Biography of Alexander Hayden Girard

Alexander Hayden Girard was born on May 24, 1907, in New York City. His parents, Carlo Matteo Girard, an Italian of French descent, and Lezlie, née Cutler, an American, raised their children bilingually (Italian and English). Called "Sandro" by his parents, Alexander initially grew up with his brother and sister on the family estate, "La Lucciola," near Florence. In Florence, Girard's father dealt in antiques. This idyllic life came to an abrupt end when ten-year-old Alexander was sent to an English boarding school. Bedford Modern School, located in the town of Bedford, the county town of Bedfordshire north of London, consisted of a primary school, which Girard attended in his final year, and a secondary school for students aged eleven to eighteen.

Exotic artifacts

The half-mile swim from Bedford Town Bridge to Bedford Suspension Bridge, held at the boarding school and contested by the students, proved daunting for most. However, the school's own Prichard Museum, from which the Bedford Museum later evolved, piqued Girard's interest. At the time, it consisted largely of a collection of objects from around the world, sent to the school by alumni, along with part of George Witt's collection of exotic artifacts.

Republic of Fife

Girard would later become a collector of exotic, primarily ethnic, artifacts from Central and South America and Asia, which would serve as the basis for his work. However, at boarding school, Girard initially escaped into his imagination and his invented country, the 'Republic of Fife,' complete with a self-designed flag, currency, maps, and postage stamps, for which he drew inspiration, among other things, from heraldic motifs from Renaissance Florence.

Study of architecture

At the age of 17, Girard began studying architecture at the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London, graduating with honors five years later. He then spent two years at the Scuola Reale di Architettura in Rome, followed by studies at New York University from 1932 to 1935, which allowed him to work as a practicing architect in the USA.

Early in his studies in New York, Girard opened a design office in Manhattan and sold furnishings to a clientele that included private individuals, retailers, and restaurant owners until 1937. His passion for interior design had already been discovered in 1929 through his design of the exhibition rooms for the Guild of Craftsmen in Florence at the Barcelona World's Fair, for which he received an award.

Cheers at Café Trouville

Girard was immediately enthusiastic when he was commissioned to design the 'Café Trouville' at 112 East 52nd Street in New York in 1934. French-Italian cuisine was served against a backdrop of European cities, whose views adorned the walls. The air-conditioned Café Trouville quickly made a name for itself as a restaurant, bar, and cocktail lounge. International guests found the toast "Prosit" in twenty languages on glasses and tables.

From tortillas and tenderloin

Throughout his career, Girard contributed to numerous interior design projects for retail and restaurants, and it is striking how he—as he had previously done during his school days in England—created his own worlds into which the customer or guest literally immersed themselves. A prime example of this is the restaurant 'La Fond del Sol' in the Time & Life Building, which, from 1960 to 1971 in New York City, offered the best of Central and South American cuisine "from tortillas to tenderloin." Besides the motif of the sun in all imaginable variations, geometric patterns—squares, circles, diamonds, stripes, etc.—adorned napkins, matchboxes, and the staff's uniforms. An adobe house integrated into the restaurant is reminiscent of Girard's own home in Santa Fe. Its authenticity and uniqueness are hard to surpass.

The Miller House

Among Girard's interior designs for private residences, the home of Joseph Irwin Miller, president of the engine manufacturer Cummins Incorporated, and his wife Xenia Simons Miller is particularly noteworthy. Firstly, because it was declared a U.S. National Historic Landmark in 2000 and, following Mrs. Miller's death in 2010, donated to the Indianapolis Museum of Art. Secondly, because Girard's design of this house represents a connection to perhaps the most prominent and influential benefactor of his hometown of Columbus. It was Miller who, in 1954, founded the Cummins Foundation, a foundation that, beginning in 1957, assumed responsibility for all architects' fees for public buildings in Columbus. This led to Columbus being ranked the sixth most important city in America for architecture by the American Institute of Architects in 1991. As a result of the Cummins Foundation's funding, buildings were constructed by world-renowned architects such as Eero Saarinen, Gunnar Birkerts, Kevin Roche, I.M. Pei, Richard Meier, César Pelli, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, and Harry Weese. For many of these buildings, Girard was commissioned to design the interiors, thus building a substantial portfolio of reference projects.

Inside Miller House

In the Miller House, one of the most famous American homes in the Mid-Century Modern design style, the clean and linear architectural style of the building's exterior continues inside. At the same time, the textiles, lighting, furniture, and ornaments selected and used by Girard skillfully soften this linearity, transforming the Miller House into a comfortable and inviting home for the Miller family, who actively participated in and reflected their personal style in the interior design. For example, the cushions for the dining room chairs are adorned with the initials of family members. Symbols reflecting the family's preferences and history are immortalized in a rug. A built-in wall, stretching over 15 meters in length and comprised of bookshelves, niches, and cabinets, offers both: space for objects to be displayed and items to be kept out of sight. The idea for a "conversation pit" instead of a seating area in the living room is attributed to Girard. This pit consists of a square recessed into the ground, enclosing the sunken benches. No pompous sofas or armchairs, but rather benches set into the ground, reinforcing the clean lines of the architecture. Girard is said to have suggested them to the Millers so as not to obstruct the view of the garden. For the garden itself is an example of unusual and elaborate landscape architecture, designed by landscape architect Dan Kiley.

