Elisabeth C. Draper (1900-1993) was a prominent interior decorator in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Mrs. Draper was one of the grande dames of decorating in an era when a professionally decorated home was a mark of privilege. She became known for comfortable rooms that mixed antiques with contemporary furnishings.

Early life

She was born Elisabeth Carrington Frank in

in 1900, the daughter of Charles and Louise Frank. She attended Miss Spence's School but left before her graduation in 1918 to be trained as a radio operator 1st class, and served in that capacity until the end of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Career

In 1929 Mrs. Draper and her sister, Tiffany Taylor, establishing a decorating firm called Taylor & Low. In 1935 she married Dr. George Draper and the next year she established a business under her own name. In 1948 she was hired by

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

to refurbish the President's House to make it ready for the new president of Columbia,

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

. She decorated the Eisenhowers' New York home as well as the Eisenhower farmhouse in

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania Gettysburg (; non-locally ) is a borough and the county seat of Adams County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The Battle of Gettysburg (1863) and President Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address are named for this town. Gettysburg is home to th ...

. In 1980 Mrs. Draper was hired as a consultant to help the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

document the history of the interior of the Eisenhower’s Gettysburg farmhouse. She decorated the American Embassy in Paris for Ambassador

Amory Houghton Amory Houghton (July 27, 1899 – February 21, 1981) served as United States Ambassador to France from 1957 to 1961 and as national president of the Boy Scouts of America. He was chairman of the board of Corning Glass Works (1941–1961). In 195 ...

, worked on a number of rooms at the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

, and did the interiors of

Blair House Blair House, also known as The President's Guest House, is an official residence in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. The President's Guest House has been called "the world's most exclusive hotel" because it is primarily used ...

. The Old Merchant's House on East Fourth Street in Manhattan was restored under her direction. In 1967, she said: "I came along in that lovely ladies' era of decorating and just before all the talented men began emerging in the field."

References

External links

Papers of Elisabeth C. Draper, Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Draper, Elisabeth C. Spence School alumni 1900 births 1993 deaths American women interior designers American interior designers 20th-century American women 20th-century American people