Greene & Greene

Charles Millard Pratt and Mary Seamoor Morris Pratt, Ojai, California, 1912-1947

Eleanor I. Palmer, by acquisition of the house and contents, 1948

Thence by descent to the present owner

Randell L. Makinson, Greene & Greene: Architecture as a Fine Art, Salt Lake City, UT, 1977, p. 173 (for a period photo of the model in situ)

Randell L. Makinson, Greene & Greene: Furniture and Related Designs, Salt Lake City, UT, 1979, p. 96

Edward R. Bosley, Greene & Greene, London, 2000, p. 130

Brothers Charles Sumner Greene (1886-1957) and Henry Mather Greene (1870-1954), who founded the architecture firm Greene & Greene in 1894, rank among the most important American architects of the 20^th century. Inspired by their training in woodwork, metalwork and architecture, as well as their passion for Chinese and Japanese design, the Greenes’ bungalow-style houses stand as icons of the Arts & Crafts Movement, marrying livability and fine design in their unparalleled constructions. 

The Greenes designed and built five “Ultimate Bungalows” at the pinnacle of their careers; large-scale residences such as the Gamble, Blacker and Thorsen Houses showcased their mature style. The Pratt House, otherwise known as Casa Barranca, was one of the last of the Greenes’ Ultimate Bungalows. It was commissioned in 1908 as a winter home for Charles M. Pratt, son of the co-founder of Standard Oil, and his wife Mary Seamoor Morris, daughter of the governor of Connecticut and a college acquaintance of Mrs. Blacker and Mrs. Thorsen.

As in the other Ultimate Bungalows, the furniture for the Pratt House was custom designed, site-specific and superbly constructed by Greene & Greene’s master cabinetmaker, Peter Hall. The rocking chair and serving table offered here are exemplary of the brothers’ contributions to the American Arts and Crafts movement. The rocking chair is embellished with delicate inlaid decoration and carved "cloud lift" motif's along its top rail - the latter a signature motif of the Greenes adopted from Japanese tsuba (sword guards), while the serving table is accented with small square pegs of ebony. The edges of each object are softly rounded throughout, imparting a further level of refinement to the bold forms.