C1_DAS17.indd

Fig. 6. The summer/fall seasonal change in Cecil Bedroom blended different patterns of crewelwork. Seasonal Changes It was customary in H. F. du Pont’s day to change the look of a room with seasonal curtains and slipcovers. Room changes and reinstallations at Winterthur were also dictated by du Pont’s acquisition of new furniture and fabrics. The importance of color in the Winterthur garden played an essential part in the choice of the seasonal interior color schemes (fig. 6) . Most textiles were marked with sewn-on labels that identified the months the items were to be used, and many carried labels indicating the particular season (1 to 4), with Season 1 being January to March. The Decorator Henry Francis du Pont was elected to honorary membership of the American Institute of Decorators in 1941 for “assembling and preserving important collections of American furnishings” and for his “generosity in opening these collections to the public and making them available to students of American design and decoration.” His reputation as a collector and decorator was again acknowledged when Jacqueline Kennedy chose him to head the Fine Arts Committee that helped transform the interiors of the White House into a showcase of American history and decorative arts. — 114 —