Smithsonian Libraries

Parish-Hadley Associates, Inc. collection, [196-]-1994

Summary

Collection ID:
SIL-CH.2000-3-1
Creators:
Parish, Henry, Mrs., II
Parish-Hadley Associates
Hadley, Albert
Dates:
[196-]-1994
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
11 Boxes
13 albums
Repository:
The Parish-Hadley Collection documents the history of the New York City design firm from 1962-1994.Particular emphasis is on Sister Parish (Mrs. Henry Parish II) and Albert Hadley. Magazine clippings from various publications make up the majority of the collection as well as gossip column excerpts about Parish-Hadley or infamous clients. The slides date mostly from the 1980s-1990s and depict some but not all Parish-Hadley projects.

Arrangement note

Arrangement note
Materials are arranged in 13 albums
Organized by album title. The albums contain magazine and newspaper clippings, sketches, templates, speeches, and press releases, project slides. Arranged alphabetically by client, or in lieu of a client name, by project name (There is some overlap in the albums and the album labels are not accurate).

Biographical/Historical note

Biographical/Historical note
Dorothy "Sister" Parish born Dorothy May Kinnicutt in Morristown, New Jersey. Sister is a nickname given to her by her three brothers. She graduated from the Foxcroft School for Girls, an elite Virginia boarding school. She began her career in 1933. It was the year of the "Crash" and financial necessity prompted her to set up shop, "Mrs. Henry Parish II Interiors", in Far Hills, New Jersey, where she began decorating houses for friends. She had no formal training but attributes her taste and instinct for quality to European travel, exposure to art, and, most of all to her upbringing. Alone, and then together with her partner, Albert Hadley, who joined the firm in 1962, she has decorated houses of every size and kind throughout the world. It is said that she represents the "undecorated" look; Vogue magazine calls her "the most famous of all living American women interior designers whose ideas have influenced life-styles all over America."
Sister Parish--grande dame of American decor--shaped the American domestic aesthetic of various Kennedys, Astors, Paleys, and Whitneys. Parish-Hadley was the upper-crust New York firm formed by Mrs. Parish and the Tennessee-born decorator Albert Hadley.
Mr. Hadley, a graduate of and former teacher at Parsons School of Design in both New York and Paris, established his own design firm before joining McMillen, Inc. He began his legendary association with Mrs. Henry Parish II in 1962, when they co-founded the distinguished design firm of Parish-Hadley Associates, which grew to encompass 25 associates and staff members.
Described by The New York Times as "the most illustrious American decorating team of the 20th century," Parish-Hadley's client register includes names of the Kennedys, Rockefellers, Astors, Gettys, Whitneys and Vanderbilts. Parish's cozy, yet dignified style, combined with Hadley's Modernism and attention to architectural space, has led to Parish-Hadley's constant surviving achievement.
The partnership lasted until the death of Sister Parish in 1994. After closing Parish-Hadley in late 1999, Hadley opened a new office and continues collaborating with clients toward his goal to "help them realize more than they thought possible within the framework of their own tastes." His impressive roster of distinguished clients includes former Vice President and Mrs. Albert Gore, Diane Sawyer and Mike Nichols, former Ambassador and Mrs. Henry Grunwald and Mrs. Vincent Astor.

Administration

Immediate Source of Acquisition note
All materials donated by Mr. Albert Hadley in 1999. Unprocessed.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access note
Unprocessed; access is limited; Permission of Library Director required; Policy.

Location of Other Archival Materials Note

Location of Other Archival Materials Note
Parish-Hadley Associates, Inc. papers; Also located at The John F. Kennedy Library of the National Archives and Records Administration. Boston, Mass.

More Information

Bibliography

Bibliography
Parish-Hadley : sixty years of American design
/ Sister Parish, Albert Hadley and Christopher Petkanas. Boston : Little Brown, c1995.

Other Finding Aids note

Other Finding Aids note
No finding aid available.


Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
House beautiful Title Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Drafts (documents) Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Awards Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Designs Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Press releases Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Drawings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Templates Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Clippings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Articles Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Interior designers -- United States Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Interior decoration -- United States -- History -- 20th century -- Sources Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Speeches Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Slides (photographs) Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Interior design (New York, N.Y.) Title Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
House & garden Title Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Architectural digest (Los Angeles, Calif : 1925) Title Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Astor, Brooke Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Astor, Vincent, 1891-1959 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Andrew, Duke of York, 1960- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Parsons School of Design Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Ritz-Carlton Hotels (Firm) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Rockefeller, Happy. Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Whitney, Betsey Cushing Roosevelt, 1908- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Williams, Bunny, 1944- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
York, Sarah Mountbatten-Windsor, Duchess of, 1959- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Mellon, Rachel Lambert Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
National Newark & Essex Bank (N.J.) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Northern Trust Bank Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Onassis, Jacqueline Kennedy, 1929-1994 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Paine Webber Inc. Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Parish, Henry, Mrs., II Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Parish-Hadley Associates Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Hager, Gary. Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
White House (Washington, D.C.) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Kwiatkowski, Henryk Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Kleinberg, David. Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
McMahon, David Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Lenox Hill Neighborhood Association Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Mellon, Constance A. Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
McMillen Inc. Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Bank of New York Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Baldwin, Billy Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Cameron, Libby Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Brown, Eleanor McMillen Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Cooper-Hewitt Design Archive Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Chinsee, George. Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Hadley, Albert Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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