Grand Illusions

“The field of southern decorative arts studies has experienced tremendous advances in scholarship over the past fifty years. One area, however, that has long awaited its proper place in the spotlight is that of the South’s remarkable legacy of historic decorative interior painting. Drawing upon thirty years of study of North Carolina’s colorful decorative interiors, Laura Phillips invites us to step across the thresholds of the past into the vivid, surprising, and imaginative spaces that adorned this state’s historic structures. This important publication not only delights the eye but also provides much needed documentation of the rich variety of decorative styles and techniques employed, the people involved, and the social significance of this fanciful world of Grand Illusions.” — Sally Gant, Director of Education Emerita, The Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts