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architectural styles and motifs. The buildings feature a sloped Thai roof, Greek columns, English windows, French floor design, and
Georgian moldings and match Headley's eclectic style and tastes. The library holds a 1,500 volume collection of fine art books. The Jewel Room was built to display his collection of jewelry and bibelots, and is designed to evoke the feeling of a jewelry box with its dark enclosed interior. Both rooms are littered with Headley's collection of natural curios, specimens, objects, and art collected during his travels abroad. A former three car garage was transformed into a
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In 1940s, he opened his own jewelry boutique in the Hotel Bel-Air in Los
Angeles. After nearly a decade in California, he returned to La Belle in 1950 to be with his aging parents. At La Belle, he continued his career designing jewelry and bibelots, and collecting. Bibelots is a French term denoting
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The La Belle farm was originally designed by
Warfield Gratz in 1926. To house his growing collections, Headley hired Lexington architect Robert Pinkerton to design an luxurious and distinctive Jewel Room and Library. The rooms were heavily influenced by Headley's travels, drawing upon many different
225:"The idea of making a Swiss carving of a walnut came to me in the middle of the night. I drew two gold diamond canaries building a nest, and three diamond butterflies. By cutting the walnut in half and hollowing it out, I had space for a nest. When it opens one can see several tiny turquoise eggs."
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a knick-knack or curio. Popular in the 19th century, they are small, beautiful, decorative objects often made with precious materials and intricate craftsmanship. In 1966, Headley was noted as the "greatest living creator of this extravagant craft", as well as for similar small boxes.
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on
January 8, 1908, to Louise and George Headley Jr., a wealthy family which moved to Mississippi soon after his birth. He attended New Jersey preparatory school Lawrenceville School from 1924 to 1926. Artistically inclined from an early age, he studied art for one year in 1927 at the
228:"Another piece I designed was made from a fragment of shell found at St. James Beach in Barbados. It is mounted with gold seaweed, and supports a coral mermaid from eighteenth century Naples."
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The museum continues to be a popular attraction in the
Lexington area. In the early days of the museum, Headley himself offered guided tours of his Jewel Room and Library.
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113:(January 8, 1908 – February 7, 1985) was an American jewelry designer, collector, socialite and founder of the Headley-Whitney Museum in
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Jewelry, Designs, and Art: George W. Headley
Retrospective, by Headley-Whitney Museum, 2006, 43 pages
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The
Headley Treasures of Bibelots and Boxes, by George W. Headley, 1966, published by October House.
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in 1949, where he died in 1985, two years after his wife. With a second home in
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263:"Palm Beach Daily News, Jan 19, 1963 - George Headley Tires of Life of Leisure"
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Verdura: the life and work of a master jeweler, by
Patricia Corbett, 2002
312:"Headley-Whitney Museum, introduction to Headley Virtual Exhibition"
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Headley got his start in 1930, as an apprentice to popular jeweler
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Headley described two of his pieces to the Palm Beach Daily News:
431:"TripAdvisor Page for Headley-Whitney Museum, Lexington Kentucky"
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166:and then moved to France to attend the Parisian L'
452:Hollywood Jewels, by H.N. Abrams, 1992, 200 pages
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515:American alumni of the École des Beaux-Arts
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406:"Headley-Whitney Museum - Shell Grotto"
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157:George William Headley III was born in
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178:(died 1992), and daughter of sculptor
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381:"Headley-Whitney Museum - Jewel Room"
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356:"Headley-Whitney Museum - Library"
284:"Headley-Whitney Museum - History"
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145:, as well as for his extravagant
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490:People from Lynchburg, Virginia
485:20th-century American jewellers
164:Art Students League of New York
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182:(died 1942), founder of the
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442:Additional sources
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100:Notable work
52:(1985-02-07)
480:1985 deaths
475:1908 births
188:Los Angeles
131:Gary Cooper
65:Nationality
469:Categories
416:2012-11-30
391:2012-11-30
366:2012-11-30
322:2012-11-30
294:2012-11-30
249:References
208:Paul Flato
123:Paul Flato
153:Biography
93:Jewellery
75:Education
192:La Belle
147:bibelots
69:American
202:Career
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