Carleton Bates Varney (January 23, 1937 – July 14, 2022) was an American decorator, designer, lecturer, and author.
Known as Mr. Color, his work was based on the use of bright, vivid, multicolors and patterns. His design philosophy "stresses the use of bright colors and the rejection of all that is impractical, uncomfortable, and drab".
Early life and education
Varney was born on January 23, 1937, in
Lynn, Massachusetts
Lynn is the eighth-largest municipality in Massachusetts and the largest city in Essex County. Situated on the Atlantic Ocean, north of the Boston city line at Suffolk Downs, Lynn is part of Greater Boston's urban inner core. Settled by Eu ...
. He spent his childhood in
Nahant, Massachusetts
Nahant is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 3,334 at the 2020 census, which makes it the smallest municipality by population in Essex County. With just of land area, it is the smallest municipality by are ...
.
He earned his bachelor's degree in Spanish and fine arts from
Oberlin College in Ohio in 1958 and a master's degree in fine arts education in 1969 from
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, ...
.
Career
Varney began his career by teaching Spanish, French, and history at New York's New Rochelle Academy, joined
Dorothy Draper
Dorothy Draper (November 22, 1889 – March 11, 1969) was an American interior decorator. Stylistically very anti-minimalist, she would use bright, exuberant colors and large prints that would encompass whole walls. She incorporated black and w ...
& Co. in 1960, and bought the firm in 1964.
Dorothy Draper Co., Inc. has offices located in New York, Palm Beach, White Sulphur Springs, and London.
Varney's design work includes private homes of celebrities and world leaders, hotels around the world, castles in Ireland, yachts, ships, private, and public buildings. His work includes two historic hotels—The
Greenbrier in
White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia
White Sulphur Springs is a city in Greenbrier County in southeastern West Virginia, United States. The population was 2,231 at the 2020 census. The city emblem consists of five dandelion flowers and the citizens celebrate spring with an annual Da ...
and the
Grand Hotel in
Mackinac Island, Michigan
Mackinac Island ( ) is a city in Mackinac County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city had a permanent population of 583. The population numbers in the tens of thousands from May 1st to October 31st due to an influx ...
. Society Expeditions' World Discoverer ships had public and private spaces decorated and refurbished by Varney.
His public work includes the West Virginia Governor's Mansion, the
Vice President's Washington residence, and the U.S. Ambassador's residence in Tokyo, Japan.
His celebrity client list includes
Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, ncertain year from 1904 to 1908was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway. Crawford was signed to a motion pic ...
,
Judy Garland
Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. While critically acclaimed for many different roles throughout her career, she is widely known for playing the part of Dorothy Gale in ''The ...
,
Ethel Merman
Ethel Merman (born Ethel Agnes Zimmermann, January 16, 1908 – February 15, 1984) was an American actress and singer, known for her distinctive, powerful voice, and for leading roles in musical theatre.Obituary '' Variety'', February 22, 1984. ...
,
Van Johnson
Charles Van Dell Johnson (August 25, 1916 – December 12, 2008) was an American film, television, theatre and radio actor. He was a major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer during and after World War II.
Johnson was described as the embodiment o ...
,
Fay Wray
Vina Fay Wray (September 15, 1907 – August 8, 2004) was a Canadian/American actress best known for starring as Ann Darrow in the 1933 film ''King Kong''. Through an acting career that spanned nearly six decades, Wray attained international r ...
, and many other Hollywood icons. Varney's product design includes textiles, wallcoverings, furniture, dinnerware, stained glass windows, and scarves. He is also founder of Carleton V Ltd, Carleton Varney By the Yard, and Dorothy Draper Fabric & Wallcoverings.
Authorship
Some of Varney's work is featured in the authorship of 30 plus books and syndicated columns on decorating and design.
His writing career began in high school and continued into his professional career. His first book in 1962, ''You and Your Apartment'' was followed in 1969 by ''The Family Decorates A Home'', thus the name for his newspaper column. He modeled his mentor's column, "Ask Dorothy Draper" with his syndicated newspaper column, "Your Family Decorator". Varney continued to write a weekly column for the ''
Palm Beach Daily News
The ''Palm Beach Daily News'' is a newspaper serving the town of Palm Beach in Palm Beach County in South Florida. It is also known as "The Shiny Sheet" because of its heavy, slick newsprint stock. It was founded in 1897 as the ''Lake Worth Dail ...
'' also known as "The Shiny Sheet". In addition to his books on decorating, he has authored two novels, two biographies on the life and style of Dorothy Draper, titled ''The Draper Touch'' and ''In the Pink'', and pictorial books of his work such as ''Houses in his Heart'', ''Mr. Color'', and ''Decorating in the Grand Manor''.
His latest works include ''Decorating on the Waterfront'', ''Rooms to Remember'', and ''Romance & Rhododendrons''. He lectured on decorating and design and held classes on the Dorothy Draper style throughout the country.
Charitable consultations
In 2008 he designed ''
Architectural Digest
''Architectural Digest'' is an American monthly magazine founded in 1920. Its principal subjects are interior design and landscaping, rather than pure external architecture. The magazine is published by Condé Nast, which also publishes internat ...
'' Green Room for the 80th
Academy Awards
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
ceremony. Along with Princess
Yasmin Aga Khan
Princess Yasmin Aga Khan (born December 28, 1949) is a Swiss-born American philanthropist known for raising public awareness of Alzheimer's disease.
She is the second child of American movie actress and dancer Rita Hayworth, and the third chil ...
, he has co-chaired the Rita Hayworth Luncheon to benefit
Alzheimer's Association
The Alzheimer's Association was founded by Jerome H. Stone with the help of several family members in Chicago, Illinois, and incorporated on April 10, 1980, as the Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Association, Inc. It is a non-profit Am ...
. In 2016 he was the design consultant for An Evening with Joe Namath, benefiting the Joe Namath Neurological Research Center at Jupiter Medical Center.
White House work
In 1982, Varney served as curator for the restoration and decoration of the
USS ''Sequoia'', the presidential yacht. In 2011 he reviewed and was interviewed regarding Monticello's dining room restoration. His client list of White House first ladies for state dinner favors, china designs, scarves and First Lady Suites for the
Grand Hotel includes
Lady Bird Johnson
Claudia Alta "Lady Bird" Johnson ('' née'' Taylor; December 22, 1912 – July 11, 2007) was First Lady of the United States from 1963 to 1969 as the wife of President Lyndon B. Johnson. She previously served as Second Lady from 1961 to 1963 w ...
,
Nancy Reagan
Nancy Davis Reagan (; born Anne Frances Robbins; July 6, 1921 – March 6, 2016) was an American film actress and First Lady of the United States from 1981 to 1989. She was the second wife of president Ronald Reagan.
Reagan was born in Ne ...
,
Jacqueline Kennedy
Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis ( ; July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was an American socialite, writer, photographer, and book editor who served as first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. A po ...
,
Rosalynn Carter
Eleanor Rosalynn Carter ( ; née Smith; born August 18, 1927) is an American writer and activist who served as First Lady of the United States from 1977 to 1981 as the wife of President Jimmy Carter. For decades, she has been a leading advocate ...
,
Barbara Bush
Barbara Pierce Bush (June 8, 1925 – April 17, 2018) was First Lady of the United States from 1989 to 1993, as the wife of President George H. W. Bush, and the founder of the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy. She previously w ...
, and
Laura Bush
Laura Lane Welch Bush (''née'' Welch; born November 4, 1946) is an American teacher, librarian, memoirist and author who was First Lady of the United States from 2001 to 2009. Bush previously served as First Lady of Texas from 1995 to 2000. ...
. Under the Carter Administration, he styled White House state luncheons and dinners and served as the color consultant for the Carter Presidential Library in Atlanta. In 2018 he was nominated as member of the National Council on the Arts and he was on the National Council of the
White House Historical Association
The White House Historical Association, founded in 1961 through efforts of First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, is a private, non-profit organization that works to preserve the history of the White House and make that history more accessible to the pu ...
.
Design collections
Throughout his career, Varney partnered with many different vendors to create design collections and product lines. Such collaborations include: Kindel Furniture, Dr. Livingstone, I Presume,
Fine Paints of Europe
Fine Paints of Europe, located in Woodstock, Vermont, U.S., is the sole North American importer of paints and varnishes manufactured in the Netherlands by Wijzonol Bouwverven B.V.
In recent years the company has developed and retailed premium pai ...
, Frontgate, and
HSN
HSN, an initialism of its former name Home Shopping Network, is an American free-to-air television network owned by the Qurate Retail Group, which also owns catalog company Cornerstone Brands. Based in the Gateway area of St. Petersburg, Flor ...
.
Personal life
Varney and former wife Suzanne had three sons—Nicholas, designer of fine jewelry, Seamus, and Sebastian, president of Carleton V Ltd. He had one grandson named Bowie.
He resided in
Palm Beach, Florida
Palm Beach is an incorporated town in Palm Beach County, Florida. Located on a barrier island in east-central Palm Beach County, the town is separated from several nearby cities including West Palm Beach and Lake Worth Beach by the Intraco ...
, where he was also a columnist for a local newspaper, the ''
Palm Beach Daily News
The ''Palm Beach Daily News'' is a newspaper serving the town of Palm Beach in Palm Beach County in South Florida. It is also known as "The Shiny Sheet" because of its heavy, slick newsprint stock. It was founded in 1897 as the ''Lake Worth Dail ...
''.
Varney died in
Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
Palm Beach Gardens is a city in Palm Beach County in the U.S. state of Florida, 77 miles north of downtown Miami. , the population was 59,182. Palm Beach Gardens is a principal city of the Miami metropolitan area, which was home to an estimated 6 ...
, on July 14, 2022, at the age of 85.
Awards and accolades
In 1987, Varney was awarded an honorary doctorate by the
University of Charleston
The University of Charleston (UC) is a private non-profit university with its main campus in Charleston, West Virginia. The university also has a location in Beckley, West Virginia, known as UC-Beckley.
History
The school was founded in 1888 a ...
in West Virginia. In 1990, he was inducted into ''Interior Design'' magazine's hall of fame,
and in 1990 he was selected to be in "AD 100 An Exclusive Guide To The World's Finest Interior Designers".
In 1991 he was listed in ''Interior Designers of the United States of America'' and in 2005 was named by ''Architectural Digest'' as one of 30 Deans of American Design. In 2008 Judith Gura included him as one of New York's inventors of tradition.
[ In 2015, he was awarded the 2015 Design Icon Award at the Las Vegas Market.]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Varney, Carleton
1937 births
2022 deaths
American designers
People from Lynn, Massachusetts