William Baldwin, Jr. (May 30, 1903 – November 25, 1983), known as Billy Baldwin and nicknamed Billy B, was a

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

interior decorator Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. With a keen eye for detail and a creative flair, an interior ...

, characterized in an obituary as the "dean of interior decorators". He was named to the

International Best Dressed List The International Best Dressed Hall of Fame List was founded by fashionista Eleanor Lambert in 1940 as an attempt to boost the reputation of American fashion at the time. The American magazine '' Vanity Fair'' is currently in charge of the List ...

Hall of Fame in 1974.

Personal life

Baldwin was born on May 30, 1903, in Roland Park, Maryland and studied architecture at

Princeton Princeton University is a private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the Unit ...

, dropping out after two years. He attended

Truman Capote Truman Garcia Capote ( ; born Truman Streckfus Persons; September 30, 1924 – August 25, 1984) was an American novelist, screenwriter, playwright, and actor. Several of his short stories, novels, and plays have been praised as literary classics ...

Black and White Ball Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''Psy ...

at the

Plaza A town square (or public square, urban square, city square or simply square), also called a plaza or piazza, is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town or city, and which is used for community gatherings. Rela ...

in 1966. Baldwin died of a heart ailment on November 25, 1983, at Nantucket Cottage Hospital on

Nantucket Island Nantucket () is an island in the state of Massachusetts in the United States, about south of the Cape Cod peninsula. Together with the small islands of Tuckernuck and Muskeget, it constitutes the Town and County of Nantucket, a combined cou ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. He was openly gay.

Professional life

Starting in 1935, Baldwin was employed by Ruby Ross Wood, and when she died in 1950, he took over the firm. In 1952, he formed his own firm, Baldwin and Martin, with Edward Martin. They decorated the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

, and designed the houses and apartments of many well-known people, such as

Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became Standard (music), standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway the ...

, Mary Wells Lawrence,

Billy Rose Billy Rose (born William Samuel Rosenberg; September 6, 1899 – February 10, 1966) was an American impresario, theatrical showman, lyricist and columnist. For years both before and after World War II, Billy Rose was a major force in entertainm ...

Rachel Lambert Mellon Rachel Lambert "Bunny" Mellon (August 9, 1910 – March 17, 2014) was an American horticulture, horticulturalist, gardener, philanthropist, and art collector. She designed and planted a number of significant gardens, including the White Hous ...

and

Paul Mellon Paul Mellon (June 11, 1907 – February 2, 1999) was an American philanthropist and a horse breeding, breeder of thoroughbred horse racing, racehorses. He is one of only five people ever designated an "Exemplar of Racing" by the National Muse ...

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis ( ; July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was an American writer, book editor, and socialite who served as the first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. A popular f ...

Mike Nichols Mike Nichols (born Igor Mikhail Peschkowsky; November 6, 1931 – November 19, 2014) was an American film and theatre director and comedian. He worked across a range of genres and had an aptitude for getting the best out of actors regardless of ...

, Harvey Ladew,

Babe Paley Barbara Cushing Mortimer Paley (July 5, 1915 – July 6, 1978) was an American magazine editor and socialite. Affectionately known as Babe throughout her life, Paley made notable contributions to the field of magazine editing. In recognition of ...

and

William S. Paley William Samuel Paley (September 28, 1901 – October 26, 1990) was an American businessman, primarily involved in the media, and best known as the chief executive who built the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) from a small radio network into o ...

, Pauline de Rothschild,

Greta Garbo Greta Garbo (born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson; 18 September 1905 – 15 April 1990) was a Swedish-American actress and a premier star during Hollywood's Silent film, silent and early Classical Hollywood cinema, golden eras. Regarded as one of the g ...

Barbara Hutton Barbara Woolworth Hutton (November 14, 1912 – May 11, 1979) was an American debutante, socialite, heiress and philanthropist. She was dubbed the "Poor Little Rich Girl"—first when she was given a lavish and expensive debutante ball in 1930 ...

, and

Diana Vreeland Diana Vreeland (September 29, 1903 – August 22, 1989) was an American fashion columnist and editor. She worked for the fashion magazine ''Harper's Bazaar'' and as editor-in-chief at '' Vogue'', later becoming a special consultant to the Costume ...

. Baldwin's commercial clients included the Round Hill Club in Greenwich, CT, the

Kenneth Kenneth is a given name of Gaelic origin. The name is an Anglicised form of two entirely different Gaelic personal names: ''Cainnech'' and '' Cináed''. The modern Gaelic form of ''Cainnech'' is ''Coinneach''; the name was derived from a byna ...

hair salon in New York City, and La Florentina in the

South of France Southern France, also known as the south of France or colloquially in French as , is a geographical area consisting of the regions of France that border the Atlantic Ocean south of the Marais Poitevin,Louis Papy, ''Le midi atlantique'', Atlas e ...

. In 1972, Baldwin designed a line of furniture (including his famous Slipper Chair), which continues to be manufactured by the Billy Baldwin Studio. He retired in 1973.''Princeton Alumni Weekly'', September 22, 1982
p. 23
/ref> Baldwin wrote several books over his career including ''Billy Baldwin Decorates'' (1972), ''Billy Baldwin Remembers'' (1974), and ''Billy Baldwin: An Autobiography'' (1985, posthumously). He was also featured in books by others, such as ''Legendary Decorators'' (1992), written by Mark Hampton, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

Book of Interior Design and Decoration'', and ''Scavullo on Men'' (1977) written by Scavullo. Adam Lewis published the biography ''Billy Baldwin: The Great American Decorator'' in 2010.

Notes

Bibliography

* Billy Baldwin, ''Billy Baldwin Decorates'', 1973. * Adam Lewis, ''Billy Baldwin: The Great American Decorator'', Rizzoli 2010, . * M.L. Aronson, "Billy Baldwin: A fresh approach to color and form reshapes the American aesthetic", ''Architectural Digest'', January 200
full text
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baldwin, Billy American interior designers 1903 births 1983 deaths LGBTQ people from Maryland 20th-century American LGBTQ people