post Spry

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"One arranges flowers as the spirit moves you; to obey some inner prompting to put this colour with that, to have brilliance here, line there, a sense of opulence in this place or sparseness in that; to suit your surroundings, your mood, the weather, the occasion. In a word, to do as you please, just as, if you could, you might paint a picture."- Constance Spry

I am flying through the Surprising Life of Constance Spry, by Sue Shepard & Yes, I am surprised. A must read, You will be surprised too. and I am not giving anything away.(read my post here) I did run into Beverley Nichols. No surprise-He described the art of flower arranging as 'pre-Spry' and 'post-Spry.' saying of his friend- 'Constance has the supreme gift- which is really the core of all art and all invention- of seeing things for the first time in a new way, and seeing them whole and seeing the isolated from convention.' 

my intention in sharing a few quotes from the book have gone very much astray-but I think much more interesting because of the garden path.  When I asked to use the image of a beautiful painting Debra had in a recent post, she replied of Course. In her original post here on her blog PARIS ORIGINALS and excerpted here- (as I am trying to make this winding path one less turn) Debra writes about the painting:
' I was inspired by the flower paintings by Gluck, the butterflies of Vertes, and the paintings on foil by Jose Marie Sert. This painting is oil over white gold leaf on wood  ( a flower Icon).I finally had it framed this past month, I hung it in honor of Spring's reappearance. The frame is simple white.However; I  wish I had an original "Gluck Frame"!

Hannah Gluck- Gluck to you- painted & in 1932 when she met Constance Spry she began painting flowers. They were beautiful and Spry quickly saw the potential for using them in the homes of her noted clientele.

Debra's Exquisite Painting

100 cm. X 75cm

 Debra wrote in an email:

'There is such profound power and magic in Mrs. Spry's arrangements even through they are transmitted  to us through time via photography. I fell under her spell in the 1980's when I found her book Flower Decoration. She trained my eye in a new way.I was better able to look at photos of vintage interior's, and understand her Impact.'

 Gluck's Cactus Flower from Christie's here

 Debra continued:

'Gluck also fell under her spell. Gluck, never would have put the butterflies in a painting, or have painted on gold leaf. She was the Annie Proulx of painting, precise, eloquent, and almost  austere. She destroyed most of her flower paintings when her friendship with Mrs. Spry ended. Gluck tried in vain to buy the Vernon Picture back. (the Gluck calla lilies were commissioned for Lord Vernon in 1937)

I have studied her paintings for years. I love this period for its coolness.'

 Image courtesy of the Fine Arts Society it is titled

The Vernon Picture.1937,  it is in a private collection.

This book has more in store for me-as I am sure reading these additional things will benefit you-
terrific information about Constance Spry here
read about the GLUCK frame from An Aesthete's Lament here
& here
I hope your comments will keep the path open, and long winding.
I hope you read the book too.
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Surprisingly Spry

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Constance Spry at work

(image from here)

“Dress by Schiaperelli,
photographs by Cecil Beaton,
flowers by Constance Spry –
The decorator of the moment,
the photographer of the moment,
the florist of the moment –
what more could you ask?” Vogue 1937 (of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor's wedding)

Everything you wanted to know about Constance Spry but were afraid to ask (here): A delightful looking read ,256 pages, of Constance by Sue Shephard to be specific:

'Any new book from Sue Shephard, whose meticulous research & quirky writing style enlivens any subject, is a happy event, but this fascinating account of the life of a woman who changed so much for my generation is to be eagerly awaited & devoured.' --Clarissa Dickson-Wright

 It is interesting to note that in 2004 an exhibition of Spry's work at the Design Museum caused Terence Conran to describe Spry's work at 'high-society mimsiness':James Dyson said 'shallow style.''  There were many defenders of the Spry lady- but bested by the poet James Fenton saying 'When you visit one of Conran's shops and find some amusing table decoration-a nice little aquarium full of broad beans or whatever some zany fetching assistant has thought up that day-all that derives from Constance Spry. The starting point of her philosophy was that wild flowers and weeds could be pressed into service, just as much as tuberoses. One could indeed spend a fortune. One could also spend next to nothing. This was the source of her popular appeal. It's fun. It's dashing, perhaps unacceptable. It's part of the uncensored history of design.' (from the Guardian)*
Pity these two could not see it, not to mention surprising.

Flowers of Fennel and Orange Lilies, 

1951

Decorative Kale Leaves,

1937

 Soft Pink Colourings,
1951

all images design museum.org

The book is not available in the states yet, must go to amazon uk to get Spry. go now to pre order.
the Aesthete Cooks with Constance Spry TODAY! here
go to getty images here to see Spry in action with fashions by Victor Stiebel from 1934.

* British Vogue April 2010
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