New Book Brings Rich Fortuny History to Life

Fortuny, the company that has captivated generations with its exquisite fabrics, has released its first book, authored by Brian Coleman and with photographs by Erik Kvalsvik.
New Book Brings Rich Fortuny History to Life
In the book, Ca’ Rezzonico, one of Venice’s finest palazzi is beautifully photographed, showing off Fortuny fabric and design. The “de Medici” fabric on this chair complements the floral motifs on the frame. (Courtesy of Fortuny)
9/3/2012
Updated:
10/1/2012
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Fortuny, the company that has captivated generations with its exquisite fabrics, has released its first book, authored by Brian Coleman and with photographs by Erik Kvalsvik. The book, Fortuny Interiors, will no doubt become a must-have tome for interior designers and Fortuny fans. 

The bulk of the book is an exploration through images and detailed stories of illustrious homes that today integrate Fortuny fabric and products into their design. The rich colors and patterns are intoxicating and inspiring.

The heart of the book, however, comes at the beginning with a detailed review of the rich history that is behind the timelessness of Fortuny.

The foreword by Guillermo de Osma takes you back to Venice beginning in the late 19th century, describing the genius, passion, and perfectionism of Mariano Fortuny. As the famous French writer Marcel Proust put it at the time, Fortuny’s work was “faithfully antique but markedly original.” 

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The son of a famous painter, Fortuny drew from his life-long exposure to fine art and imported Asian culture. He developed modern printing machines and techniques, modernizing old-world beauty. 

“Fortuny was nicknamed the ‘Magician of Venice,’ as no one knew how he created his magical fabrics,” explains de Osma. 

Meanwhile, by the end of the 19th century, the avant-garde movement was feverishly breaking with the past, turning aesthetic ideals cherished for centuries upside down.

“Deaf to proclamations and manifestos of the international avant-garde, Fortuny did not have any problem with, or any fear of, looking at the past as a source of inspiration and ideas,” reads the foreword.

The book goes on to tell the next chapter of the Fortuny legacy. New York interior designer Elsie McNeill Lee fell in love with Fortuny’s textiles, which she saw during a visit to the Carnavalet Museum in Paris in 1927. 

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She set her heart on introducing his fabrics to interior designers in the United States, flew to meet him, became great friends with Fortuny and his wife, Henriette, and became the exclusive distributor, selling his fabric and dresses from her Madison Avenue shop. McNeill Lee was responsible for bringing his textiles out of museums and into homes. 

Like the fabric itself, McNeill Lee’s story has a grand, fairytale-like quality. She eventually took over the company after Fortuny and her own husband tragically died within weeks of each other. Later, she married an Italian count and became a countess, continuing to build the Fortuny legacy.

The countess finally passed on the reigns to a surprising candidate, her trusted Egyptian lawyer, Maged F. Riad, who is based in Westchester, New York. Soon after, she passed away at 103.

“The Countess stipulated that Fortuny’s historic methods of production would never change and that if the quality ever diminished, the company was to be terminated and the machines destroyed,” explains the book.

Currently Riad’s sons, Mickey and Maury, are running the company and are bringing Fortuny into the 21st century for the next stage of its life, carefully trying to keep their father’s promise to the countess.

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