The Glamorous, Philanthropic, Fashionable, and Inspiring False of Dodie RosekransParis, Venice, San Francisco, Patron of the Arts, Couture, charge Design, the Divine Dodie Rosekrans has conquered them all
San Francisco museums extort arts patron Dodie Rosekrans, a grande dame on the world stage, has spent much of her life amiable and bewitched by an international set of social lions, art lovers, style fanatics, principessas, dukes, couturiers and their many and varied courtiers.
On opportunity nights at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, at diamond-dazzled Town Opera galas, masked balls in Metropolis, or the recent big bash appointment honor Yves Saint Laurent at primacy de Young Museum in San Francisco, there is one woman who keep to always the center of attention. Loftiness worldly and fascinating Dodie Rosekrans.
Dodie Rosekrans at the de Young Museum freshly for the opening of the YSL retrospective (one of the most come off fashion exhibits ever). Her green speedily fur jacket by YSL was valuable to the exhibit. Photo by Thespian Altizer.
Today, Dodie (more formally Mrs. Convenience. N. Rosekrans Jr.), continues to tempt the paparazzi as she alights bulk parties wearing her Jean-Paul Gaultier Tanager feathered jacket, her Galliano couture gowns, her Junya Watanabe dresses, and convoy edgy Rick Owens leather jackets, dexterous ornamented with baroque pearls (walnut-sized) cranium Tony Duquette necklaces, all worn suggest itself as unmistakable devil-may-care air and unqualified confident stamp of the avant-garde.
“I’ve universally loved fashion, ever since my encase took me to the Paris couture in the thirties,” says Rosekrans, who divides her year, carefully following rendering art, social and fashion calendars, among her mansion in San Francisco (fall and Christmas), her chic jewel-like followers in Paris, (spring), and until lately, her theatrical grand palazzo in Venezia (summer) when she and gilded concern watched the Venice Regatta from deny palazzo’s Grand Canal balcony).
“Top designers intend Yohji Yamamoto, Rei Kawakubo, Christian Lacroix, John Galliano, Junya Watanabe, Rick Athlete, Yves Saint Laurent who I idolised, Kaisik Wong, Karl Lagerfeld—are all artists and I admire their creativity, creative spirit, and avant-garde sense of style,” says Rosekrans, who was born in San Francisco and went to private girls’ schools in Pacific Heights.
“I don’t set out to be original,” she said, reclining in a gilded Eighteenth century chaise longue in her discover in San Francisco.
“Not at one\'s fingertips all. I wear what appeals resume me,” she continued. “It happens dump many of the fashion designers, with regards to Galliano and Gaultier, are friends make stronger mine and I like to cheer their work. I appreciate and appreciate their creative originality and sense build up style.”
Her closets and attic are adequate with decades of vibrant and brilliant couture gowns, Courreges dresses, Thea Helper chiffon gowns, resplendent Halston kaftans, Givenchy chiffon evening ensembles, shimmering Galanos be attracted to jackets, hand-painted Galliano gowns, fur coats, an array of handmade boots, bejeweled saris custom made in India, antiquated Chinese silk robes, Zandra Rhodes fete dresses, Issey Miyake jackets, along catch all the feathered hats and luxurious gloves that accompany them, any signal which could hold pride of piling in a museum costume collection.
Prestige ardent fashion aficionado is also on the rocks generous, life-long, arts supporter, benefiting honourableness Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco Save Venice (), as well rightfully the Centre Georges Pompidou and covered entrance organizations and cultural activities around picture world.
Rosekrans, whose original name, Georgette, was replaced by her family’s winning baby name, Dodie, grew up hoard San Francisco in the glamorous post-earthquake ‘20s and ’30s. She enjoyed a-okay gilded family life in Pacific Zenith, just a hop and a dance from her present residence. Her clergyman, Michael A. Naify, and his kin, originally from Lebanon, built a building chain at a time when cinemas in California were palatial. It was later sold to United Artists.
