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{{Short description|English interior designer}}
{{Refimprove|date=April 2008}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Infobox person
|name = David Hicks
|birth_date = {{birth date|1929|3|25|df=y}}
|birth_place = ], ], England
|death_date = {{death date and age|1998|3|29|1929|3|25|df=y}}
|death_place = ], ], England
|spouse = {{marriage|]|1960}}
|occupation = Interior decorator and designer
|children = {{plainlist|
* Edwina Brudenell
* ]
* ]}}
}}


'''David Nightingale Hicks''' (born ] ] - died ] ]) was a ] interior decorator, famous for his employment of bold, vibrant colours, for mixing antique and modern furnishings and contemporary art for his famously aristocratic clientele. '''David Nightingale Hicks''' (25 March 1929 – 29 March 1998) was an ] interior decorator and designer, noted for using bold colours, mixing antique and modern furnishings, and contemporary art for his famous clientele.<ref></ref>


==Early life and education==
Hicks' most ambitious work may be seen at Belle Isle, ], where he was commissioned by the ] to makeover the interior of the castle. For the American cosmetics diva ], he designed a living room of purple tweed walls and Victorian furniture upholstered in magenta leather. Among his other projects were rooms for Prince Charles and Princess Anne, a yacht for King Fahd of ] and a nightclub on the QE2 ocean liner with silver-edged gray flannel walls.
David Nightingale Hicks was born at ], ], the son of stockbroker Herbert Hicks and Iris Elsie (] Platten). He was educated at ]<ref name="APIDNewsletter102510"/> and the ].<ref>Elizabeth Lomas, ''Guide to the Archive of Art and Design, Victoria & Albert Museum'' (Taylor & Francis, 2001), </ref>

==Career==
After a brief period of ] in the British army,<ref name="APIDNewsletter102510"/> Hicks began work drawing cereal boxes for ], the advertising agency.<ref name="NYTimes040298" /> His career as designer-decorator was launched to media-acclaim in 1954 when the British magazine '']'' featured the London house he decorated (at 22 South Eaton Place)<ref>{{Dead link|date=July 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> for his mother and himself.<ref name="NYTimes040298">{{cite news|first=David|last=Gibson|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/04/02/world/david-hicks-69-interior-design-star-of-the-60-s-is-dead.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm|title=David Hicks, 69, Interior Design Star of the 60's, Is Dead|work=]|date=2 April 1998|accessdate=23 February 2012}}</ref>

An early introduction by Fiona Lonsdale, wife of banker Norman Lonsdale, to ] initiated business partnership in London as the pair, now joined by architect ], set about designing, building and decorating a restaurant chain (''Peter Evans Eating Houses'') in ]'s "hotspots", such as Chelsea and Soho.<ref>Hicks, David N. ''David Hicks on Decoration'' (Leslie Frewin Publ. 1966)</ref>

Evans said of Hicks:<blockquote>" was without a doubt a genius. He would walk into the most shambolic of spaces that I had decided would be a restaurant, a pub or a nightclub and, lighting up a cigarette, would be out of the place within ten minutes, having decided what atmosphere it would generate because of what it would look like. He always got it spot on."<ref>Sandbrook, Dominic. ''Never Had It So Good'', Little Brown Publ., 2005</ref></blockquote>

Hicks and the architectural practice Garnett Cloughley Blakemore (GCB) collaborated on a series of private commissions,<ref>, ''The Telegraph'', 13 May 2006.</ref> including a house on Park Lane for ] and Lady Londonderry and an apartment for Hicks's brother-in-law, film producer ]. The firm also worked on a new house in London for Hicks's father-in-law, ]. GCB achieved international recognition when it refurbished the George V Hotel in Paris for the Trust House Forte group. ]'s 1971 film ''A Clockwork Orange'' featured GCB's Chelsea Drugstore.<ref>''The Guardian'' report on the redesign of GCB's Chelsea Drugstore], 8 June 2006</ref>

Hicks's early clients mixed aristocracy, media and fashion. He did projects for ], ], ] (who became the ]), Mrs. ] and Mrs. ].<ref name="APIDNewsletter102510">{{cite news|url=http://www.apid.ae/newsletter/issue6/icon.php|title=Painting the Town 'Red'|work=APID Newsletter|date=25 October 2010|accessdate=23 February 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160806214256/http://www.apid.ae/newsletter/issue6/icon.php|archive-date=6 August 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> He made carpets for ] and decorated the ]'s first apartment at ]. Hicks started to design patterned carpets and fabrics when he found none on the market that he considered good enough. These and his hyper-dynamic colour sense formed the basis of a style which was much admired and copied. In 1967, Hicks began working in the USA, designing apartments in Manhattan for an international clientele, and at the same time promoting his carpet and fabric collections. Hicks also designed sets for ]'s 1968 movie '']'', starring ].

In the 1960s, Hicks created a carpet pattern of interlocking ] known as ''Hicks' Hexagon'' which was prominently featured in Stanley Kubrick's 1980 psychological horror film, '']''.<ref name="Checkmate">{{cite web |title=Checkmate! The story behind Kubrick's carpet in The Shining revealed |url=https://filmandfurniture.com/2017/11/kubricks-carpet-in-the-shining/ |website=FilmandFurniture.com |access-date=16 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816190320/https://filmandfurniture.com/2017/11/kubricks-carpet-in-the-shining/ |archive-date=16 August 2021 |date=24 Nov 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In the 1970s/80s Hicks shops opened in fifteen countries around the world. He designed, for example, guestrooms at the Okura Hotel in Tokyo, the public rooms of the British Ambassador's Residence in Tokyo, with only mixed success, and the ] of the ]. Hicks was a talented photographer, painter and sculptor and produced fashion and jewelry collections. He designed the interior of a BMW and scarlet-heeled men's evening shoes.

He wrote, in one of his nine practical design books, ''David Hicks on Living – With Taste'',<ref>Hicks, David. ''David Hicks on Living -- With Taste'' 1968</ref> that his "greatest contribution... has been to show people how to use bold color mixtures, how to use patterned carpets, how to light rooms and how to mix old with new."

Some of Hicks's later work may be seen at Belle Isle, ], where the ] hired him to redecorate the interior of the castle in the 1990s. Hicks decorated the duke's main house, Baronscourt, in the 1970s.


==Personal life== ==Personal life==
Hicks was born at ], ], the son of Herbert Hicks and Iris Elsie Platten. He married ], the younger daughter of the 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, on ] ] at ] in ]. Hicks married ] (born 19 April 1929), the younger daughter of the ] by his wife, ], on 13 January 1960 at ] in ]. They had three children:
* Edwina Victoria Louise Hicks (born 24 December 1961), who married actor ];<ref>Queen Victoria's Descendants, Marlene A. Eilers, Genealogical Publishing Co., 1987, page 185</ref>
⚫ * ] (born 18 July 1963)
⚫ * ] (born 5 September 1967)


He owned 'The Temple' at ], ] in the 1950s.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2011-10-23|title=Obituary: David Hicks|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/obituary-david-hicks-1153956.html|access-date=2021-01-08|website=The Independent|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-04-24|title=Et in Arcadia – The Temple, Stoke-by-Nayland|url=https://geoffheathtaylor.com/2020/04/24/et-in-arcadia-the-temple-stoke-by-nayland/|access-date=2021-01-08|website=Geoff Heath-Taylor|language=en}}</ref>
Their three children are:
*Edwina Victoria Louise Hicks (born 24 December 1961)
⚫ *Ashley Louis David Hicks (born 18 July 1963)
⚫ *India Amanda Caroline Hicks (born 5 September 1967).


==Death== ==Death==
David Hicks died from ], aged 69 at ], ]. Hicks spent the last years of his life at 'The Grove', ] in ], where he created a garden.

A chain smoker,<ref name="GoodFunera110111">{{cite web|url=http://www.goodfuneralguide.co.uk/2011/11/frightfully-common/ |title=Frightfully common|publisher=The Good Funeral Guide|date=8 November 2011|accessdate=23 February 2012}}</ref> Hicks died from ] on March 29, 1998, aged 69, at his home. He designed his own coffin, in which he 'lay in state', according to his precise instructions, in the ground-floor room of his gothic garden pavilion. He was buried on 4 April 1998 in ], Oxfordshire, where his grave is marked by an obelisk-shaped tombstone.<ref></ref>

==Legacy==
His elder daughter, Edwina, has created her own fabric book titled .

