classics I would have loved to put in my journal. Oh well...
Outside of the Cheekwood mansion we walked around the Water Garden. The Cheeks actually used the upper pond as their swimming pool. Now a family of geese was using it for the same thing!
This maze is a three dimensional collage. It is built of recycled billboards and is a 45-foot square. Once inside you must wander a distance of 400 linear feet to reach the center of the work--a sixteen-foot tower. The walls start out at three feet high and continue rising in height so that you lose visual contact with Cheekwood's lush landscape. I got a kick out of feeling the glossy vinyl walls of the recycled advertising billboards. They look like paper from the highways but are actually like oilcloth used for tablecloths.Our final stop was an added bonus. Botanical Hall was hosting the annual Rose Show. We were overwhelmed by hundreds of roses in dozens of judging categories (Singe stem, Three buds, Sprays, Linear, Water Bowls, and Artist Palettes), varieties (Hybride Tea/Grandiflora, Miniatures, Climbers, Old Garden Roses, Single Roses, Polyanthas, Floribundas) and colors (White, near white, white blend, light yellow, medium yellow, deep yellow, yellow blend, apricot blend, orange, orange red, light pink, medium pink, deep pink, pink blend, medium red, dark red, red blend, mauve, mauve blend and russet).
Bob liked a large single blended bloom, named French Perfume, that won in the "Most Frangrant Rose" category. I liked a three-stem spray of medium reds that looked like the petals were velvet. Once again I took dozens of pictures. There was also a 'special features' section that included table setting arrangements. One of the winners was a place setting of my Noritake China with a multi-colored floral arrangement. I hope my niece, Megan, sees this journal page. She is baby-sitting my china while we're roaming around like gypsies.
We took a quick trip through the gift shop where I got two free postcards as a result of our gift shop 20% discount we earned with our admission price. We had food on the brain so we left around 3:30. We drove past the Percy Priest Municipal Park and Golf Course as we left. Belle Meade Blvd also roamed past the local country club and some million plus dollar homes. We continued north of on West End Ave. back to the Centennial Park area we had explored over a week ago. We knew there were restaurants in that area. Down by Vanderbilt Univerity we found Amerigo Italian Restaurant.
This is a white-tablecloth establishment with an extensive menu. Our waiter described the special of the day as Chilean Sea Bass or Salmon baked on a cedar plank. Bob chose the former and I opted for the latter. We were surprised when two foot long charred and blackened cedar shingles arrived at our table. Not only were the seafood selections on the plank, but also the seared mixed vegetables and the mashed potatoes with leeks. All of it had a cedar smoked flavor and was piping hot. We were both pleased with our selections. We got Key Lime Pie with Amaretto Whipped Cream to go. Our server gave us a huge entree-sized 'to go box' and said "Here's your big boy; I cut you an extra large piece." Bob opened the box and it was one quarter of a pie!
The Beast was running on fumes so we stopped for gas at our exit for the campground. The Mapco was out of Sunday papers so I walked to the Shell Station down the road while Bob filled up. They had a Tennessean so we were okay for 'Big Paper Day." We were home in a flash. Oddly enough some people had left and others filled up their slots while we were gone. An older guy behind us was strumming a banjo by the side of his 5th wheel. I immersed myself in the paper while Bob got a burst of energy and vacuumed out the truck and washed the interior and windows.
Around 8 o'clock we just had to try that Key Lime Pie. It did not disappoint. I spent the rest of the evening updating my journal.
It's 10:12 p.m. and 65.7 degrees.