Dining Room

At the center of the room is the elaborate carved wooden table and chairs that were made for the home in 1894 and have never been moved.  John Ashbery and David Kermani used this table during the 1980s and 1990s frequently for dinners.  In 2007, Ashbery began to make new collages for the first time since the 1970s; his first collage show was held at Tibor de Nagy Gallery in 2008.  Since then, the table has always been used for collage-making.

The room is often quite dark.  In the afternoons, however, especially in summers, the windows let in a remarkably soft and lovely light.  Ashbery’s cut glass and blue glass collection look especially pretty by the window when the light plays through them.  

The built-in cabinets are full of dishes, many of which Ashbery inherited from his parents and grandparents or bought to add to these incomplete collections.  On the mantel between the two cabinets Ashbery displayed pieces from some of his favorite collections: double helix brass candlesticks, ceramic trompe l’oeil vegetables, and select pieces of pottery and glassware.

If there is a theme in this room, however, it is fruit.  The big cut glass bowl contains fake fruit.  There is a large still life of fruit on the wall.  In the cabinets, many of the dishes have fruit designs that were a wedding gift to Ashbery’s parents, who ran the Ashbery fruit farm.