David Nightingale Hicks
Encyclopedia
David Nightingale Hicks (25 March 1929 - 29 March 1998) was a British interior decorator and designer, famous for his employment of bold, shockingly vibrant colours, for mixing antique and modern furnishings and contemporary art for his famous clientele.
His career as designer-decorator was launched to media-acclaim in 1954 when the British magazine House & Garden
featured the London house he decorated, 22 South Eaton Place, for his mother, Iris, and himself; at the time Hicks was drawing cereal boxes for the advertising firm J Walter Thompson.
An early introduction by Fiona, wife of banker Norman Lonsdale of Kleinwort, Benson, Lonsdale, to Peter Evans initiated a sparkling explosion of drama, colour and excitement in London as the pair, now joined by architect Patrick Garnett of Garnett, Cloughley & Blakemore, set about designing, building and decorating the Peter Evans Eating Houses, a restaurant chain in London's 'hot' spots of King's Road, Chelsea, Kensington Church Street, and Soho. The three set the decorative style that epitomised the Swinging Sixties. Hicks even designed red evening slippers and Evans, in 1967, was awarded the George Bryan Brummell Arbiter Elegantiarium
- Best Dressed Man Award - by the Clothing Manufacturers Federation of UK.
Peter Evans: "Hicks was without a doubt a genius. He would walk into the most shambolic of spaces that I had decided would be a restaurant, a pub or a nightclub and, lighting up a cigarette, would be out of the place within ten minutes, having decided what atmosphere it would generate because of what it would look like. He always got it spot on."
David Hicks and GCB collaborated on a series of private commissions, including a house on Park Lane for Lord and Lady Londonderry, an apartment for the film producer Lord Brabourne and a new house in Kinnerton Street for Earl Mountbatten of Burma. GBC achieved international recognition when they refurbished the George V Hotel in Paris for the Trust House Forte group. Stanley Kubrick
's 1971 film A Clockwork Orange featured GCB's Chelsea Drugstore.
Hicks's early clients mixed aristocracy, media and fashion (Vidal Sassoon
, Helena Rubinstein
, Violet Manners (who later became The Duchess of Rutland), Mrs Condé Nast
and Mrs Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. He made carpets for Windsor Castle
and decorated the Prince of Wales
's first apartment at Buckingham Palace
. Hicks started to design patterned carpets and fabrics when he found none on the market that he considered good enough. These and his hyper-dynamic colour sense formed the basis of a style which was much admired and copied. In 1967, Hicks began working in the USA, designing apartments in Manhattan for an international clientele, and at the same time promoting his carpet and fabric collections. Hicks also designed sets for Richard Lester
's 1968 movie 'Petulia', starring Julie Christie.
In the 70's and 80's David Hicks shops opened in fifteen countries around the world. He designed, for example, guestrooms at the Okura Hotel in Tokyo and the yacht of the King of Saudi Arabia. Hicks was a talented photographer, painter and sculptor and produced fashion and jewelry collections. It is said that if he couldn't find something he designed and made it. He designed the interior of a BMW and scarlet-heeled men's evening shoes. David Hicks spent the last years of his life his very grand home in Oxfordshire, where he created one of the most extraordinary gardens in England. Typically, and eccentrically, David Hicks even designed his own coffin, in which he 'lay in state', according to his precise instructions, in the ground-floor room of his gothic garden pavilion.
Some of Hicks's later work may be seen at Belle Isle, Fermanagh, where he was commissioned by the Duke of Abercorn
to redecorate the interior of the castle in the 1990s, having decorated the Duke's main home, Baronscourt, in the 1970s.
Hicks wrote in one of nine practical design books, David Hicks on Living—With Taste that his "greatest contribution... has been to show people how to use bold color (sic) mixtures, how to use patterned carpets, how to light rooms and how to mix old with new."
Hicks was born at Coggeshall
, Essex
, the son of stockbroker Herbert Hicks and Iris Elsie Platten. He married Lady Pamela Mountbatten
(born 19 April 1929), the younger daughter of the 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma
by his wife, the former Edwina Ashley
. David and Pamela Hicks were married on 13 January 1960 at Romsey Abbey
in Hampshire
.
Their three children are:
A chain smoker, David Hicks died from lung cancer
, aged 69 at Britwell Salome
, Oxfordshire
. He was buried on 4 April 1998 in Brightwell Baldwin, Oxfordshire, where his grave is marked by an obelisk-shaped tombstone.
