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Linda Eaton writes in her article, Ernest LoNamo: Decorator's Counsel
Although little known today the firm of Ernest LoNano was once one of the most influential in the United States, having designed and made textile furnishings for many historic houses and private clients for over sixty years. The story of the firm is complex and wide-ranging, and documentary evidence is scattered and incomplete. It is hoped that this paper will provide an introduction to LoNano’s work and raise awareness of the significance of the firm’s impact on museums, historic houses, and private homes for much of the twentieth century.
The history of the firm can be a bit confusing, mainly because it was headed by three generations of men with the same name. The first Ernest LoNano came to the United States from Italy in 1899, and described himself as an upholsterer in the 1920 census. In 1929 the firm’s letterhead proudly proclaimed that they had worked for 17 years with the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Ten years after his death in 1934 the first Ernest LoNano was remembered as a “pre-eminent member of the staff,” and the firm was still working there into the 1960s. The second Ernest LoNano was born in 1901 and went into the business with his father in the 1920s – signing letters as “Jr” until his father’s death. This was the Ernest LoNano who by the 1950s had greatly expanded the firm and positioned it as the leader in the field of historic interiors. Ernest S. LoNano, the third generation, was working in the business by the 1950s. He was often known as Steve until his father’s death in 1958 when he, in turn, took over the business which continued successfully until about 1980.
Although the records are unclear, Ernest LoNano undoubtedly worked on the first installation of period rooms in the American Wing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. These rooms had an enormous impact on interior design when they first opened to the public in 1924. The firm had also worked on the period rooms at the Brooklyn Museum in the 1920s. Another early client was Fiske Kimball, preservation architect and director of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, who recommended the second Ernest LoNano for the restoration work at Jefferson’s Monticello in 1937, describ-ing him as an interior decorator and upholsterer “who is the best in this field, and in whom I have full confidence.”
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1 comment:
Please spell my father's name correctly. It was Ernest S. LoNano, not Lommano.
And, if you had done your research, there is no mystery about what he did.
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