Winston-Salem is in the heart of tobacco country, headquartering RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company, the second largest tobacco company in the world, yet the city is discreet about it tobacco legacy, instead preferring to highlight its art, education and innovation Reynolda Village, part of the former estate of tobacco tycoon, RJ Reynolds, has been reinvented as a shopping and business complex that preserves the historical architecture of the period. Reynolda House, the former estate of RJ and his wife Katharine, is now a museum of American Art. We spent an interesting day immersed in the art, architecture and stories of Reynolda often forgetting that Camel, Pam Mal and Newport were responsible for the existence of this beautiful estate.
By what quirk of history was estate named Reynolda vs Reynolds? Richard Joshua Reynolds is credited with not only founding the tobacco company that bears his name but helping to industrialize the South. He was reputed as a fair man who treated people, including his white and black employees, well. He married his private secretary, Katherine, a college educated, woman 30 years his junior, who proved to be both a loving wife, able business partner and early feminisit. It was Katherine, that arranged for the purchase of over 1000 acres of land, worked with the architects and oversaw the construction of the estate and named it Reynolda, the feminine form of Reynolds. Katherine gave birth to four children while the estate was being constructed but unfortunately, the first official event held in the new country manor was the funeral of her husband in 1918.
This expansive county estate consists of farm buildings, a lake, formal gardens and park now owned by Wake Forest University. The main barn is now an event venue and the smaller farm buildings , part of Reynolda Village, house shops, boutiques and restaurants interspersed with small gardens and the original estate greenhouse. We were looking for a particular shop, The Uncorked Masterpiece, amongst the array of former estate farm buildings; we had a 11am appointment for a ceramics painting class. North Carolina is well known for it beautiful ceramics and pottery; we were going to try our hand at ceramics, or rather painting ceramics that someone else had pottered. Not exactly sure where we were going, we wandered through a small greenhouse as much for inspiration as to take a shortcut. The orchids were breathtaking!
Our painting session was great fun. We were unnerved at first when we realized that this was not paint by numbers and that we had to actually create our own design, but the owner of Uncorked Masterpiece was a former middle school art teacher with lots of aids and encouragement. We were the only patrons in the store this morning; she does a lot of evening parties where people bring their own adult beverages for morale support, thus explaining the name Uncorked Masterpiece, so we had her undivided assistance. I choose a two piece tea pot with cup on the bottom; my friend selected a small platter. With the help of some stencils and a few suggestions from our mentor, we managed to draw and paint our designs. Our masterpieces didn’t look overly impressive, but we were assured that after firing and glazing, they’d look great! We made arrangements to come back in two days to pick them up!
After focusing so intensely on our art, we needed to stretch our legs. We began exploring the extensive network of estate gardens. The natural area covers 129 acres and consists of a conservatory, several flowers gardens, herb and vegetable gardens and parkland, a great place to wander on a lovely fall afternoon.
We stopped for lunch at the Penny Path Cafe and Crepe Shop in the village. Named for the path of pennies embedded in the floor, this restaurant served an assortment of savory and sweet crepes.
The crepes were amazing – my sun dried tomato crepe with ham, cheese and artichoke spread was flavorful and filling leaving no room for dessert. Of course, we had to come back later for sweet crepes!
Satiated with crepes, we drove back to the Reynolda House to tour the mansion. Katharine Reynolds’ granddaughter, Barbara fulfilled the family desire to turn the house into an arts and education center. Today it houses a world collection of American art integrated into the decor of the original home.
The first and second floors of the house are representative of the Reynolds’ 19th century mansion with much of the original decor and furniture. A highlight of the manison was the expansive two story living hall; with its front entraceway, main stairway, fireplace, comfortable furniture and pipe organ, it was the central gathering hub for the family. We were treated to a 10 min organ recital – the acoustics of the grand hall were exquisite and it was easy to imagine this house filled with family and music . Katharine appreciated the arts and was an avid collector; there are paintings from renowed Amercian artists, Mary Cassatt, Frederic Church, Jacob Lawrence, Georgia O’Keeffe and Gilbert Stuart displayed in her and her husband’s studies, the library, dining room and reception hall. A large enclosed porch spanned the north side of the house providing a beautiful view of Lake Katharine with cool breezes in summertime and fireplace and heat absorbing shades in wintertime. In the basement a bar, indoor recreation room replete with a bowling alley, shooting gallery, billards and ping pong tables and roller rink and a large indoor swimming pool, ensured that family and guests remained active.
In 2005, a wing was added to the house to host special art exhibits. The current exhibit featured the art of J.C. Leyendecker. His work was suberb and we learned that he was one of the most prolific illustrators of the early 20th century. He got his start drawing advertisements for a men’s apparel company in New York, developing the notable Arrow Collar Man campaigns. Noted for his depiction of handsome men and glamorous women, Leyendecker was commissioned by multiple companies to create marketing materials to enhance their brands. He was a premier cover illustrator for the iconic Saturday Evening Post, ultimately creating 322 covers, (one more than his young mentee, Norman Rockwell) that both reflected and shaped American culture. Unlike Norman Rockwell, who was greatly influenced by Leyendecker’s work and friendship, J.C. did not attain the fame he deserved for inventing the design of the ‘modern magazine’, yet his work continued to influence commerial artists well after his death in 1951.
The museum security guard, seeing our appreciation of Leyendecker’s hundreds of sketches, illustrations and paintings, allowed us an extra 15 minutes beyond closing time to finish the exhibit. Leaving the mansion, we wandered back through the gardens enjoying the end of the day sunshine, beautiful flowers and wonderful legacy of the woman of Reynalda.
