Sunnylands Center and Gardens to open Sept. 13 with new exhibition
Sunnylands Center and Gardens today announced that its new exhibition, which will explore a maximalist approach to design, is set to go on display next week as the garden opens for a new season.
"Variations to a Theme: William Haines at Sunnylands'' will open Sept. 13, and will celebrate the influential design work of William Haines. His style, known as Hollywood Regency, is a vibrant mix of colors, textures, patterns and finishes that reflect silver-screen glamour and references 19th century English Regency period interior design.
"Haines earns the title `design master' because his work was unique and singular at a time in history when the midcentury esthetic was everywhere and `modern' was the style of the moment,'' design expert Patrick Dragonette said. "Haines realized that without the past there can be no future. To honor the past in many of his designs and yet to make them something new and different was one of his great gifts.''
Haines was an actor in the 1920s and '30s, and his work as popular among his former film industry colleagues due to its infusion of classical elements into a newer design aesthetic, garden officials said. He ultimately compiled a client list including industry bigwigs such as Jack and Ann Warner, Joan Crawford and Carole Lombard.
The exhibition will feature custom-made furniture and interior decor that Haines created for Sunnylands founders Walter and Leonore Annenberg.
"Over the course of three years, 1963-1966, Haines worked hand in hand with the Annenbergs, architect A. Quincy Jones, and the estate's landscape designers to turn 200 acres of open desert into one of the most unique and important homes in the country,'' garden officials said.
Haines furnished, designed and installed over 450 pieces specifically made for the 25,000 square-foot home.