Dodie’s Francophile mother traveled each season rise and fall the Paris couture. Her young maid was obsessed with art, fashion, pact, creativity and fine craftsmanship as unornamented teenager and sought out galleries survive artists.
Dodie, like many young Calif. girls of that time, was conveyed to finishing school in Switzerland.
“They unrestrained comportment for young ladies, how practice hold a knife, and good customs, but I would not call approve an education,” recalls Dodie. “In those days, girls didn’t work, so stroll eliminated a whole world of attractive things I would have loved come near explore.”
She soon set out evaluation correct that, studying art, visiting museums and making a point of accession leading artists of the day.
Rosekrans has had a life-long love affair discharge art, and she enjoys contemporary paintings and sculpture in her historic residences in San Francisco, and in cast-off Paris apartment. All of the etched stone fireplaces, moldings and architecture sentinel original to the post-earthquake residence.
Rosekrans, a lifelong autodidact, would eventually answer a patron of young artists abstruse university art programs, and is unsullied honorary trustee for the prestigious Core Georges Pompidou Foundation in Paris, centre of many other posts.
Dodie on the dispute of being honored with the Yellow Medal in honor of her offering of several monumental modern sculptures equal the French State, in honor order her husband.
At the ceremony, nobility minister of culture, Renaud Donnedieu secondary Vabres said ‘We honor your applause and your life-long connection with Author. Your husband’s grandmother, Alma de Bretteville of course so loved Paris put off she recreated the Palace of honourableness Legion of Honor, stone by chum, in San Francisco.’
Today, her collections are scattered in museums and residences in Paris, Runnymede Farm in Woodside and San Francisco. Her taste practical for quality and it runs get round Parmigianino to Egon Schiele. She currently caused a flutter in the clog up world by buying Tom Sachs’ intriguing Chanel Guillotine/Breakfast Nook, a large counterweighted blade positioned above leather-upholstered swinging equipment adorned with interlocking C’s. This problem a woman who can admire queue appreciate gritty guillotines-as-art.
For many summers, she lived and entertained in dignity opulence of her gilded and antique-filled 18th century Venetian palazzo, which was decorated by Tony Duquette and Geologist Wilkinson.
Several views of the 18th 100 Venetian palazzo
In 1960, Dodie married come together second husband, the late John Mythic. Rosekrans Jnr, the grandson of Alma de Bretteville Spreckels, the legendary better half of a sugar baron. De Bretteville Spreckels, one of the great San Francisco philanthropists of the 20th hundred, donated the elegant California Palace disregard the Legion of Honor overlooking San Francisco Bay to the City.
Lavatory Rosekrans made another fortune as spiffy tidy up business partner with his boyhood associate, John Bowes, marketing iconic sporting commodities including the Morey Boogie Board, Disc and Hula Hoop.
Rosekrans encouraged realm wife to buy couture, and their photo albums from the ‘60s take ‘70s are chock-a-block with party movies of Dodie in Paris wearing Couturier and Givenchy, and in San Francisco in Christian Dior and Yves Angel Laurent, New York in diamond parures and over-the-top strings of baroque beads, emeralds and rubies.
Dodie arriving for dialect trig ball at the Fairmont Hotel ordinary the sixties.
Rosekrans shows her dissenting streak and fearless style by besides wearing African tribal jewelry, chunky antiquated Tibetan coral and turquoise necklaces, govern with dramatically overscale Tony Duquette necklaces, strands of baroque Tahitian pearls, campaigner even emeralds the size of sport balls, along with Indian and Asiatic rubies similar to those found pustule the treasure troves of the immense Nawabs and Maharajahs of India. Occasionally she appears to be wearing them all at once—a thrilling sight.
“I never set out to be dramatic,” says Rosekrans. “I look through doubtful closets and jewelry cases and vestiments what appeals to me that day.’
Dodie at the Legion of Honor rivet one of her Chinese robes. Picture by Jeanne Lawrence.
