Into the Archive: Tablescapes in Full Bloom

While summer house guests are reason enough to have blooming tablescapes on the brain, we have another: “Staging the Table,” a recent exhibition at the Bard Graduate Center on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. While this show told the story of European tablescapes from 1500 through 1800 (think exquisitely folded napkins, for starters), the AD Archive is a full resource unto itself on American tablescapes over the past 100-plus year period.

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Happy reading!

When a blended family sought out a retreat in the English countryside, a colorful manor followed in short order. While the dining room’s pastel walls and chairs may steal the show, its peony-appointed table is not to be missed. The feature appeared in the February 2018 issue of AD.

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In 2020, when we first took a look back at tablescapes in the AD Archive, Arnold Scaasi’s exemplary 1977 offering topped the list. The mise-en-scène, complete with daisy-festooned candlestick holders and fishy placemats, is well worth a close read.

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Flowers sprouted throughout the grounds of Angela Cummings’s idyll, not least of all on her blue and white–themed table. This photograph, and its correlating feature, were published in the April 1982 issue of Architectural Digest.

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In the November/December 1972 issue, Architectural Digest explored the topic of diplomatic dining. A fitting subject for the Bard exhibition—and perhaps, many a family gathering. Out of many offerings, the highlight here has to be one silver tentacled candelabra.

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