John Thain: America's New Sun King

Louis XIV (1638–1715), by Charles Le Brun

On July 18, 1668 in the gardens of Versailles, Louis XIV threw quite a fête for himself to celebrate his military victories. "Le Grand Divertissement royal," it was called, and cost one-third the yearly budget of Versailles. Royal parties were expensive. So Louis raised taxes -- relying heavily on the peasants -- and forced prosperous towns to pay homage of huge sums.

The Sun King was well known for his opulent extravagance. This is best exemplified by the construction of his palace at Versailles, his Hall of Mirrors and over the top baroque furnishings. Louis' motivation was not based just on his eye for luxury, but it was also a way of controlling the nobility, reducing their power and keeping a sharp eye for any potential rivals. Louis was flattered by all as much as he was feared. He insisted on his particular daily rituals, the Levee and the Coucher. Around 8:30 am the king, resting in his bed, would hear: “It is time, Sire”. The levee was a ceremonial rising just for him. Doctors, family and a few favored friends entered the king's bedroom where he was washed, combed, shaven and dressed. Then he slurped down a breakfast of broth with everyone standing around. It was estimated the attendants numbered one hundred, all male. At 11:30 pm, The Coucher, was performed -- a reverse, shortened version of the levee to celebrate Louis retiring to bed.

Skip to nearly four-and-a-half centuries later in America and I can’t help to see some similarities. John Thain’s task last year was to oversee the sale of Merrill Lynch to Bank of America Corporation and take over the bank's wealth management and corporate and investment banking divisions. He had to reduce expenses and fix the security firm. In order to get his wits about him, he needed to spend $1.2 million of the bank's money to lavishly redecorate his Merrill Lynch office while major layoffs were looming and the firm was going down in flames.

Thain hired (the fabulous) Michael Smith for $800,000 to create an environment where he could adequately think about this mess. Smith procured two area rugs for a total of $131,000, two guest chairs for $87,000, a nineteenth-century sideboard (mistakenly called a ‘credenza’) for $68,000, four pairs of drapes at $28,000, Roman shades for $11,000, a mahogany pedestal table at $25,000, a George IV Desk for $18,000, a sofa for $15,000; a custom coffee table for $16,000; Regency Chairs for $24,000 (personally, I question if they were period and designers out there: is this appropriate for a commercial application?); 40 yards of fabric for wall panels for $5,000, six wall sconces for $2,700, and a parchment covered trash can for $1,400.

In his private dining room he ordered six chairs for $37,000, a mirror for $5,000, and a chandelier for $13,000. And lastly, a $35,000 "commode on legs." (I assume this means a toilet and not a French dresser.)

Thain signed off on the purchases, as well as, "Labor to relamp the six wall sconces" for $3,000, and another payment of $30,000 to pay additional expenses Smith had incurred.

Michael Smith is being paid $100,000 to redecorate for the Obamas, which includes items from Target. (According to The Daily Beast), by the way.

We live in a society where an outrageous level of compensation is a justifiable reward for executives. Apparently, this level of extravagance is standard operating behavior. And apparently, high-profile CEO’s have the power, magnitude and all the glory of kings.

Are the rest of us mere peasants? According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics the national average salary is a little over $40,000, or in other words, approximately one thirtieth of Thain's expenses for the redecoration of his office.

Bank of America received $25 billion in bailout funds and then an additional $20 billion mid January while Thain spent $1.2 million to have his office redecorated out of the profits of the company as previous employers he axed were out of work. Merrill Lynch lost $56 billion from sub prime loans and the credit crisis, so what’s another $1.2 million, eh John? As Marie-Antoinette allegedly uttered a century later, “Let them eat cake?” – and we all know what happened to her.

Hey Thain, what principles were this great country founded upon?

(Thain resigned at the end of last month after being found out and has vowed to repay the funds. Must be a drop in the ocean from his end-of-the-year bonus.)

Death of a Closet

My closet finally gave way last week. Sometime in the wee hours I heard a crash. With a few nearly impossible deadlines looming, extended family in for the holidays and days without decent rest, I was a bit tired. I needed to make sure I was down for the count with the aid of a few sleeping pillies. So when the crash of the closet came, I looked up, looked at my dog and put my head back down. I wasn’t getting out of bed. I told myself, surely the crash was the ice storm outside.

The husband next to me did not stir. Until the following morning when he saw the closet doors bulging. The rule I set in our home is no talking, no sudden movements and most certainly no loud noises until after the second cup of coffee. Which he respected, and then it came…

Apparently, I have too many clothes. I cannot believe that otherwise I would not have been holding my head in my hands wondering what to wear to Christmas parties this season. The bar that fell was beyond repair and the holes in either side of the walls were enormous, puffing out bits of plaster relieved of their responsibility to carry so much weight. There was no time to find a replacement. So my clothing sat on the floor and I could only ferret out a skirt and a sweater which I wore Christmas Eve and Christmas day and the next day until stores opened back up. The guilt I felt for my few pairs of shoes buried underneath the rubble unable to breathe was acute. And then I felt guilty about feeling guilty over shoes when there are so many unfortunate and real situations in life that I should feel guilty about. Everyone surely has one or two, three or even four pairs of shoes -- the kind that are so fabulous to the eye and cost beyond anything reasonable. The kind you simply cannot financially justify splurging on, but you do, contort your face and look away as you hand the credit card over to the sales clerk.

