Creating lavish interiors since 1880

The latest darling of decorators, Maison Jansen was synonymous with quality and style for the mid-third of the 20th century, designing interiors fit for a king – and a shah and a president.

Founded in Paris in 1880 by Dutch-born Jean-Henri Jansen, the house originally dealt in antiques but soon began producing meticulously crafted furniture in the Directoire, Empire and Louis XIV styles, flavored with such emerging fashions as Anglo-Japanese, Arts & Crafts and Turkish styles.

Jansen reached the peak of chic by 1930, adding a jigger of Hollywood glamour and a dash of country club reserve to luxurious French-inspired designs. The result was a sparkling cocktail of mirrored veneers, gilt, fine woods and sumptuous fabrics. Picture Fred Astaire, with Martha Stewart on one arm and Marie Antoinette on the other.

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Light years ahead of the Pop Art pack

Over his 70-year lifespan, Peter Max has used his art to create a transcendent world on the other side of reality. From the cosmic imagery that first brought him to national attention in the 1960s to his more abstract “neo-Fauvist” paintings of today, his work is filled with dynamic color and buoyant expectation. More than just feel-good vibes, his art lifts the spirit to a plane above the everyday.

Max’s art is rooted in a variety of influences that began with an unconventional childhood. Born in Berlin in 1937, he traveled shortly thereafter with his parents to pre-Maoist Shanghai, where he spent the first 10 years of his life. In a June interview, the artist recalled, “We lived in a pagoda house, and across the street was a Sikh temple. Living in the Orient put me in touch visually with lots of colors – red and gold everywhere.”

The work-from-home Overbeck girls created art pottery their way

When a country auctioneer sells an item for a surprisingly high price, he may turn to the clerk and say, “I wish we had a dozen more of those.”

Such is the wish of any auctioneer who sells a piece of art pottery created by the Overbeck sisters of Cambridge City, Ind. It is no surprise that Overbeck pottery commands such a high price, since so few important pieces come on the market.

OCTOBER COVER STORY: While not a household name, Betty Woodman is arguably the most original American ceramic artist of our lifetime

I first encountered Betty Woodman’s work at the Denver Art Museum a couple of years ago – a big, gorgeous installation that I now recall (imperfectly, I’m sure) as a room filled with a garden of glazed clay elements, a shower of deep, bright flowery ceramic forms that occupied walls and floor. I raced to the description on the wall. “Wow! Who’s Betty Woodman?” My companion stopped short for a second, “You mean, you’d never …?”

Researching this story, I remember my friend’s response to my ignorance of someone I now understand to be probably the most famous living artist working with ceramics. In fact, Betty Woodman is one of the most significant artists of her generation, period. The list of her exhibitions, collections and honors is a few pages long. It includes a prestigious 70-piece solo retrospective held April 25 to July 30 of last year at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, with an accompanying catalog containing essays by major critics such as Arthur Danto.