Grace Lincoln Temple

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Grace Lincoln Temple (1865–1953), was an American interior designer and one of the first women to decorate a public U.S. building.[1] Temple designed the Smithsonian Institution rotunda and its first Children's Room in 1901, in addition to a variety of federal World's Fair buildings, the Cosmos Club, several presidential inaugurations, and the White House East Room under the Cleveland administration.[2][3] Temple was an expert in Colonial wallpaper design and ran a successful decorating practice in Washington, D.C. for fifty years.[4]

Early life[edit]

Temple was born in 1865 in Boston, Massachusetts to parents Stephen and Hannah Temple. Grace was one of three children, with an older brother, Walter, and younger brother, Jason.[5] She was a graduate of the Boston Art Museum School, and studied under architect and designer Charles Howard Walker.[1][3] After graduation, she worked as an art teacher in Cleveland, before relocating to Washington, D.C. in the 1890s.[4]

Career[edit]

Designs for presidents[edit]

Temple worked with U.S. presidential administrations on designs for inauguration events and White House redesigns.[2] Temple was on the decorating committees for the inaugurations of both Theodore Roosevelt (1905) and William Howard Taft (1909).[6][7]

After being commissioned by the Cleveland administration to redecorate the East Room, First Lady Frances Cleveland Preston hired Temple to redecorate the couple's home in Princeton, N.J.[4] Frances Cleveland wanted their traditional Colonial home's interior redesigned before their family returned to New Jersey at the end of President Cleveland's second term. The First Lady wanted the house's interior design to "be treated in the fashion of that [Colonial] period." Throughout the winter of 1896 and into 1897, Frances Cleveland hired Temple to work on the redesign, and traveled often to Temple's studio to look over design samples.[8]

Designs for the World's Fair[edit]

In 1895, Temple worked on decorating the Women's Building at the Cotton States and International Exposition in Atlanta.[1] She later became the only woman in charge of decorating a building during the 1904 World's Fair, when she was in charge of interior design for the United States government building. Temple led a team of 25 decorators and was actively involved in both the conceptual design and its execution, down to how the paint was mixed and applied.[9] She was paid $15,000 for her work.[10]

The interior of the building was done in shades of red, white, and blue, with a large frieze of the U.S. shield. The shield was surrounded with an oval of thirteen stars, representing the first thirteen colonies. The United States flag and eagle designs were incorporated throughout the building. Temple's design set it apart from other World's Fair buildings, as it was the only one to use the architectural design of the building as part of the interior design.[3]

Designs for the Smithsonian[edit]

Temple, who had previously designed the Smithsonian rotunda, was hired to design the museum's first Children's Room in 1901. Acting Smithsonian Secretary Samuel Pierpont Langley (honorary curator of the new children's space) wanted a "cozy, pleasant room, with plenty of light and pretty things," and commissioned Temple to create a design aesthetic that matched.[11]

Temple created a bright, stenciled wallpaper frieze of birds for the walls—a hand-drawn stenciling process that was rare and time consuming.[12] She also designed the room's fresco ceiling, depicting a leafy trellis and clear, open sky. Looking down on the room, Temple painted colorful birds, mirroring both the live and taxidermy birds in the exhibit space. The overall room was painted in shades of green with gilded moldings.[13]

The Children Room, under Langley's vision and Temple's design, was well-received, described in the press as a “very bright and cheery apartment...among the dim old rooms of the Smithsonian Institution.”[14]

Later life[edit]

Temple appeared frequently as a speaker at women's societies and universities throughout Washington, D.C. She often lectured on art history, particularly colonial wallpaper design, her specialty.[15][16][17][18][19] She also conducted restoration work for the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (then called Boston Museum of Art).[20]

Temple also served as the inaugural Chairman of the Decorating Committee for the American Federation of Arts in 1909. While a leader with the AFA, she worked on a project to bring artwork into D.C. public schools, with a goal of inspiring children to learn more about art and visit museum collections.[21]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "Grace Lincoln Temple | People | Collection of Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum".collection.cooperhewitt.org. Retrieved 2016-03-23.
  2. ^ a b Brady, Hillary (March 1, 2016). "Knowledge Begins in Wonder: The Design Behind the Smithsonian Children’s Room". The Bigger Picture. Smithsonian Institution Archives.
  3. ^ a b c The Reality Record and Builder. 1904-01-01.
  4. ^ a b c "Miss Grace Temple, D.C. Decorator Dies". The Washington Post. 24 February 1953. p. 16. ProQuest 152599470.
  5. ^ Year: 1870; Census Place: Boston Ward 11, Suffolk, Massachusetts; Roll: M593_647; Page: 76A; Image: 157; Family History Library Film: 552146
  6. ^ Washington, D.C. (1909-01-01). Inauguration of William Howard Taft, as president of the United States, and James Schoolcraft Sherman. Washington, D.C.: Press of W. F. Roberts co.
  7. ^ Washington (D.C.). (1905-01-01). Inauguration of Theodore Roosevelt as president of the United States, March 4, 1905: membership and duties of committees in charge of Inaugural ceremonies. Washington: Headquarters of the Inaugural committee.
  8. ^ "Woman about Town". The Washington Post. 24 January 1897. p. 17. ProQuest 143903333.
  9. ^ "Woman Bosses Uncle Sam's Job". St. Louis Post - Dispatch. 10 February 1904. p. 3. ProQuest 579650507.
  10. ^ "Arit in Fair Building". The Washington Post. 21 July 1903. p. 7. ProQuest 144409306.
  11. ^ Institution, Smithsonian (1846-01-01). "Annual report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution 1901". library.si.edu. Retrieved 2016-03-29.
  12. ^ "Frieze (USA), 1900". Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. Retrieved 2016-03-29.
  13. ^ "The Decorate Design of the Children's Room | AHHP | Smithsonian". www.si.edu. Retrieved 2016-03-29.
  14. ^ "The Evening Independent – Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Retrieved 2016-03-29.
  15. ^ "Boston Museum Graduate to Speak March 23 to Women's City Club Unit". The Washington Post. 3 March 1937. p. 15. ProQuest 150894872.
  16. ^ "Grace Temple to Talk To Columbian Women". The Washington Post. 26 February 1938. p. X11. ProQuest 151031193.
  17. ^ "Lecture by Miss Grace Temple To Feature Woman's Club Meet". The Washington Post. 9 December 1934. p. ST4. ProQuest 150479525.
  18. ^ "Women to Hear Grace L. Temple". The Washington Post. 11 February 1934. p. A5. ProQuest 150558654.
  19. ^ "Y.W.C.A. NOTES". The Washington Post. 13 December 1931. p. R8. ProQuest 150175899.
  20. ^ "A.A.U.W. Will Hear Talk By Grace Temple". The Washington Post. 15 March 1942. p. 42. ProQuest 151536142.
  21. ^ American Federation of Arts; National academy of art (1909-01-01). Proceedings of the convention at which the American federation of arts was formed: held at Washington, D. C., May 11th, 12th and 13th, 1909. Washington, D. C.: B. S. Adams. OCLC 1213289.
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