Let's end our week-long visit to England with this final image, the fields and rolling hills—across the lake—of the Getty Estate at Wormsley. This sublime property is the home of Mark Getty and he allows the Garsington Opera to hold its annual summer opera festival here. This picture is taken facing away from the theatre, showing the fields in which opera-goers lay their blankets and enjoy their dinner picnics. As the sun prepares to set—which is around the time of the opera's dinner interval—a large herd of deer moves-out into the open field across the lake, enjoying a final graze before bedtime. Songbirds conduct their noisy symphonies as they prepare for nightfall, as well.
The photo beautifully illustrates the magic of an English Summer: soft warmth, ultra-verdant greens and perfectly-crisp blue skies, swirled with sculpted, fluffy white clouds.
The estate was established in the 1500's. The main house is from the 1700's and it was restored by Sir J. Paul Getty when he bought the property in 1985. Getty also added a library to house his collection of books. After J. Paul Getty was introduced to cricket—by Mick Jagger, no less—he had built a cricket pitch and surrounding accommodations on his property, considered one of the finest (and most beautiful) in England.
Getty also jumped-in to help save the Red Kites, a bird of prey which was extinct in England and Scotland. Bird conservationists had planned a release of the endangered bird in 1989, hoping that they would be re-established in Britain. When another estate owner pulled-out of the plan at the last minute, and the program was about to fall apart, Getty offered Wormsley as an alternative site. Today, red kites hover over the beautiful fields and forests on the Getty Estate.
Though our Greenwich Village store is now permanently closed, LEO Design is still alive and well! Please visit our on-line store where we continue to sell Handsome Gifts (www.LEOdesignNYC.com).
We also can be found in Pittsburgh's historic "Strip District" at Mahla & Co. Antiques (www.mahlaantiques.com) or in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania at The Antique Center of Strabane (www.antiquecenterofstrabane.com).
Or call to arrange to visit our Pittsburgh showroom (by private appointment only). 917-446-4248