In December, 2007, the Metropolitan Museum of Art opened new galleries for 19th- and early 20th-century European paintings and sculpture. The renovated spaces feature the Museum's most beloved 19th-century paintings, which have been on permanent display in the past, as well as works by Bonnard, Vuillard, Soutine, Matisse, Picasso, and other early modern artists. Among the many additions is a full-room assembly of "The Wisteria Dining Room" a French art nouveau interior designed by Lucien Levy Dhurmer shortly before World War I. It is the only complete example of its kind in the United States. The dining room is furnished with appropriately styled decorative arts including a vase purchased from the Jason Jacques Gallery.
Lévy-Dhurmer, like many of his contemporaries (such as Josef Hoffmann in Austria, Charles Rennie Mackintosh in Scotland, Frank Lloyd Wright in America, Victor Horta in Belgium, and Hector Guimard in France), worked as an ensemblier, conceiving interiors to be consistent works of art. One major difference, however, was that Levy-Dhurmer approached his projects as an artist rather than as an architect. Lévy Dhurmer began his career as a pastel painter and before creating the Wisteria Dining room devoted several years to designing luster glazes and decorations for pottery produced by Clement Massier. Examples of Lévy Dhurmer and Massier's work can be closely examined and acquired at the Jason Jacques gallery, only a few blocks from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Museum is located at 1000 Fifth Avenue at 82nd Street; 212-535-7710; www.metmuseum.org.