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"For the nearly 45 years I have known Salle, she has been an eccentric but passionate collector whose many homes were strikingly decorated cornucopias of treasures." — Carol Isaak Barden of its founder in 2020; Salle now shows with McClain Gallery and was recently featured in the gallery's summer exhibition, "Strangeness, Tone, Translucency." Bard grad/filmmaker Mitchell Watson is also collaborating with her on a full-length cinematic profile. Exquisite Times Chez Vaughn PaperCity contributing editor Carol Isaak Barden remembers golden hours at the Vaughns' house and her friendship with the artist. For the nearly 45 years I have known Salle, she has been an eccentric but passionate collector whose many homes were strikingly decorated cornucopias of treasures. Salle can't stand dark and dingy, gloomy or boring. Whether her homes were the modest West End bungalows that were in a ruinous state when she bought them or the River Oaks home or East Side New York apartment, she was a visionary, creating dramatic stage sets — theatrical spaces filled with antique columns, architectural artifacts, rare textiles, richly gilded frames, hand-painted hardwood floors, fine classical furniture, art, and treasures. Her acute eye and her imaginative flights of fancy turned one humble bungalow on Blossom Street into a Venetian palazzo with red walls. (Nobody can drape luxurious fabric over furniture like Salle Vaughn.) She and Jimmy were passionate lifelong collectors of everything — rare books, prints, drawings, exquisite objects like Fabergé eggs, silver, beautiful serving pieces, and china. We met in the early '80 through our mutual love and admiration for fashion designer Jimmy Galanos, Houston Grand Opera, and the Museum of Fine Arts. My husband, Gregg Wallace, and I used to underwrite the onstage dinner for HGO patrons (at Jones Hall, which was before the Wortham), and Salle and Jimmy were always there opening night, which was very formal, very black tie, and for serious opera lovers. Salle and Jimmy underwrote the controversial Philip Glass Akhnaten production in 1984 and underwrote Hildegard Behrens, a German operatic soprano. In those days, HGO was underwritten by individual donors; later it would become more corporate. The Houston opera patrons of the '80s also attended opera performances in New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Paris, and Milan's La Scala. We were opera fanatics. Jimmy and Salle also lent their support to the MFAH, so we saw them at all the openings and parties. My favorite memory of Brentwood was a ladies' afternoon tea. There were three of us enjoying finger sandwiches and cookies, sweets and tea. Alexandra Marshall, beautiful like a countess, wore serious jewelry and a big hat. I have never forgotten the beautiful hand-painted wooden floors, the rare antiques, and furnishings; it felt formal, like a French salon or drawing room with comfortable furniture, cushy cushions. Salle had used her decorating to achieve a state of grace and tranquility, much due to the filtered light and the soft colors. She stretched muslin over the In the guest bedroom, an Italian bed, circa 17th or 18th century, with velvet fringed canopy, from Loyd-Paxton. Italian Renaissance-style chair found in New York. On the rack, an Indian dressing gown hangs with Salle's couture collection. Antique English cabinet and French tapestry screen. 83