Born in Hungary, László, a third generation furniture designer, studied architecture in Germany in the early 1920's. After spending a brief time
in Paris, he achieved his early European success while living in Stuttgart from 1924-1935. During this time László became an established freelance designer and art director designing houses for very famous and notable
European families. Here he learned the trade of designing fabrics as well as culling artists for "finishing" the homes.In 1935, during Adolph Hitler's rise to power, László, along with many other architects and designers,
fled to America. "I don't know why I chose California, but ever since I first heard the word it sounded melodious to me and I have always imagined it to be filled with sunshine and palm trees". In a single day, he
secured an apartment, bought a car and joined a tennis club. He then began the process of learning English from the movies and radio.
From an old European client, he landed his first stateside job designing a shoe
manufacturing warehouse in downtown LA. Shortly thereafter, he was commissioned to design the Bullock's department store on Wilshire Boulevard and six other showrooms across California including the Beverly Hills Saks-Fifth
Avenue.
By the late 1940's László had built and designed homes for Hollywood's most elite insiders such as William Wyler, Cary Grant, Elizabeth Taylor, Barbara Stanwyck, Barbara Hutton, Fritz Lang, Gloria Vanderbilt, Henry Blake,
as well as the casino, showrooms and hotel interiors for Howard Hughes. George Nelson in 1948 described László's designs as having "generous dimensions, great elegance of appearance, and impeccable taste", all of which
translated easily to the glamorous Hollywood life-style.
In 1950, on one of their many trips to Beverly Hills, John and Floreine Hudspeth contacted Paul László about designing their Prineville, Oregon estate. The project
also included plans for building a shopping center, sales and service center, and a motel. In all this was a $2 million project, by far László's largest commission to date. {The shopping center designs were published in
the October 1954 issue of Arts & Architecture Magazine.}
At the time John M. Hudspeth was the owner and director of 12 lumber mills in Oregon, Utah and in Colorado. In addition, he owned several commercial
properties in Prineville including an Oldsmobile/GMC sales center. In total Mr. Hudspeth owned nearly a million acres of ranch and timber property through out Oregon.
The estate was completed in 1952 - fully decorated and
furnished by Mr. László from floor to ceiling. The main residence was just over 12,000 square feet and sited on a 7,000 acre ranch overlooking the Cascade Mountains with spectacular views of Mt. Bachelor, Broken Top, the
Three Sisters, and Black Butte. The residence contains ten bedrooms and a nursery, a billiard room with soda fountain, a formal dining room, an elaborate kitchen, a living room, a breakfast room, as well as a formal
gallery. With the assistance of Mr. Hudspeth's own timber mills, the house had custom beams and Douglas Fir wood paneling which complemented the furnishings.
To
accomplish this large commission, László reached back to the art directing skills he honed in Germany to incorporate works by artisans of distinction into his designs. This created long lasting and unique collaborations
between the decorator and craftsman. Two of the best known artisans which László returned to again and again, were F.F. Kern, an accomplished wood carver, and the husband and wife team of Karin and Ernst van Leyden of Botega
Karin. Kern's work typically exhibits soft curvaceous forms carved in wood and are reminiscent of contemporary sculptures by Isamu Noguchi and Henry Moore. The work produced by Botega Karin most often incorporates hand
painted glass panels in a Picasso-esque cubist style. The softness of Kern and Botega Karin's strength of line and striking color helped to create an interior that is at once full of contrasts yet at the same time
harmonious.
In total, no less than five works by F.F. Kern were created for the Hudspeth commission, including several lamps, a coffee table, and a unique sculpture featuring stylized birds within a cage. The works
by Botega Karin, which have become almost synonymous with László interiors, is represented in an exquisite pair of reverse painted glass table lamps and figural murals. These works accompanied the many custom
furnishings László designed in his own workshop – in all, over 100 items accessorized the Hudspeth home. Many of László's subsequent interiors expanded on the designs created for the Hudspeth residence. Indeed, many of
the furnishings he designed for the Hudspeth's influenced those that he chose for his own home in Brentwood which was renovated in 1953 immediately following the home in Prineville.
To many, the Hudspeth commission epitomized
László's noted signature scheme to complete the house fully accessorized. "People would hire him, go to Europe and come back six or nine months later to find the paintings on the wall, the toilet paper on the roller and
slippers by the bed" remembers Julius Shulman, the noted architectural photographer.
Admittedly his houses were very expensive, yet he hoped that his ideas would trickle down to the mass market. Although László put some of
his designs into production through companies like Herman Miller, Brown Saltman, and Pacific Ironworks, George Nelson in 1948 noted "most of his work, however, has been restricted to individual pieces specially designed and built
for his own projects."
Asked once what his style was, he responded it is "László style". He felt that his homes should have a certain distinction, one that could not be easily duplicated. He credits this as
having a balance between the specific needs of his clients and the want to "accomplish comfort, to please the people without the mere shock value". László always considered his clients first and foremost, maintaining
simplicity in the elegance of the furnishings with the luxury of the home. László best stated in 1952, "I don't try to design look-at-me houses. I try to give the modern style an ageless importance, to be ahead of my
time and yet build a comfortable home".
Over a half-century later, László would be happy to know that this is precisely why collectors seek his work.
Shannon Loughrey