His son, Ashley Hicks, is an architect and designer. He recently published David Hicks: Designer - a celebration of his father's work, a coffee table book 'jampacked with inspiration... so many of his ideas are back again in vogue, the rooms seem almost current.
Daughter India, who lives in the Bahamas, is also keeping her father's work alive, which has inspired her two books Island Life and Island Beauty'. India has also collaborated with Pamela on the Mountbatten history.
His career as designer-decorator was launched to media-acclaim in 1954 when the British magazine House & Garden
House & Garden (magazine)
House & Garden was an American shelter magazine published by Condé Nast Publications that focused on interior design, entertaining, and gardening....
featured the London house he decorated, 22 South Eaton Place, for his mother, Iris, and himself; at the time Hicks was drawing cereal boxes for the advertising firm J Walter Thompson.
An early introduction by Fiona, wife of banker Norman Lonsdale of Kleinwort, Benson, Lonsdale, to Peter Evans initiated a sparkling explosion of drama, colour and excitement in London as the pair, now joined by architect Patrick Garnett of Garnett, Cloughley & Blakemore, set about designing, building and decorating the Peter Evans Eating Houses, a restaurant chain in London's 'hot' spots of King's Road, Chelsea, Kensington Church Street, and Soho. The three set the decorative style that epitomised the Swinging Sixties. Hicks even designed red evening slippers and Evans, in 1967, was awarded the George Bryan Brummell Arbiter Elegantiarium
- Best Dressed Man Award - by the Clothing Manufacturers Federation of UK.
Peter Evans: "Hicks was without a doubt a genius. He would walk into the most shambolic of spaces that I had decided would be a restaurant, a pub or a nightclub and, lighting up a cigarette, would be out of the place within ten minutes, having decided what atmosphere it would generate because of what it would look like. He always got it spot on."
David Hicks and GCB collaborated on a series of private commissions, including a house on Park Lane for Lord and Lady Londonderry, an apartment for the film producer Lord Brabourne and a new house in Kinnerton Street for Earl Mountbatten of Burma. GBC achieved international recognition when they refurbished the George V Hotel in Paris for the Trust House Forte group. Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick was an American film director, writer, producer, and photographer who lived in England during most of the last four decades of his career...
's 1971 film A Clockwork Orange featured GCB's Chelsea Drugstore.
Hicks's early clients mixed aristocracy, media and fashion (Vidal Sassoon
Vidal Sassoon
Vidal Sassoon, CBE is a widely recognised British hairdresser, credited with creating a simple geometric, "Bauhaus-inspired" hair style, also called the bob...
, Helena Rubinstein
Helena Rubinstein
Helena Rubinstein , a Polish born Australian-American business magnate. She is the founder and eponym of Helena Rubinstein, Incorporated, which made her one of the world's richest women.-Early life:...
, Violet Manners (who later became The Duchess of Rutland), Mrs Condé Nast
Condé Montrose Nast
Condé Montrose Nast was the founder of Condé Nast Publications, a leading American magazine publisher known for publications such as Vanity Fair, Vogue and The New Yorker.-Background:...
and Mrs Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. He made carpets for Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle is a medieval castle and royal residence in Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, notable for its long association with the British royal family and its architecture. The original castle was built after the Norman invasion by William the Conqueror. Since the time of Henry I it...
and decorated the Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the 15 other independent Commonwealth realms...
's first apartment at Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace, in London, is the principal residence and office of the British monarch. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is a setting for state occasions and royal hospitality...
. Hicks started to design patterned carpets and fabrics when he found none on the market that he considered good enough. These and his hyper-dynamic colour sense formed the basis of a style which was much admired and copied. In 1967, Hicks began working in the USA, designing apartments in Manhattan for an international clientele, and at the same time promoting his carpet and fabric collections. Hicks also designed sets for Richard Lester
Richard Lester
Richard Lester is an American film director based in Britain. Lester is notable for his work with The Beatles in the 1960s and his work on the Superman film series in the 1980s.-Early years and television:...
's 1968 movie 'Petulia', starring Julie Christie.
In the 70's and 80's David Hicks shops opened in fifteen countries around the world. He designed, for example, guestrooms at the Okura Hotel in Tokyo and the yacht of the King of Saudi Arabia. Hicks was a talented photographer, painter and sculptor and produced fashion and jewelry collections. It is said that if he couldn't find something he designed and made it. He designed the interior of a BMW and scarlet-heeled men's evening shoes. David Hicks spent the last years of his life his very grand home in Oxfordshire, where he created one of the most extraordinary gardens in England. Typically, and eccentrically, David Hicks even designed his own coffin, in which he 'lay in state', according to his precise instructions, in the ground-floor room of his gothic garden pavilion.
