Page 103 - Christies September 13 to 14th Fine Chinese Works of Art New York

Partners in collecting, Partners in literature

Portrait of Arnold and Parker, by Norris Church Mailer (1949-2010)

hristie’s is proud to present a magnifcent pair of bodhisattvas from the Collection of Arnold Scaasi
Cand Parker Ladd. Messrs. Scaasi and Ladd were partners for more than ffty years and together
collected a diverse group of 19th century, modern and contemporary fne and decorative arts that refect
their shared intellectual curiosity and love of color and form that informed an invitingly eclectic home.
Mr. Scaasi designed couture clothing for First Ladies, socialites and celebrities for more than fve decades.
Born Arnold Isaacs in Montreal, Canada on May 8, 1930, he identifed his passion for fashion design early
in life, studying initially in Montreal before traveling to Paris to study and apprentice in Jeanne Paquin’s
atelier. After two years in Paris, Christian Dior advised him “You are talented – why not go back to the
United States where the future is, and bring fashion to America.” In 1952, he arrived in New York, in 1956
he began to sell his own line from his studio apartment, and in 1964 he opened his own atelier. In the
same era, General Motors advertisers chose one of his designs for the background of a ‘Body by Fisher’
campaign. Isaacs’ name was to be credited for the design. At the last moment, they recommended and he
agreed to reverse the spelling of Isaacs to Scaasi to take advantage of the contemporary vogue for Italian
design. The Scaasi brand was born and his reputation for uniquely dramatic designs grew. In 1958 he
received his frst Coty American Fashion Critics’ Award. Scaasi’s design for Barbra Streisand’s sequined
jumpsuit at the 1969 Academy Awards captivated the media. For the next thirty years, his designs were
photographed on red carpets and at state dinners throughout the world. For President George H. W.
Bush’s Inaugural Ball, First Lady Barbara Bush paired a royal blue velvet and satin Scaasi gown with a
triple-strand set of faux pearls by Kenneth Jay Lane.
Mr. Ladd, Mr. Scaasi’s partner of more than ffty years and husband, more quietly climbed the heights of
New York’s publishing industry at Charles Scribner & Sons and the Association of American Publishers to
work with some of the most celebrated authors of the second half of the 20th century.
Together these two extraordinary men added to the richness of New York’s literary and artistic culture for
more than ffty years.

As Liz Smith described their apartment, “Going to Arnold [and Parker’s] house in New York is a great
adventure. There is the Louise Nevelson sculpture hung on the ceiling… There is a chair from Mexico,
shaped like a human hand, in the living room. Through the window, on Roosevelt Island in the east River,
there is the Renwick Ruin that is lit, thanks to Arnold Scaasi, for the City of New York.”

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