Stores opened back up and my thoughtful husband ventured out in the wet icy snow to find a 7’-0” long new pole. He came home to tell me there weren’t any. So I sent him off to purchase a hanging rack. A quarter of the width of my closet, I tripled up my clothing on hangers and hooked them on the rack. Uncovering my poor overly-expensive shoes below, I picked them up and cradled them (kidding, not really) before I set them gingerly aside on the floor. I also set several of my handbags on the rack above. Before nodding off that evening in a particularly pleasant haze that certain sleeping pills give me, I noticed the rack was leaning a bit. I was soon fast asleep. I had a lot of work to do the following day.

In the wee hours of the morning, I awoke yet again to my clothing rack crashing down on the bed – handbags flying, dresses, pants, skirts suffocating me. Husband didn’t stir. I’m the one on the pills.

I shoved everything back in the closet. The next morning, the husband said I have too many handbags. It was the weight of so many handbags that caused the rack to topple over. That simply is not true.

On my extensive “attempt to accomplish” list for 2009, I vow to get myself a new closet. I’ve changed the once “must” to “attempt” as the years pass, I find myself a bit more realistic. Although I crave any of the above closet designs, it simply isn’t in my budget. I have a modest reach-in closet and well, because of this recession there have been some cut backs. Hanging rods and cubby holes for shoes… that is all I need. In an ideal world, I would see a move into a much larger, brighter residence with an unlimited budget to convert an extra bedroom into a closet of my dreams (I haven't decided on a finish just yet...) But realism, unfortunately prevails.


Street in Elora, Ontario after an ice storm – photo taken sometime between 1900 and 1919 by John R. Connon (1862-1931) was a professional photographer and inventor of photographic equipment active in Elora, Ontario in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Closets by LA Closet Design

Antiques Market in 2008

Over the past few decades the marketplace for antiques and decorative arts has significantly changed. The 1980s saw a huge price increase for antiques, followed by a downturn in the 1990s. Around 2000, the marketplace continued to slow which drove a number of mid-level antique stores out of business.

Now in 2008, many auction houses, furniture dealers and consignment shops have closed their doors. It’s been bruited about by nervous dealers that antique furniture is going for a quarter of what it sold for just a year ago. Struggling dealers, as well as collectors, are busy liquidating their collections. What is going on?

After 36 years Red Baron’s Antiques will host its very last auction this weekend --
September 27 and 28, in Atlanta, Georgia.

The uncertainty of the economic situation in the US is certainly to blame. Another factor is the huge increase in merchandise readily available to collectors via the internet, which has threatened and continues to threaten the livelihood of the traditional middleman. Who needs an informed agent or an advisor when sellers are able to directly deal with customers all over the world?

In the past, increased competition between buyers for the shrinking market of available high-end pieces has driven the price of these items way up. However, this year even the top auctioneers have experienced disappointing results; competition for the few remaining quality pieces has become fierce. In the meantime, prices at the moderate level of the antiques market have remained static and not moving. Until recently a few bold collectors were still willing to pay relatively high prices for hard-to-find items. Eighteenth century English pieces in exceptional condition are still thriving. Whatever, the market continues to soften.

In April Sotheby’s estimated this rare Irish mahogany card table c. 1750 to reach anywhere between $40,000 - $60,000. The hammer price (including buyer’s premium was only $37,000.)

Compounding all this is the fact that the world of antiques and decorative arts has been undergoing a fundamental change during this decade. People don’t want the traditional stuff anymore. Contemporary is rapidly becoming the most sought-after. Open any interior design magazine and you’ll find an eclectic array of mid-century modern pieces. 1stdibs has become the important internet venue which showcases almost exclusively 20th century pieces. Regional art fairs have accelerated the interest in contemporary and decorative arts.

Eccentric Italian designer Carlo Mollino’s oak and glass table from 1949 sold for $3.8 million at Christie's New York in 2005. It was was estimated to fetch a mere $150,000 to $200,000.

A shaky economy, now downright perilous, is not good for the auction houses and retail dealers. Everyone, understandably, seems to be walking on eggshells. Despite these fluctuations, quality pieces remain quality, seemingly in defiance of the vicissitudes of the market. If there is one constant in this madhouse it’s that really good quality pieces manage to maintain their inherent value. Markets may be cyclical, but top-quality antique furniture will always retain its special value.