Some of Hicks's later work may be seen at Belle Isle, Fermanagh, where he was commissioned by the Duke of Abercorn
Duke of Abercorn
The title Duke of Abercorn was created in the Peerage of Ireland in 1868 and bestowed upon James Hamilton, 2nd Marquess of Abercorn.This article also covers the Earls and Marquesses of Abercorn, all named after Abercorn, West Lothian, in Scotland.-History:...
to redecorate the interior of the castle in the 1990s, having decorated the Duke's main home, Baronscourt, in the 1970s.
Hicks wrote in one of nine practical design books, David Hicks on Living—With Taste that his "greatest contribution... has been to show people how to use bold color (sic) mixtures, how to use patterned carpets, how to light rooms and how to mix old with new."
Hicks was born at Coggeshall
Coggeshall
Coggeshall is a small market town of 3,919 residents in Essex, England, situated between Colchester and Braintree on the Roman road of Stane Street , and intersected by the River Blackwater. It is known for its almost 300 listed buildings and formerly extensive antique trade...
, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
, the son of stockbroker Herbert Hicks and Iris Elsie Platten. He married Lady Pamela Mountbatten
Lady Pamela Hicks
Lady Pamela Carmen Louise Hicks, née Mountbatten is a British aristocrat. She is the younger daughter of the 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma by his wife, the former Edwina Ashley. Through her father, Lady Hicks is a first cousin of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.- Family background :Hicks was...
(born 19 April 1929), the younger daughter of the 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma
Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma
Admiral of the Fleet Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas George Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, KG, GCB, OM, GCSI, GCIE, GCVO, DSO, PC, FRS , was a British statesman and naval officer, and an uncle of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh...
by his wife, the former Edwina Ashley
Edwina Mountbatten, Countess Mountbatten of Burma
Edwina Cynthia Annette Mountbatten, Countess Mountbatten of Burma,, GBE, DCVO, CI, DStJ was an English heiress, socialite, relief-worker, wife of Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, and last Vicereine of India.- Lineage and wealth :Edwina Mountbatten, Countess Mountbatten of Burma...
. David and Pamela Hicks were married on 13 January 1960 at Romsey Abbey
Romsey Abbey
Romsey Abbey is a parish church of the Church of England in Romsey, a market town in Hampshire, England. Until the dissolution it was the church of a Benedictine nunnery.-Background:...
in Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
.
Their three children are:
- Edwina Victoria Louise HicksEdwina BrudenellEdwina Victoria Louise Brudenell, née Hicks is the elder daughter of Lady Pamela Hicks and David Nightingale Hicks....
(born 24 December 1961) - Ashley HicksAshley HicksAshley Louis David Hicks is a British author, architect, and interior and furniture designer. He is the only son of Lady Pamela Hicks and David Nightingale Hicks. Hicks designs architecture and interiors in Europe, the United States, and the United Kingdom...
(born 18 July 1963) - India Amanda Caroline HicksIndia HicksIndia Amanda Caroline Hicks is a former fashion model, 521st inline to the line of succession to the British Throne.-Early life:...
(born 5 September 1967).
A chain smoker, David Hicks died from lung cancer
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
, aged 69 at Britwell Salome
Britwell Salome
Britwell Salome is a village and civil parish in South Oxfordshire, England, about northeast of Wallingford.-History:"Salome" is derived from the surname Sulham. There is a village called Berrick Salome to the west, and a village called Sulham near Reading, Berkshire.The Church of England parish...
, Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
. He was buried on 4 April 1998 in Brightwell Baldwin, Oxfordshire, where his grave is marked by an obelisk-shaped tombstone.
His son, Ashley Hicks, is an architect and designer. He recently published David Hicks: Designer - a celebration of his father's work, a coffee table book 'jampacked with inspiration... so many of his ideas are back again in vogue, the rooms seem almost current.
Daughter India, who lives in the Bahamas, is also keeping her father's work alive, which has inspired her two books Island Life and Island Beauty'. India has also collaborated with Pamela on the Mountbatten history.
External links
- http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9900E0DC163AF931A35757C0A96E958260
- http://www.oxforddnb.com/index/101069509
- http://www.thepeerage.com/p10116.htm
- http://www.davidhicks.co.uk