Framed Picture Enterprise
Mario
Buatta is one of America's foremost decorators. He was born in New York, studied architecture at Cooper Union
and attended Parsons School of Design in Europe.
After an apprenticeship in the decorating department of B. Altman and
company he became associated with several decorating firms including Elizabeth
Draper, Inc. He formed his own
decorating firm in 1963.
A
multi-talented and internationally renowned designer with an ageless outlook,
Mr. Buatta has created his own unmistakable style, which he calls, "The
Undecorated look". His general
approach is to provide a maximum of comfort by using an expertly balanced
mixture of contemporary and antique furnishings.
These
furnishing are placed against backgrounds, which reflects his extraordinary sense
of colour. He is a well-known
master of his subtle colour mix, and his exciting use of colour is often
compared to that of the painters Matisse and Bonnard. The result is that the eye is more aware of an overall glow
of tint, rather than of individual colours.
His unerring sense of detail, as well as the selection and quality of his
furnishings, is apparent in every room down to the most minute detail.
Mr.
Buatta explains that, "A house should grow in the same way that an artist's
painting grows; a few dabs today, a few more tomorrow, and the rest when the
spirit moves you. When the painting
is completed (as no room ever is!) it
never reflects the artist's original version.
A room should come together through this process, as the people living
room in it grow, and where their needs and paths take them, in order to achieve
the ultimate timeless, undecorated look."
His
impressive list of private clients includes Henry Ford II, Macolm Forbes,
Barbara Walters, Nelson Doubleday, Mr. and Mrs. S. I. Newhouse, Charlotte Ford
and Billy Joel. His commercial
design contracts include and Executive offices of the Metropolitan Opera House
at Lincoln Center, including that of Sir Rudolph Bing, and the design and
decoration of the galleries of the Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum in
Wilmington, Delaware which houses their line of reproductions.
He has just completed the redecoration of Blair House - the official
White House in Washington D.C.
His
rooms have repeatedly been on display in designer showhouses around the country
since 1969. Examples of Mr.
Buatta's work may be seen in recent HOUSE AND GARDEN, ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST,
HOUSE BEAUTIFUL, W', and TOWN AND COUNTRY publications. Other interviews and
photographs of his work have appeared in THE NEW YORK TIMES, CONNOISSEUR, AVENUE
Magazine, USA TODAY, THE WASHINGTON POST, VOGUE, ENGLISH HOUSE AND GARDEN and
may others here and abroad. He has
written introductions and forwards to several books and his works appears in
others including in and on the cover of the New York Times BOOK OF DESIGN AND
DECORATIONS and the HOUSE AND GARDEN BEST IN DECORATING BOOK. Paige Rense, the
editor in chief of ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST interviewed and featured Mr. Buatta in
her latest book, DECORATING FOR CELEBRITIES.
Photographs of his own apartment were selected by COLLIERS ENCYCLOPEDIA
YEARBOOK as an example of a return to the traditional design with modern
comforts and colours. He was interviewed and published in John Cornforth's book THE
INSPIRATION OF THE PAST And featured in COLEFAX AND FOWLER'S BEST IN
DECORATION BOOK. He has been profiled in MANHATTAN, INC. business magazine and
featured on the cover.
Mr. Buatta's, who is known as the 'Prince of Chintz', has designed three lines of floral chintz fabrics for Fabriyaz with two books of correlating wallpaper for Imperial - Sterling both of which have been received enthusiastically - nationally and abroad. He has also designed other home furnishing and is licensed with John Widdicomb for furniture; Aromatique for home fragrance products; Tianjin/Philadelphia Carpet Co. And Shyam Ahuja for carpets; Thimbleina for needlepoint; Sunweave/Vera division for tablelinens and Revman Industries for three collections of beds linens.
He
constantly travels the county to lecture at Women's Clubs, Antique Shows,
universities, museums and professional organizations and to make personal
in-store appearances as well as to confer with his out of town clients.
He was featured speaker at London's Victoria and Albert Museum and has
been profiled nation wide on television on
'The Today Show', 'Good Morning America', 'The CBS Morning show',
'The Home Show’ and numerous other talk shows.
He was the recipient of the 1990 Burton Holmes Award of the international
Platform Association for bring great beauty and humor through the film lecturer.
Mario
Buatta serves on the board of the East Side House Settlement and he has chaired
its prestigious Winter Antiques Show for the past 15 years.
He has served on the boards of the Fashion Institute of Technology and
the Kips Bay Boys and the Girls Club. He
presently serves on the board of the Historic House Trust of New York City and
the Royal Oak Foundation (England's National Trust) and is Honorable Chairman of
the Decorative Arts Committee of the Cooper Hewitt Museum. He is a charter
member of the Interior Design Hall of fame and was most recently named the 1990
Dean of Design by the Chicago Merchandise Mart.
He
holds Honorary Doctorates in Fine Arts from Wagner College and Pratt Institute,
and received the 1990 Augustus Saint Gaudens Awards for Professional achievement
in Arts and Architecture.
Mr.
Buatta received the National Bed and Bath Association Design Award for his
fabric and bed linen designs for 1989 was selected by both
Architectural Digest and Metropolitan Home Magazines as one the Design 100's
1990. Town & Country magazine
also named him one of the top 12 designers in the same year in America.
He is a member of A.S.I.D. and is listed in Who's Who in America.