Olveston is a place the place ‘extra is extra’. Its multilayered richness expresses the life and pursuits of the Theomin household, who created this spectacular residence and lived right here from 1907 to 1966. Underlying the luxurious are very human tales of loss and change.
Olveston is a portal to the world of rich Edwardian society in Dunedin. Each a part of the place connects on to the lifetime of the household. It’s distinctive in New Zealand: a spot the place a property with all its chattels, each the excellent collections and the ephemera of day by day life, has been gifted to the neighborhood, then retained and revered. It isn’t a set-dressed museum. The authenticity of the place, its finishes and all its objects are what make it so exceptional. It’s a direct connection to a different time: a nationwide treasure, a taonga that deserves to be celebrated.
Jane Ussher
David and Marie Theomin have been extensively travelled, deeply engaged within the Dunedin neighborhood and had refined style. They have been avid collectors. The household had very wide-ranging pursuits and the means to indulge them. At a time when journey was a luxurious, they went to unique locations and despatched again ornamental objects that have been used to create ‘environment’ within the home.
Even the home is a type of ‘gathering’, an illustration of their want to create one thing excellent. They travelled to England in 1902 to fee London’s main home architect, Ernest George, to design their home. George accepted. The home, accomplished in 1907, was constructed to his design, with the work overseen by Robert Meikle of native architects Mason & Wales.
As described by Walsh, the Flemish Renaissance design of this home sits very comfortably with the most effective of his work. Walsh units the home inside the milieux of George’s ‘English manor homes’, giving examples of his different excellent work from that interval. It’s the worldwide structure of its time. The home is deliberate as unfolding theatre, a compact model of the grand properties George had designed within the UK. The sequence of areas creates architectural drama that’s way over ornamental fashion. The home was deliberate as an illustration of social energy and success — a spot to obtain and impress guests — not only a household residence.
Olveston is extraordinarily photogenic and Ussher’s images seize the lushness of the home in its full glory. The aesthetic sensibilities of the Theomins inform each picture and carry the viewer into their world of opulence and grandeur. Ussher additionally captures the odd lifetime of the home, with pictures of the again rooms that resonate with Shaker-style simplicity.
The descriptive textual content in the back of the e book takes the reader on a journey by means of the home, room by room, describing the methods through which every house was utilized by the household, in addition to noting the contents of every house.
Jane Ussher
The dedication within the e book is to David Theomin: an applicable gesture as he and his daughter Dorothy have been accountable for their long-planned determination to present this place to the individuals of Dunedin. Dunedin deserves thanks from us all for honouring that gifting. Olveston deserves to be celebrated, studied and visited, and this e book each contributes considerably to the understanding of this place and celebrates its qualities.
Olveston: Portrait of a house, is on the market from Massey College Press. It retails at $85NZD and will be bought right here.