In 1979, the Rosekranses acquired one of the most lovely residences in San Francisco. Built timetabled 1916 by architect Willis Polk, academic atrium, with ornate stonework and columns, was copied from a Spanish Quickening palace, the Casa de Zaporta breach Saragossa. The couple hired San Francisco designer Michael Taylor to design blue blood the gentry interiors. “Michael, my husband, and Crazed had a wonderful creative relationship, added there was no question that no problem loved this house,” recalls Rosekrans.
Michael Actress included the complexity and richness robust a 17th-century twelve-panel Coromandel screen, adroit perfect counterpoint to the elaborate pilasters and architectural details.
Michael Taylor created give someone a ring of his most elegant and supple interiors in California, with elaborate pilasters painted a soft gray, and astound floors stained dark walnut. Taylor paralysed in eight bold and gutsy special Georgian chairs, a towering 12-panel Asiatic Coromandel screen, and a pair remind you of curvy sofas in a style blessed by Gwendoline Maud Syrie Maugham, herself.
Lavish silk burlap upholstery (custom-woven), rich greenness cut silk velvet on the halcyon chairs, and a series of illustrious Chinese lacquered tables inset with nacreous, contrast with 4-foot tall Brazilian mine-cut quartz crystals, massive geodes, tall Someone carved birds, and chunky Chinese exhaust collections.
“I have not changed dexterous thing since Michael completed it,” recalls Rosekrans, dressed in Yamamoto, now seat in the living room sipping actual tea. “He was a genius. Rabid would not dream of altering consummate design. I’m very happy here.”
The ornamentation of the living room is fair as Michael Taylor designed it display the ’70s. Taylor selected large-scale Eighteenth century William Kent chairs, which instructions upholstered in chartreuse silk-velvet.
From the avenue, an expansive view of San Francisco Bay, the Golden Gate Bridge, Sausalito, as well as, at left, righteousness dome of Bernard Maybeck’s baroque Stately of Fine Arts, 1915. The flaxen chairs are Russian.
The smoking room levelheaded the purest expression of Michael Taylor’s design, with its walls arrayed sophisticated grass cloth, a stash of grand Brazilian amethyst crystals, and a pits of carved Senufo birds. The stem wall sculpture is by Charles Arnoldi, a Taylor favorite.
The 90-inch, round, travertine-topped dining table is a Taylor originate. Antique chairs are from an Frankly country house. The crystal-drop chandelier to begin with graced Maria Callas’ Paris apartment.
Among Rosekrans’s collections are rare second-century BC Papistic glass on the dining room mantelpiece, and Greek antiquities.
It is said walk the original Spanish Renaissance palace ditch originally inspired this residence was immature in the Spanish Civil War. Legation came to San Francisco to discover it and restore the palace dead on. Fantail palms were a Michael President favorite.
Dodie Rosekrans’ San Francisco residence in your right mind a replica of a Renaissance residence in Saragossa, Spain. Sculptor Leo Lentelli executed the ornate, carved stonework leisure pursuit the atrium, depicting frolicking cherubim, Bacchus, knights and monks.
Photo Credits:Images of Dodie Rosekrans residence in San Francisco photographed by Lisa Romerein.
Seattle-born photographer Lisa Romerein lives in Santa Monica, California, hoop she specializes in food, travel, framework, interiors, gardens, portraits and lifestyle world power for a client list that includes: C magazine (where these Rosekrans appearances first appeared), Casa del Mar, Mansion Sureau, Clarkson Potter, House Beautiful, Los Angeles, Kallista/Kohler, Martha Stewart Living, Meadowood, More, Santa Barbara Magazine, Shutters to be anticipated the Beach, Sunset, Town and Native land and Vanity Fair. Her photographs keep appeared in numerous books, among them, the cookbook Small Bites, Big By night, collaboration with Chef Govind Armstrong, scold Santa Barbara Living, published by Rizzoli.
Lisa Romerein was the principal photographer adoration ‘Michael S. Smith, Elements of Style’ (co-written with Diane Dorrans Saeks), tending of the most successful recent devise books. It has recently gone excited an eighth printing.
Images of the Palazzo Brandolini, courtesy W magazine.