Painted furniture is one of the most desirabe fields of antique collecting. This work explores the history and current uses of one of the liveliest areas of the decorative arts. The Comtesse de Dampierre persues her subject through France, Italy, England, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Sweden, Denmark and the United States, including the American colonies where the Pennsylvania Dutch created some of the finest examples of the art. A glossary of terms and a chapter of tips on conservation and restoration makes this a useful handbook as well as an illustrated history of an enduring and ever-more-popular style.
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Ms.de Dampierre has distinguished herself with solid accomplishments. She is a noted interior designer, furniture historian, and author. Her first book, The Best of Painted Furniture, published in 1987 by Rizzoli International Publications, Inc., has become a bestseller, having sold over a hundred thousand copies. An interior design classic, The Decorators, was published in 1989 (Rizzoli).These titles were followed by Chairs: A History (2006, Harry N. Abrams), which has become the standard reference book on the subject, and French Chic: The Art of Decorating Houses (2008, Rizzoli), which uses her Connecticut home in countless full color photographs to illustrate both principles of design and the techniques she suggests to help one attain a very personal home and one using her "French Chic" visual vocabulary and techniques. Her fifth book, Walls: The Best of Decorative Treatments (2011, Rizzoli) is a lavish journey around the world from the past to the present showcasing such premier decorative wall designs as fresco, wood paneling, stenciling, and wallpaper. De Dampierre shows how decorating walls can transform an interior space to dramatic effect.
A contributing editor to the much missed House & Garden magazine, Ms. de Dampierre writes lifestyle stories for newspapers and magazines. Her Connecticut home has been the subject of many articles.
She began Florence de Dampierre Antiques in New York City in 1985. This was the first American antiques shop devoted solely to eighteenth- and nineteenth-century painted furniture. The shop received great accolades, grew to become a multimillion dollar enterprise, and was housed in its own building in Soho by 1990 with a worldwide clientele. It was the subject of a New York Magazine cover story in 1990.
Ms. de Dampierre had been a contributing designer sponsored by House & Garden magazine for the French Designer Show House, and has a roster of personal design clients. She has lectured extensively around the country and has curated numerous museum exhibitions. Further attesting to her enormous visual sense, Ms. de Dampierre was elected into Eleanor Lambert's Best-dressed List as one of the twelve best-dressed women in the world.
