French Interiors

(Catalogue nos. 58-61)

In addition to studying historic interiors first-hand, Trevor often peruses art books and sale catalogues for inspiration.  The drawings in this final section are idealised recreations of interiors which combine or modify decorative schemes that Trevor has discovered in photographs, with further elements added from his own imagination.   The starting point for the first two drawings (cat. nos. 58-59) are images from a Christie’s sale catalogue of ‘Noble & Private Collections’, the French-style interiors of a home owned by an unnamed Portuguese count.  In two views of a formal drawing room, Trevor adds his own decorative flourishes and infuses the scenes with character.  As seen in other drawings in the exhibition, such as those after or inspired by the Wallace Collection (cat. nos. 1-4, 6), Trevor conjures the texture of the silk damask curtains, wall coverings and upholstery by frottage, first placing the paper on tooled leather and rubbing wax crayon over it then applying ink and watercolour wash.
 
In catalogue no. 59, a view that recalls the formal French interiors described by Walter Gay, he enlivens the composition with a brightly hued green chair prominently placed in the foreground.  Similar chairs appear in a view of a panelled drawing room (cat. no. 60), but they are now of a soft, celadon green. The series closes with view of a French dining room (cat. no. 61), largely invented, which encapsulates Trevor’s love of display and artifice.  A vase of tulips, his favourite - and signature - flower, is prominently placed at the table’s centre.