Living laboratory in Santa Fe

In the same year that construction began on the Miller House, Girard moved to Santa Fe. The capital of the US state of New Mexico is known for its creative scene, comprised of artisans, painters, and musicians. Here, at the foot of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, surrounded by Spanish-Mexican architecture and Pueblo-style buildings, Girard would remain until his death in 1993. Here, he spent what were arguably his most creative years in a roughly 200-year-old adobe house, which he acquired in 1953, lived in, and simultaneously used as a kind of "living laboratory." For forty years, Girard continually redesigned his house, changing the interior furnishings, home accessories, and wall colors. To this day, Girard's residence in Santa Fe remains a unique artifact of creative living, and images of it can be found in numerous architecture, interior design, and fashion magazines. At the same time, Girard used his style as a template for a number of other projects, including, in 1957, the private residence of director Billy Wilder in Los Angeles.

Furniture manufacturer Herman Miller

While still in Michigan, Girard had taken over the management of the textile department at the American furniture manufacturer Herman Miller in the fall of 1951. The first textile collection under his direction was launched a year later. This was followed by approximately 300 patterns for wallpapers and fabrics of all kinds over a period of twenty years. The high-quality and durable decorative and upholstery fabrics were characterized by color blocking and the combination of bold colors such as... Red, Violet and Orange out – which was rather unusual at the time. In addition, there are ethnic symbols, letters, classic patterns, and simple geometric shapes such as squares, circles, and triangles, sometimes combined. Classic patterns like "Pepita," "Checker," and "Minicheck" are still produced today by the New York textile manufacturer "Maharam" and are available by the meter and as home accessories.

During his time at Herman Miller, Girard collaborated with designers such as George Nelson and Ray and Charles Eames. Many of these encounters extended beyond his work for Herman Miller. For example, in 1957, Girard assisted the Eameses with the production of a documentary film about the Mexican "Dia de los Muertos" (Day of the Dead).

Collectors of folk art

Alexander Girard Girard and his wife Susan were avid collectors of ethnic folk art. This passion began in the late 1930s and continued until Girard's death. On extensive travels through Central and South America and Asia, the Girards amassed well over 100,000 artifacts from approximately one hundred countries: figurines, fabrics, jewelry, toys, decorative objects, and much more, which they initially displayed in their home in Santa Fe. In 1962, the Girards established the Girard Foundation to house this collection, which, among other things, donated around 100,000 objects to the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe. Girard designed a new wing specifically for his collection, as the donation instantly quintupled the museum's holdings, necessitating more space. This wing opened in 1982 and displays approximately 10,000 objects from the Girard Collection.

Arts of India

Using souvenirs from a trip to India in 1954, Girard curated the 1955 exhibition "Textiles and Ornamental Arts of India" for the Museum of Modern Art in New York. A 17-meter-long reflecting pool, framed by twelve golden columns and draped with fabric, served as the centerpiece. Attracting 300,000 visitors, the exhibition was a success, bringing Girard to the attention of the Indian government under Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. In 1965, the traveling exhibition "Nehru: His Life and His India," commissioned by the Indian government, followed, aiming to showcase modern India.

Murals and panels

In 1961, Herman Miller opened his "Textiles & Objects" shop in New York. Girard was commissioned to design the store's interior and once again presented his fabrics, decorative items, and folk art objects. Although the shop remained open for only two years, Herman Miller and Girard reached a wide audience thanks to extensive press coverage.

In 1962 and 1964, Girard installed three-dimensional murals, a type of wall painting, at Hallmark Cards in Kansas City, now America's largest greeting card manufacturer, and at the agricultural machinery manufacturer John Deere in Moline, Illinois. Girard filled a glass display case approximately 60 meters long and three meters high with advertisements, photographs, letters, and other exhibits depicting the company's history since 1837. In 1965, Girard developed the corporate design for Braniff International Airways. Aircraft fuselage, interior, lounges, furniture, playing cards, napkins—all bore Girard's signature. The flight attendants' uniforms, designed by fashion designer Emilio Pucci in an astronaut-inspired style, garnered particular attention.

Finally, in 1971, Girard introduced his so-called "Environmental Enrichment Panels." These were a type of screen, fabric-covered elements designed to provide privacy to certain areas of a room. A year later, at Valentine's Day, followed by the "Love Heart" design, which has enjoyed great popularity ever since.

Happy Honeymoon

While living in New York, Alexander Girard met and fell in love with Susan Needham, who was three years younger than him. The couple married in 1936 and had two children together, a son named Marshall and a daughter named Sansi (born in 1945). Shortly after their wedding, the couple moved from New York to Detroit, where Girard initially found employment with interior designer Thomas A. Esling in 1937. In 1945, Girard opened a shop in the Detroit suburb of Glosse Pointe, where he displayed and sold decorative and toy figures. From there, Girard realized several prestigious interior design projects and exhibitions: a canteen and radio cabinets for the radio manufacturer "Deutrola" in Dearborn (1943), office furnishings for the Ford Motor Company, also in Dearborn (1943), and a cafeteria for the Lincoln Motor Company in Detroit (1946). In Detroit, Girard also planned his first house, which he and his family moved into in 1948. The following year, the "For Modern Living" exhibition at the Detroit Institute of Arts was a success, attracting 150,000 visitors. Among other things, the Plywood Chairs by Ray and Charles Eames were shown there for the first time. Besides the Eameses, friendships also developed between them with George Nelson and Eero Saarinen.

The four elements

Girard finally found a lifelong home with his move to Santa Fe. In this place, all the elements were alive: the "crystal-clear, fresh air" (the element of air), the hot sun and fires "that smell of incense" (the element of fire), the legendary Rio Grande (the element of water), and the ochre-colored soil and adobe houses (the element of earth). It was here, on New Year's Eve 1993, that Girard's journey ended when he died in his adopted home of Santa Fe. Three years later, in 1996, his wife Susan followed him.

What remains is his collection, some of his fabrics and home accessories, and a quote that sums up Girard's motivation: "I believe we should preserve these testimonies of the past, not as models for sentimental imitation, but as nourishment for the creative spirit of the present."„