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To escape the ugliness of cars, noise, power lines and asphalt, I always make it a point to look for quiet beautiful places where I can paint, draw or dream. My latest painting was inspired by The Biltmore. This is a historic house, museum and tourist attraction in Asheville, North Carolina.
While the current acreage of Biltmore Estate is approximately 8,000 acres, the acreage during George Vanderbilt's lifetime was approximately 125,000 acres and included property later sold to the federal government to create Pisgah National Forest, one of the first national forests east of the Mississippi. The Biltmore House, the main residence, is a Châteauesque-style mansion built for George Vanderbilt II between 1889 and 1895 and is the largest privately owned house in the United States, at 178,926 sq ft (16,622.8 m2) of floor space. Still owned by George Vanderbilt's descendants, it remains one of the most prominent examples of Gilded Age mansions.
Coming from Europe Châteauesque-style mansions are still a derivative of the original castles, like the real old wine chateaux owned by the Rothschildts in France.
When I wrote about the Biltmore in the past (my favorite coffeeshop in Miami), I wrote about a hotel. Not a mansion. I didn’t know there was such thing as a private home of 16.500 square meters in North Carolina. This place now is 10 minutes from the studio and I am ecstatic to have the property within reach. The compound is huge with tall trees, meadows, a winery and bike paths. It doesn’t have the exotic style of the Biltmore hotel with its arches and tropical plants, but nevertheless, it is an inspiring place where people care for beauty.
The movie which is shown on Netflix “Being There” was filmed in 1979. It is a satirical comedy-drama film starring Peter Sellers, Shirley MacLaine, and Melvyn Douglas and is based on the 1970 novel by Jerzy Kosiński. It is an amazing story with an open end.
Please watch my YouTube video’s and subscribe. It is free!!! https://www.youtube.com/@jacobinao
Here is a tour of my studio, https://vimeo.com/931512569?share=copy
Northlight studio’s, 357 Depot street, Asheville
