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6. Reception Room
Transcript
Rooms like this played a social function and they were intended to impress. Having a proper reception, with tea, with a Vanderbilt, in her gold salon, might give you a serious leg up in society. And after a formal meal, female guests could imbibe digestifs with much ceremony in this room. When guests were not in residence, however, this would on rare occasion function as a private space for Mrs. Vanderbilt.
This room emphasizes style over function. It was not a comfortable spot and was rarely used by the Vanderbilts, unless they had guests. Throughout the house you can find many objects of art that were hundreds of years old when they were purchased by decorators for the Vanderbilts. However, this room was designed by an interior decorator, and is staged to look like a 18th c. French Salon, with manufactured pieces purposefully copying items displayed in the Louvre. French salons were in vogue during the Vanderbilt’s Era and found in many Gilded Age Mansions.
Above you, the ceiling includes a luminous painted panel of “Aurora and Tithonus” by the American artist Edward Simmons. It depicts the goddess of the dawn and her spurned lover. At some point, the Vanderbilt’s remodeled, and Aurora was covered in white paint. This may indicate that they didn’t like this painting. The mural was accidentally discovered by the National Park Service in 1962 and restored.
Description
The Gold Reception Room is an ornately staged room fashioned in the style of an 18th century French Salon. It was meant for entertaining small groups of Mrs. Vanderbilt’s friends and formally welcoming very special guests.
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