It is with great excitement, much like the Cheeks, that Cheekwood begins the new year with a historically-inspired resolution: to revive and restore a group of interior spaces to reflect the original design and environment created by Mabel and Leslie Sr., in the 1930s. To facilitate this important initiative, the Cheekwood Museum of Art will be closed from January 3rd through June 16th. Once reopened, the sights, sounds, and sensations of a bygone era will take us all on a journey as we look forward to our past.
Leslie Jones
Vice President, Museum Affairs & Curator of Decorative Arts
Made possible by The AWC Family Foundation, Mr. and Mrs. William F. Andrews, and the Founding Members of The 1929 Club. Eighty-seven years ago, in January 1929, Mabel and Leslie Cheek, Sr. began the new year by receiving the first of many floorplans from their recently appointed architect, Bryant Fleming. The drawings provided by Fleming outlined a four-story home, designed with intention and distinction. From the outside, the impressive façade was to reflect the premiere design choice of 18th-century English aristocrats and the interior was to replicate and follow the formal movements of the era. Furnishings and decoration were to be carefully selected to keep the full-effect of English formality, yet introduce contemporary conveniences and technology that made the historically-inspired home into a modern marvel.