Instant Collection: Silhouettes

photo: Simon Upton
A Kara Walker silhouette adorns Lisa Fine's Paris apartment, courtesy of Elle Decor.

Silhouettes are striking. They just are. After several long posts, I won't go into the history of them, which is well chronicled, I'll just briefly say that silhouettes first came into fashion in 18th century France, and quickly became popular with both rich and poor as an attractive alternative to the more expensive and labor intensive traditional painted portrait.

Group of six American and British silhouettes,
up for auction on May 28th.

Highly collectable, silhouettes are often displayed in groups and auctioned off in a similar fashion. As a result, they make an ideal inaugural subject for Instant Collection: one of my sometimes series where I highlight things that, with one wine, a collection make. There is always at least one nice lot of silhouettes up for auction, it seems. This lot of six British and American silhouettes, above, caught my eye. It's up for bidding at Brunk Auctions in North Carolina on May 28th with a starting bid of $150. (While you're on the site, look around; Brunk always has a lot of great things!)

I'll close with some designer eye candy. First up, Alessandra Branca adjoins a pair of silhouettes with ribbons, furthering emphasizing their graphic design.

photo: Thibault Jeanson
An Alessandra Branca designed bedroom, courtesy of Elle Decor.

Below, a Michael Smith rendering of a gentleman's bathroom (excuse the gutter crease!), taken from his wonderful book, Houses, illustrates how a silhouette collection can elegantly enhance a room.

drawing: Mark Matusak
English style bathroom, courtesy of Michael S. Smith, Houses.

photo: William Waldron
Ernest de la Torre's silhouette hangs in a bedroom of his own design,
 courtesy of Elle Decor.

A single silhouette provides striking contrast in the stunning bedroom of designer Ernest de la Torre and landscape designer Kris Haberman. Incidentally, there's no reason you can't start your silhouette collection with a profile you know and love: your own!

Contemporary silhouette by artist Barbara Ensor,
courtesy of House Beautiful .