"A portrait of a room, should express the personality of the person who lives there - whose character has shaped it" - Jeremiah Goodman.
Jeremiah Goodman (1922-2017) was an illustrator who signed his work with his first name only.
Goodman used his unique painting style to create the essence of a building's interior.
His painting interprets the plans of both architects and interior designers.
He painted original portraits of spaces for both commercial and private clients.
For almost twenty years he created the covers for Interior Design magazine, and also books on interiors and for murals.
Early life
Goodman was born October 22, 1922, in Niagara Falls, New York, the youngest of five children of Anna Cohen and Louis Goodman.
His parents were Jewish emigrants from Russia and Poland.
While convalescing from a right-hand injury at the age of four, he was given a set of crayons and adapted by becoming left-handed, and developed an interest in art.
Education
In 1930 the family moved to Buffalo.
During the Great Depression there was little work for his father, but Jeremiah was able to attend Lafayette High School, studying art with Elizabeth Weiffenbach and Ethel Davis, with the intention of becoming a set designer for Hollywood or Broadway. He graduated in 1939.
In 1940, at the age of 18, he moved to New York City to attend the Franklin School of Professional Art on a full scholarship.
After graduating, he studied part-time at Parsons School of Design, then known as the New York School of Fine and Applied Arts, enrolling in interior decoration and commercial illustration courses.
Influences
Painters John Singer Sargent, J. M. W. Turner, Édouard Vuillard and Walter Gay. Architect John Nash Japanese ink brush painting, Zen calligraphy, Turkish-born, California-based interior designer, Kalef Alaton, Betty Carter, his Painting instructor at Parsons School of Design, David Payne, Art teacher at the Franklin School.
In 1948, Jeremiah met British actor John Gielgud, and travelled with him to Europe for the first time in 1949.
Gielgud encouraged him to paint room portraits, a pursuit which would continue throughout his life.
At the same time, another painter, William Bankier Henderson, aide-de-camp to Sir Archibald Wavell, the Viceroy of India, introduced him to a stratum of people who allowed him to paint interpretations of rooms in their residences.
In 1949, Jeremiah was given entry to the hidden Parisian maisons of illustrious fashion designer Jeanne Lanvin and her daughter, Marguerite Marie-Blanche.
Their home decor department, Lanvin-Décoration, was run by Armand-Albert Rateau, who, along with Lanvin, designed the interior of the Daunou Theatre in 1921.
Lanvin’s motto, "Art and fashion are one" is evident in Jeremiah's creative endeavours as well.
He attributes Frances Hodgson Burnett's novel, The Secret Garden (1910–11) as an inspiration for the layout of his East Hampton home.
Room Portraits
Often the rooms were sketched on the spot.
If time and space permitted they would be painted there as well.
Otherwise, he would return to his studio to execute the final, working from photographs and from memory.
Introductions to numerous people in the U.S. theatre and film worlds opened doors for Jeremiah.
Many commissioned him paint portraits of their residences, notably, stage, screen and TV producer Daniel Melnick, actresses Greta Garbo and Mary Martin, costume designers Edith Head, Gilbert Adrian and Tony Duquette.
Aside from Gielgud's, over the decades Jeremiah painted European interior spaces of photographer/set designer Cecil Beaton, designer David Nightingale Hicks, Wallis, Duchess of Windsor (U.K.); artist Pablo Picasso, Baron Philippe de Rothschild, Carlos de Beistegui (France); jewelry designer Elsa Perretti (Spain); fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli (Italy).
He also painted interpretations of the Nymphenburg Palace, Bavaria.
Stateside, he made drawings or paintings of the residences of Ronald Reagan; socialite Betsy Bloomingdale; fashion designers Carolina Herrera, Bill Blass and James Galanos; Vogue Editor Diana Vreeland, fashion executive Reed Krakoff of Coach Inc.; photographer Bruce Weber and his wife, producer Nan Bush. | Source: © Wikipedia
Jeremiah Goodman è nato il 22 ottobre 1922.
Come molti artisti, ha iniziato a disegnare in tenera età, quando gli è stata data una scatola di pastelli per tenerlo occupato durante la convalescenza da un infortunio infantile.
Ha continuato a frequentare la Lafayette High School, la Franklin School of Professional Art e la Parsons School of Design, dove ha studiato pittura con Betty Carter. Sebbene inizialmente avesse voluto diventare uno scenografo di Hollywood, l'artista alla fine concentrò i suoi talenti sulla creazione di rendering di stanze.
Nel 1952 iniziò a illustrare stanze, mobili e accessori di moda per la pubblicità sui giornali di Lord e Taylor.
A poco a poco, il suo lavoro iniziò anche ad apparire nelle pagine editoriali di riviste, tra cui The New York Times Magazine, Harpers 'Bazar, House and Garden ed Interior Design, le cui copertine ha illustrato ogni mese per 15 anni, per le quali ha ricevuto, nel 1987, il prestigioso Hall of Fame Award come riconoscimento per il suo contributo nel campo dell'interior design. | Fonte: The official website of Jeremiah Goodman