The Stories Of Vizcaya
To the manor born Francis Burrall Hoffman, Jr. (1882–1980) came from an affluent, socially prominent New York family. He was educated at Georgetown and graduated from Harvard in 1903. He subsequently enrolled at the École des Beaux Arts in Paris, then the preeminent architectural training program in the world. A foundation for fame After graduating...
Inspired by the Age of Discovery, when European ships traveled around the world in search of new trading routes, James Deering wanted to create a myth that his Miami estate was named after an explorer and should embody South Florida history and legends....
Two recent acquisitions to Vizcaya Museum and Garden’s archives are banking checks that were paid to William Deering in 1883. These checks were drawn on the Kenton Savings Bank of Ohio, and include stamps on front and back as well as a machined center hole and cut that were made during the cancellation process....
Rococo is a style known for its exuberant natural forms, and it is abundant at Vizcaya. First appearing in France and Italy in the 1730s, Rococo was considered light and theatrical—and it was a bold, but apt, choice for a South Florida winter home. At Vizcaya, you’ll find Rococo design in the sinuous garden parterres,...
Back in the United States, Chalfin begin to work with influential interior decorator Elsie de Wolfe (1865 – 1950), and in 1910, when James Deering asked her to decorate his apartment on Lake Shore Drive in Chicago, she passed the commission to Chalfin. That was the beginning of a collaboration that lasted more than a...
Vizcaya’s orchid program was established and is still supported through the generous bequest of David A. Klein, an orchid lover who sought peace in Vizcaya’s gardens during his final days. In his honor, the David A. Klein Orchidarium, located on the north side of the Main House, was created in 2001 in what originally was...
