Neptune Papers: Galerie Half's Cameron Smith
The art and antiques dealer, Cameron Smith was just seven years old when his mother, an interior designer based in California started bringing him along to auction houses and flea markets, sourcing items for her clients. “This was in the late 70’s so it was a time of Jacques Grange and also Paul Schrader’s ‘American Gigolo’ - there’s not a scene from that movie that’s not imprinted on me,” recalls Smith who credits his career today to these formative trips with his mother. “Seeing how she would put things together was a huge influence on me. It was that mix that was always important.”
This innate knack for artful curation may account for the success of Galerie Half - the sprawling emporium of 20th century design, art and antiques on Melrose Avenue, LA that Smith co-founded with interior designer, Cliff Fong in 2009. After years of sourcing the perfect Prouvé chair or Royère sofa for private clients; Smith wanted a space that could fully express his vision, opening the store’s first bricks-and-mortar address in a West Hollywood alley. (Giving rise to the store’s name.) “It was really just based on something that didn’t exist at the time but I just knew the potential. So I wanted to realize it and see people's reaction.” Did he have any trepidation of opening a vintage design gallery in the midst of a recession? “It was the silliest thing to do,” laughs Smith, “Our backer said I believe in you but I’ll give you three months. We ended up selling the entire store out in about three weeks.”
Today a visit to Galerie Half’s Melrose Arts District storefront is a chance to experience Smith’s elegant, restrained aesthetic and impeccable taste up close where the luxurious and modest co-exist as if connected by invisible thread: where iconic pieces such as a creamy white hide sofa by Pierre Jeanneret from Chandigarh, a low bench by George Nakashima or a Hans Wegner sideboard sit alongside midcentury ceramics, rare European antiques and tribal pieces from the Navajo, Senufo, and Dagaaba people. Smith scours the globe for the shop’s inventory — in person and online. “The buying trips are essential as it’s important to see things in person. But it isn't just about shopping, it is about the entire experience of being in Europe or Africa. It’s not just finding that thing - I could almost care less. It's just about how you got there.” Smith recalls an instance where he made a trip to an unprepossessing barn in South Africa run by a bohemian couple which yielded “the most beautiful objects I’ve ever seen – these artifacts from the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s.” The store attracts a starry clientele which includes the likes of Ellen Degeneres, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen who enlisted Smith to help furnish the flagship boutiques for their brand, The Row. “We’ve been going to Galerie Half for years, and each time we go we are met with an immediate sense of ease and understanding” writes Ashley Olsen in a handsome new monograph ‘Galerie Half: Selected Works/Spaces’ out now on Flammarion which showcases images of the store’s inventory over a 12-year period that have been beautifully photographed by Shade Degges. Smith first conceived of the idea of doing the book during the start of the pandemic, following conversations that started between Smith and fellow gallerist, Trevor Cheney of Seventh House Gallery. “To have this unfazed, unjaded person like Trevor come and see our potential as a company was so important. We just started to speak about things I wanted to do. And I told him I would love to have a book.” The process of working on the book over the next four years felt like a vindication – not just confirmation of his exacting eye, but also his determination to stick to his guns. “I don’t really go out to other stores. It doesn’t interest me and I’m too busy to do it. For me, once people start talking about what's next, I like to bow out of the conversation. I'm more influenced by people, photography and art.”
The purest, most personal expression of Smith’s style can be found, naturally in the 4000-square-foot Spanish colonial home in Pasadena which he shares with his husband, design consultant, PJ Faulstick and their two dogs, a Brussels named William and a Cocker Spaniel called Sissy. “I never dreamed of living in Pasadena. It just seemed too provincial and too far,” says Smith. But slowly the under-the-radar eastern enclave of LA with its picturesque lantern-lit streets, leafy city centre and magnificent backdrop of San Gabriel mountains won over the couple with its idyllic charm. “I mean our street really does look like it was straight out of Francis Ford Coppola’s ‘Peggy Sue Got Married’ or something - It's the most precious street I've ever seen. And I think it changed our lives completely - it's so incredibly sweet and kind. And I didn't realize I needed so much sweetness in my life.”
It may only be a 45-minute drive from the gallery to their home, but Smith describes mornings in Pasadena as “something out of Wuthering Heights’ – misty clouds and fog. It’s like entirely a different world.” That’s certainly the feeling a visitor gets when entering the house from the street to be greeted by century-old olive trees in a garden that is redolent of bucolic Italian hillsides than Californian landscapes. The outdoor furniture – consisting of Walter Lamb chairs, a Jeanneret dining set in the patio – blend harmoniously with a 17th-century French feed trough, a marble sink, 18th century olive vessels and delicate rose bushes.
