ARTS & CULTURE
57 January/February 2019 StPeteLifeMag.com
Thailand. Schlumberger’s lively, experimental designs graced the
Kennedy, Audrey Hepburn, Diana Vreeland, Elizabeth Taylor and
Bunny Mellon. More than 30 years after Schlumberger’s death in
After premiering at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts last year,
Jewels of the Imagination: Radiant Masterworks by Jean Schlumberger
from the Mellon Collection brings more than 150 priceless pieces
of jewelry and objets d’art to the Museum of Fine Arts. Visitors
should prepare themselves for a dazzling experience. It’s a visual
blockbuster, so stunning that a dimly lit “recovery room” complete
with plush lounge chairs has been added for those who are literally
What makes this show so spectacular is that it’s a double exhibit,
through a companion exhibition, Drawn to Beauty: The Art and
Atelier of Jean Schlumberger, created by curators at the MFA to
explore Schlumberger’s process as an artist and designer. Here
we see jewelry, sketches, photographs, objets d’art and personal
items belonging to the artist. It’s the perfect introduction to
Schlumberger, and sets the stage for the grand collection to follow.
The main exhibit, Jewels of the Imagination, highlights spectacular
pieces from the personal collection of philanthropist and art
collector Rachel “Bunny” Mellon. It is presented in the context of
four “seasons” or galleries representing the four seasons of Mrs.
Mellon’s palatial gardens at her estate in Virginia. An avid gardener,
Bunny Melon delighted in the beauty of nature and surrounded
herself in it. Nationally renowned designer Rush Jenkins of WRJ
Interior Design, who has designed more than 40 exhibitions for
Sotheby’s New York, created the dreamlike spaces.
Bunny Mellon’s extensive collection of Schlumberger pieces is the
largest, most comprehensive public collection of his work in the
world. It was donated to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts between
1985 and 2015. No value has been publicly announced on this
collection, a museum representative relayed, but we can only guess
Mrs. Mellon’s love of gardening inspired many of Schlumberger’s
botanical jewelry pieces, such as
bursting with gold petals. Another famous piece,
of moonstones, and dynamic tentacles made of diamonds and
jewels, lapis and gold cigarette cases, bejeweled urns candlesticks
and much more bring a world of impossible beauty to our eyes.
Jewels of the Imagination is presented by Sabal Trust and organized
by the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. It will be on view through March
31, 2019. Drawn to Beauty will be closing a few weeks earlier on
March 10. The Museum of Fine Arts St. Petersburg is located at 255
Beach Drive NE, St. Petersburg. For hours and ticket information, go to
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts