I’m just back from a winter break in south Florida, and I visited the Vizcaya mansion on the shores of Miami’s Biscayne Bay last Sunday. Vizcaya was built over a span of two years, 1914-1916, by James Deering (1859-1925), co-founder and vice president of International Harvester. It is an Italian Renaissance-style villa used by Chicago-based Deering as a 70-room winter home, set among ten acres of formal gardens, which were not completed until 1921, because of the outbreak of WWI. During the construction, ten percent of Miami’s population worked at the Vizcaya site. The original 180 acres included a working farm, machine shop, staff residences, garages, greenhouse, and a paint and carpentry workshop.
Deering was homosexual, but is referred to only as a “life-long bachelor” in the printed materials available at the site. In addition to making a fortune from agricultural machinery, Deering was a socialite and an antiquities collector. When he was phased out of daily company affairs by J.P. Morgan interests in 1909, Deering decided to go on a buying spree with his partner, designer Paul Chalfin (see portrait c. 1915 below), who made sure that Deering’s winter home did not resemble his brother’s plain-Jane estate a bit farther south.
Together, they sailed to Europe, snapping up fabulous antiquities (including doors, wall panels, mantels and ceilings) that would be incorporated into the creation of an opulent, over-the-top, decadent, and ostentatious fantasy villa in what is today north Coconut Grove. Liberace would have felt completely at home here. Trust me.
*John Singer Sargent (gay, or at least bisexual), who painted clothed women and naked men, was an intimate friend. While staying at Vizcaya, Sargent painted a series of watercolors of male nudes, using the African-American workers on the premises as models (see watercolor below). A further clue to Deering’s sexual orientation is a statue in the gardens that depicts Ganymede, the mythological gay youth who was the lover of Zeus. A tapestry hung inside the villa depicts a male lion with a raging erection. I’m not making this up. That James, a life-long bachelor, indeed!
I’m just sayin’.
Although most of the original furnishings remain intact, the south Florida climate took its toll. Of late the original open-air central courtyard has been covered with a glass pyramid so that air conditioning could be installed, diminishing further deterioration of fabrics and furnishings. Innovations at the time of construction include a central vacuum system (in 1916!), an automatic electric telephone switchboard and a fire control system. Upon Deering’s death in 1925, while returning from France on an ocean liner, the house was maintained by minimal staff after it was inherited by two nieces. Following hurricane damage and escalating maintenance costs, the women sold Vizcaya much below value to Miami-Dade County in 1952 to operate as a museum. Today the house and gardens are designated a National Historic Landmark.
Several movies (remember Pet Detective?) and documentaries have been shot here. Vizcaya is today a popular backdrop for quinceañera photos/celebrations by Miami’s huge Latina population and the scene of countless fashion photoshoots. During my visit several brides were being photographed in the tea house and gardens. The mansion and gardens can be rented for private functions.
Open daily at 3251 S. Miami Avenue. 305.250.9133.
www.vizcayamuseum.org
From top:
1. Staircase fountain leading up to garden folly/casino
2. Reception room
3. Bayfront (east) loggia
4. Mr. Deering's bathroom with water views
5.Teahouse lattice & garden folly/casino interior
Now,back to the tan lines you came to admire:
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