The house was originally built in 1928 and the couple wanted to keep the historic bones of the house, but needed to renovate it “to make it workable for us.” To this end, the couple enlisted their close collaborators, mother-and-son duo, Tommy and Kathe Clements of Clements Design who oversaw the project over a period of three and a half years. (They finally moved in 2021.) “I’ve travelled all over the world with Tommy. There was no one else we would have rather asked,” says Smith. “We all wanted to make sure one would still be able to feel the age and soul of the house once the renovation was complete,” say the Clements. “Our collective goal was to make sure that all of the elements we were bringing together felt balanced and harmonious, but never trite or expected.”
The Clements retained many of the house’s original details – hallway arches, a grand curvilinear staircase in the foyer – but selected materials that felt in dialogue with the historic architecture. Take the texture of the walls which have the edges softened to emulate adobe, referencing the material that Smith commonly encountered in his childhood growing up in Santa Fe. “I wanted those aspects that lend itself very nicely to a Spanish house like adobe as it is made of the earth.”
A calm atmosphere permeates as one walks into the entrance of the foyer which is flooded with light from a skylight above, while a 1930s French gilt-iron light fixture hangs from the ceiling. The sense of spareness echoes throughout the house, reflected in the muted, airy palette and poetic arrangement of eclectic objets; that is punctuated by the occasional touch of lush decadence such as vases filled with bouquets of blooms or bowls spilling over with fruit. To the left of the entrance is a dining room furnished with a George Nakashima dining table and chairs. On the wall, a signature monochrome painting by Danish artist Rasmus Rosengaard is complimented by a stunningly rare black pendant lamp by Swedish designer, Bertil Brisborg for Nordiska Kompaniet. (“It makes everything look better,” states Smith.) It’s the site of many a dinner party for the couple who found that another unexpected bonus of living in Pasadena was having friends who loved to drop in wanting a break from the city. “They all love Pasadena and PJ cooks a ton,” says Smith, recalling a New Year’s Eve party where Faulstick made single lobster pot pies for eight guests.
When it came to furnishing the house, Smith says the Clements taught the importance of having a furniture plan. “The Clements furniture plan was so important. It really helped me with what I had, what I own and what I needed to find. I've always known how to edit but I never realized how important that job is. At the same time I just don't overthink it all. It's only furniture. It just had to be stuff that me and my husband loved.” Take the living room which is a masterpiece of restrained composition: handsome Ib Kofod-Larsen Seal chairs flank the fireplace over which hangs an intriguing metal circle – a gift from friends of the couple which dates back to 19th century Japan. In another corner, a carved 1930s Bamana Jonyeleni figure sits on a black Axel Vervoordt low table. A custom-made Clements Design linen sofa provides a place for guests to perch whereas Smith is likely to be found on the Prouvé daybed by the window, “with the dogs on top of me.” Taking pride of place in the room is a full-length oil portrait of a young boy by Owe Zerge, a gift from Ellen Degeneres and her wife, Portia di Rossi. Explains Smith, “It was something I talked them into buying back maybe in 2003. And they had it and it went from house to house. And then one morning, after we had spent the night over at their house, we came out and the painting was wrapped in the kitchen for us. So that living room was worked around that piece of art, out of love from our friends.” Similarly the art seen throughout the house – a piece by Mexican artist Gonzalo Lebrija, photographs by Collier Schorr and Bruce Weber, a bronze sculpture by Robert Graham are treasures the couple have collected over the years. “I never thought I would own a Collier or a Bruce,” says Smith. “And now to have one of Robert’s pieces as well – it’s just heaven.”
The sense of tranquillity continues upstairs to the bedroom suite where antiques such as an 18th century Gustavian bench at the foot of the couple’s bed, a 1970s sculptural piece from Paris and a 1930s sheepskin loveseat blend seamlessly with newer pieces such as an oak and cashmere stool by the much-feted design duo, Green River Project. Leading off the suite is an enclosed balcony furnished with a 16th century stone-slab table and Japanese teak chairs – a favourite place for visitors to gather. While the process of the house coming together may have been slow and organic, the couple are overjoyed with the results. Says Smith, “The process was long with the Clements, but who cares? We're so happy. The house means everything to us.”
Credits: Photography: Bilal Taright
Styling: Colin King
