AIC 53rd Annual Meeting

The 1896 residence of Caroline and John Jacob Astor IV on Fifth Avenue in New York City was designed by architect Richard Morris Hunt and renovated in 1910 by Carrere and Hastings, two of the most prominent architects of America’s Gilded Age. The mansion contained reproduction boiserie period rooms produced by the French interior decorating firm Jules Allard et Fils, emulating the tradition of ornately carved and gilded wood paneling of the 17th and 18th centuries in France. Prior to demolition of the Astor residence, two of these rooms—the Cream Salon and Library—were purchased in 1926 by John Ringling and soon after installed as period rooms in the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota, Florida. In addition to the 1910 renovation, the period rooms had received later alterations and repairs, including overpainting of all painted paneling and much of the gilded ornament.

In 2023, EverGreene Architectural Arts was retained by the museum to elaborate upon earlier investigations, to characterize historic finishes in the rooms and carry out condition assessments and treatment testing. The goal was to better understand the boiserie techniques and develop methods for the appropriate conservation of the wood, gilding, painted finishes, and clear coatings on the wood paneling.

In this study, a more refined understanding of Jules Allard’s manufacturing and decorating processes was achieved. In particular, Allard drew upon traditional 17th-century French architectural gilding techniques, while also using more contemporary methods to enhance the depth and dimensionality of gilded surfaces. Visual examination combined with exposure windows and overpaint removal testing, in conjunction with optical microscopy and instrumental analysis, helped to confirm that Allard created desired visual effects by applying sanded boles, juxtaposing oil gilding and water gilding techniques, selectively burnishing the gold, and toning with shellac. In addition to identifying Allard’s 19th-century manufacturing methods, including the incorporation of wood veneers, the results of this investigation suggested the use of salvaged elements from authentic boiserie.