Inside Texas: Culture, Identity and Houses, 1878–1920

9. Aesthetic, Mission, and Colonial Revival: Style

_______9It_______ Aesthetic, Mission, and Colonial Revival STYLE \A\\ ANY Texans sought decorating models bel \\{j\\" yond those that evolved from their occupation , ethnicity, or region. The desire for a recognizable style became a major criterion for house decoration, and acceptance of various styles linked Texas homes and interiors to national decorating trends. Many householders tried to achieve a stylistic "purity" in their home interiors and whatever style they chose - aesthetic, mission, or colonial revival - was embraced wholeheartedly. The images here are in chronological order according to the date of the photograph rather than the date of the structure. They provide a view of some of the major styles popular several decades before and after the turn of the century. Some of the photographs were taken when the domestic settings were newly in place; others were not. In 1885 Francis and Julia Holbrook had their parlor photographed (figs. 9.1,9.2). Their adobe dwelling was built near the intersection of Third and Santa Fe streets in downtown El Paso. Scenes of the neighborhood in 1885 show dirt streets and burros. Within the walls of their home, the newlyweds from New York, who had moved to El Paso so the groom could accept a position as a mining and construction engineer, styled an oasis of fashionable taste. 1 Soon after the Holbrooks arrived, they had photographs taken of their up-to-date interiors. The objects shown in the vertically oriented view seem an odd melange photographed at an unusual angle. In the absence of a hearth, the wide windowsill functions as the family altar; with the table , it provides a display surface for wedding gifts. A pair of fashionable matching ewers flank a mantel clock topped with a classical urn-and-anthemion finial. Doilies provide draping; a woven basket introduces a southwestern Indian theme; framed and unframed cabinet cards recall distant family members. Hanging above, the horizontal print is styled after French artist Franc;:ois Boucher, I95 Inside Texas 9.2. Parlor into bedroom, Francis Newberry and Julia Macy Holbrook house, 1885 (Southwest Collection, El Paso Public Library). whose classical cherubs in horizontal rows had only recently become a motif for amateur art, amounting to a kind of Boucher "cult."2 The tabletop grouping reinforces the fashion consciousness of the Holbrooks; accessories clustered on a table with twist-turned legs are a crowded assemblage of materials and forms. Joining the ceramic and glass items is a filled silver-plated card receiver, which indicates the Holbrooks knew and practiced the ritual of calling. The second photograph provides another view of the couple's aesthetic parlor (fig. 9.2) and a glimpse of the adjacent bedroom. One of the elements identifying the public space as "aesthetic" is the powerful pattern of the wallpaper 's stylized floral forms. The art groupings, above and around the doorway and at the easel, continue the style. At the threshold a pair of Boucher-style prints and a print of classical figures demonstrate the current interest in classical civilizations. The print within the asymmetrically carved and painted frame at the right embodies aestheticism . The asymmetry continues in the draping of the easel , which features a Japanese-inspired print. Below it are several examples of southwestern Indian basketry; the larger basket is from the Chemehuevi tribe. The parlor also features a colonial revival banister-back chair overlaid with an asymmetrically draped scarf, embellished with unmatched bands, typical of the aesthetic style. As was fashionable, the Holbrook home accommodated classical, oriental, Native American, and colonial revival themes. At the left in this photograph is another view of the "mantel" window. A horseshoe hangs on the window frame, a familiar sign of good luck for a newly married couple. The table arrangement has been simplified, its composition subordinated to the wall-hung accessories. The card receiver and newly fashionable umbrella stand in the corner suggest that, although the Holbrooks lacked an entry hall to receive guests, they maintained the requisite forms. The Holbrook house does not have many rooms and differentiated spaces. The bedroom is adjacent to the parlor ; the same wallpaper is used in both rooms. Only portieres in a foliage-and-bird pattern separate the spaces. This narrow view of the not-so-private area offers a glimpse of a bed, possibly a daybed, a crazy quilt, a framed picture on the floor waiting to be positioned on the wall, and a dresser in the popular Eastlake...