Friday, February 4, 2011

San Simeon: Hearst's library

Located off the bedroom's sitting room in the Gothic suite is the private library. Here, Hearst kept his impressive personal book collection as well as conduct business meetings as his office was next door; the man and his work were never seperated!
The focal point here is again the ceiling. Polychrome wood ribbed arches are seperated by Moroccan lanterns which are barely needed during the day with all of the light from the gothic transom windows. I think I could work here, don't you?
As with all of my San Simeon posts, written permission was kindly granted to post my interior photos of the estate on this blog only. Please respect that and do not copy. Thanks!
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14 comments:

  1. quintessenceFebruary 4, 2011 at 8:13 AM

    I think this is my favorite room from the estate you've posted yet! Love the incredible Gothic arched ceiling and Moroccan lanterns - so exotic yet classic at the same time. I would be very happy to work here!!

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  2. UnknownFebruary 4, 2011 at 10:21 AM

    What a beautiful room! I absolutely love the ceiling! It's like from a fairy tale!
    Great inspiration and so now!
    Happy weekend, Stefan!
    xx Victoria

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  3. Mark D. RuffnerFebruary 4, 2011 at 11:17 AM

    I'd have to choose this as my favorite room! Do you remember if the portrait at the far end of the room is of Hearst? (He strikes me as someone who might enjoy looking at his own portrait.)

    Have a great trip!

    Mark

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  4. ArchitectDesign™February 4, 2011 at 11:51 AM

    quintessence -what does it for me is all of the amazing light.

    Victoria -it IS like something from a fairytale! Hearst seemed to have that sense of imagination though -have you seen pictures of his other California estate which is still privately owned by his family - Wyntoon? it's INCREDIBLE! How I would love to tour THAT house.

    Mark - indeed, the portrait is of Hearst as a young man, done by a friend. Despite the grand estate(s), Hearst was a humble man and did not have numerous portraits of him around - surprised me!

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  5. The SwanFebruary 4, 2011 at 2:23 PM

    The beautiful ceiling in the Gothic Library was painted by Camille Solon, a set painter from MGM, who also did the exterior murals on the Bear House and other "Cottages" at Wyntoon which is built on the bank of the McCloud river near Mt. Shasta...very Bavarian/Black Forest. Still in the family's possession as is the Ranch at San Simeon and all the surrounding land as far as the eye can see. They recently donated the ALL the land on the oceanside to be NEVER built upon in perpetuity to the State of California.

    Orrin Peck, the great California plein air painter and childhood friend of Hearst, painted that portrait before WR's departure to NY where the rest is history.

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  6. ArchitectDesign™February 4, 2011 at 2:25 PM

    Swan -thanks for filling in the details! I wondered if it was the same artist as Wyntoon as the style is so similar. How fantastic!

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  7. The SwanFebruary 4, 2011 at 2:26 PM

    Oh and Willie Pogany was another who painted at Wyntoon...

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  8. AnonymousFebruary 4, 2011 at 5:09 PM

    That is indeed a well done room , but way to spooky to feel comfortable living in unless i' m a brave little magician student

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  9. ArchitectDesign™February 4, 2011 at 5:13 PM

    Anon, it is a bit like Hogwarts, isn't it? But then -the entire castle is! Fun for a weekend getaway, as it was intended, but not sure I would want to live there fulltime, especially in such a remote location.

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  10. The SwanFebruary 4, 2011 at 7:26 PM

    I forgot about Willy Pogany...he also worked up at Wyntoon.

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  11. UnknownFebruary 5, 2011 at 1:15 AM

    Hmmm... I wonder what members of the Bauhaus would think of it. Modern Sophisticate

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  12. The enchanted homeFebruary 5, 2011 at 5:51 AM

    An incredible room for sure, is it an optical illusion or is the doorway entering the room unusually short or does it just look dwarfed by the scale of the room and height of the ceiling? Fabulous in any case.
    Glad I found your blog....please visit me, my new blog is about the building of our new home and my love for home design/decor. Hope you will "stop by".
    Have a wonderful weekend!

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  13. Robert WebberFebruary 5, 2011 at 6:32 AM

    What a cosy room - so warm feeling and with lovely internal and external lighting. I am a garden designer and so light is important for my eyes!
    Tremendous sense of Hearst the person now coming through!
    Thanks and Best wishes
    Robert

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  14. Lynne RutterFebruary 6, 2011 at 2:54 PM

    fabulous room. thanks so much for sharing these amazing photos from your visit there.I have really enjoyed this series of posts. Swan- thanks for the info on the artists; it's nice to know a name when so many grand interiors are painted anonymously.

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