His son, Ashley Hicks, is an architect and designer. In 2006 he completed – a celebration of his father's work.

His younger daughter, India, has written two books about design, ''Island Life'' and ''Island Beauty''.<ref name="IndiaHicks">{{cite web|url=http://www.indiahicks.com/books/|title=Books by India Hicks|publisher=India Hicks|year=2011|accessdate=23 February 2012|archive-date=14 June 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120614230728/http://www.indiahicks.com/books|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Little Greene has Hicks' Blue in their collection. 'A deep inky blue paint by prominent 60s and 70s designer, David Hicks. Hicks was known for using powerful colours in combination to dramatic effect...he used this blue in the restaurant at the top of the London Telecom Tower in 1962'.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Buy 'Hicks' Blue' Dark Blue Paint Online {{!}} Little Greene |url=https://www.littlegreene.com/hicks-blue |access-date=2024-09-15 |website=The Little Greene Paint Company Ltd |language=en}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|33em}}


{{Authority control}}
==Links==
*http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9900E0DC163AF931A35757C0A96E958260
*http://www.oxforddnb.com/index/101069509
*http://www.thepeerage.com/p10116.htm


{{DEFAULTSORT:Hicks, David Nightingale}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Hicks, David Nightingale}}
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] ]
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Latest revision as of 13:03, 17 December 2024

English interior designer

David Hicks
Born(1929-03-25)25 March 1929
Coggeshall, Essex, England
Died29 March 1998(1998-03-29) (aged 69)
Brightwell Baldwin, Oxfordshire, England
Occupation(s)Interior decorator and designer
Spouse Lady Pamela Mountbatten ​ ​(m. 1960)​
Children

David Nightingale Hicks (25 March 1929 – 29 March 1998) was an English interior decorator and designer, noted for using bold colours, mixing antique and modern furnishings, and contemporary art for his famous clientele.

Early life and education

David Nightingale Hicks was born at Coggeshall, Essex, the son of stockbroker Herbert Hicks and Iris Elsie (née Platten). He was educated at Charterhouse and the Central School of Arts and Crafts.

Career

After a brief period of National Service in the British army, Hicks began work drawing cereal boxes for J. Walter Thompson, the advertising agency. His career as designer-decorator was launched to media-acclaim in 1954 when the British magazine House & Garden featured the London house he decorated (at 22 South Eaton Place) for his mother and himself.

An early introduction by Fiona Lonsdale, wife of banker Norman Lonsdale, to Peter Evans initiated business partnership in London as the pair, now joined by architect Patrick Garnett, set about designing, building and decorating a restaurant chain (Peter Evans Eating Houses) in London's "hotspots", such as Chelsea and Soho.

Evans said of Hicks:

" was without a doubt a genius. He would walk into the most shambolic of spaces that I had decided would be a restaurant, a pub or a nightclub and, lighting up a cigarette, would be out of the place within ten minutes, having decided what atmosphere it would generate because of what it would look like. He always got it spot on."

Hicks and the architectural practice Garnett Cloughley Blakemore (GCB) collaborated on a series of private commissions, including a house on Park Lane for Lord and Lady Londonderry and an apartment for Hicks's brother-in-law, film producer Lord Brabourne. The firm also worked on a new house in London for Hicks's father-in-law, Earl Mountbatten. GCB achieved international recognition when it refurbished the George V Hotel in Paris for the Trust House Forte group. Stanley Kubrick's 1971 film A Clockwork Orange featured GCB's Chelsea Drugstore.

Hicks's early clients mixed aristocracy, media and fashion. He did projects for Vidal Sassoon, Helena Rubinstein, Violet Manners (who became the Duchess of Rutland), Mrs. Condé Nast and Mrs. Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. He made carpets for Windsor Castle and decorated the Prince of Wales's first apartment at Buckingham Palace. Hicks started to design patterned carpets and fabrics when he found none on the market that he considered good enough. These and his hyper-dynamic colour sense formed the basis of a style which was much admired and copied. In 1967, Hicks began working in the USA, designing apartments in Manhattan for an international clientele, and at the same time promoting his carpet and fabric collections. Hicks also designed sets for Richard Lester's 1968 movie Petulia, starring Julie Christie.

In the 1960s, Hicks created a carpet pattern of interlocking hexagons known as Hicks' Hexagon which was prominently featured in Stanley Kubrick's 1980 psychological horror film, The Shining.

In the 1970s/80s Hicks shops opened in fifteen countries around the world. He designed, for example, guestrooms at the Okura Hotel in Tokyo, the public rooms of the British Ambassador's Residence in Tokyo, with only mixed success, and the yacht of the King of Saudi Arabia. Hicks was a talented photographer, painter and sculptor and produced fashion and jewelry collections. He designed the interior of a BMW and scarlet-heeled men's evening shoes.

He wrote, in one of his nine practical design books, David Hicks on Living – With Taste, that his "greatest contribution... has been to show people how to use bold color mixtures, how to use patterned carpets, how to light rooms and how to mix old with new."

Some of Hicks's later work may be seen at Belle Isle, Fermanagh, where the Duke of Abercorn hired him to redecorate the interior of the castle in the 1990s. Hicks decorated the duke's main house, Baronscourt, in the 1970s.

Personal life

Hicks married Lady Pamela Mountbatten (born 19 April 1929), the younger daughter of the 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma by his wife, the former Edwina Ashley, on 13 January 1960 at Romsey Abbey in Hampshire. They had three children:

He owned 'The Temple' at Stoke by Nayland, Suffolk in the 1950s.

Death

Hicks spent the last years of his life at 'The Grove', Brightwell Baldwin in Oxfordshire, where he created a garden.

A chain smoker, Hicks died from lung cancer on March 29, 1998, aged 69, at his home. He designed his own coffin, in which he 'lay in state', according to his precise instructions, in the ground-floor room of his gothic garden pavilion. He was buried on 4 April 1998 in Brightwell Baldwin, Oxfordshire, where his grave is marked by an obelisk-shaped tombstone.

Legacy

His elder daughter, Edwina, has created her own fabric book titled Motifs.

His son, Ashley Hicks, is an architect and designer. In 2006 he completed David Hicks: Designer – a celebration of his father's work.

His younger daughter, India, has written two books about design, Island Life and Island Beauty.

Little Greene has Hicks' Blue in their collection. 'A deep inky blue paint by prominent 60s and 70s designer, David Hicks. Hicks was known for using powerful colours in combination to dramatic effect...he used this blue in the restaurant at the top of the London Telecom Tower in 1962'.

References

  1. Hicks' profile in Britannica
  2. ^ "Painting the Town 'Red'". APID Newsletter. 25 October 2010. Archived from the original on 6 August 2016. Retrieved 23 February 2012.
  3. Elizabeth Lomas, Guide to the Archive of Art and Design, Victoria & Albert Museum (Taylor & Francis, 2001), p. 136
  4. ^ Gibson, David (2 April 1998). "David Hicks, 69, Interior Design Star of the 60's, Is Dead". The New York Times. Retrieved 23 February 2012.
  5. Interior Design webpage
  6. Hicks, David N. David Hicks on Decoration (Leslie Frewin Publ. 1966)
  7. Sandbrook, Dominic. Never Had It So Good, Little Brown Publ., 2005
  8. "Patrick Garnett", The Telegraph, 13 May 2006.
  9. The Guardian report on the redesign of GCB's Chelsea Drugstore], 8 June 2006
  10. "Checkmate! The story behind Kubrick's carpet in The Shining revealed". FilmandFurniture.com. 24 November 2017. Archived from the original on 16 August 2021. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  11. Hicks, David. David Hicks on Living -- With Taste 1968
  12. Queen Victoria's Descendants, Marlene A. Eilers, Genealogical Publishing Co., 1987, page 185
  13. "Obituary: David Hicks". The Independent. 23 October 2011. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
  14. "Et in Arcadia – The Temple, Stoke-by-Nayland". Geoff Heath-Taylor. 24 April 2020. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
  15. "Frightfully common". The Good Funeral Guide. 8 November 2011. Retrieved 23 February 2012.
  16. Hicks' profile at Oxford Dictionary of National Biography online
  17. "Books by India Hicks". India Hicks. 2011. Archived from the original on 14 June 2012. Retrieved 23 February 2012.
  18. "Buy 'Hicks' Blue' Dark Blue Paint Online | Little Greene". The Little Greene Paint Company Ltd. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
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