River Ranch: The Collection of Carole Harris at STAIR
Inside the Harrises’ Louis XIV-style chateau in the Central Valley of California, a lifelong collection of art and design blends personal expression with nature.
River Ranch: The Collection of Carole Harris on June 17-19, 2025 at 10 am, represents over three decades of thoughtful collecting, a passion for interior design and a lifelong pursuit of beauty and self-expression. Raised on a farm in California, Carole Harris had a deep connection to nature which would later influence her style and affinity for fruit forms, animals, and organic motifs across her collection of Furniture, Fine Art and Decorative Arts.
The Collection of Carole Harris
Part I: Tuesday, June 17 at 10 am
The Collection of Carole Harris
Part II: Wednesday, June 18 at 10 am
The Collection of Carole Harris
Part III: Thursday, June 19 at 10 am
Mrs. Harris assembled an extraordinary collection of English, Italian, and French furniture, as well as Fine Art, Porcelain, Silver, and Jewelry, sourcing treasures from notable, world-class collections at auction. The Harrises Louis XIV-style chateau in the Central Valley of California was a labor of love, designed in collaboration with Sister Parish and the esteemed firm Parish-Hadley.
Highlights include a George I Bottle Green and Gilt-Japanned Bureau Cabinet, attributed to John Belchier, a Louis XIV Ormolu-Mounted Marquetry and Verre Églomisé cabinet, fine giltwood mirrors, porcelain flowers and topiaries by Vladimir and Clare Potter, porcelain fruits and vegetables by Lady Anne Gordon, and themes of flora and fauna across decorative arts categories. Fine Art highlights include a series of dog paintings by artists such as Piet van der Hem and Philip Eustace Stretton, works by Carl Holsoe and George Oakes, a group of Louis XVI–style grisaille paintings, and more.
The Living Room
The Living Room was an example of Carole’s interior design prowess, showcasing her sense of scale and texture to create a harmonious room that was ever-evolving as new acquisitions joined txhe collection.
Lot 300: Pair of North European Style Gilt-Bronze-Mounted Parcel-Gilt Mahogany ‘Venus’ Armchairs, by Ann Getty House
Lot 151: Set of Four Louis XVI Style Grisaille Paintings Depicting the Four Continents
Lot 301: Fine German Neoclassical Mahogany, Ebonized and Parcel-Gilt Oval Center Table
The Yellow Drawing Room
Carole was very partial to the Yellow Drawing Room, having labored over the paint color to create her idea of the perfect ‘butter yellow’ to showcase the Chinoiserie decorations that are the theme of the room and very representative of Carole’s aesthetic vision.
Lot 182: Dutch School: Portrait of a Newfoundland Standing in a Landscape
Lot 4: Régence Style Ormolu-Mounted and Brass-Inlaid Ebonized Center Table
Lot 658: Fine George II Giltwood Overmantel Mirror
Lot 17: George I Bottle Green and Gilt-Japanned Bureau-Cabinet, Attributed to John Belchier
The Dining Room
The Dining Room is a master class in wall decoration highlighted by the decorative wall paintings created by Susan Huggins that complement the furniture and tabletop decoration, the Clare Potter porcelain hollyhocks and the porcelain flowers and vegetables that decorate the various surfaces.
Lot 49: Pair of Clare Potter Porcelain Foxglove Topiaries
Lot 82: Regence Giltwood Mirror
Lot 673: Set of Eighteen Louis XVI Style Painted and Parcel-Gilt Fauteuils en Cabriolet
A selection of Lady Anne Gordon porcelain fruit and vegetable forms is thoughtfully placed upon a marble tabletop in The Dining Room.
The Breakfast Room
The intimate Breakfast Room is flooded with sunlight in the morning, adding a soft glow to the trellised adobe wall decoration by Pat Hopper and the porcelain collection it showcases. The view down the hall shows a large painted bird cage and some of the many potted African violets that were Carole’s favorite and could be found throughout the house.
Lot 490: Set of Four Gilt Split Bamboo and Tufted Upholstered Armchairs
Lot 50: Victorian Style Blue-Painted and Parcel-Gilt Wire-Work Birdcage on Later Stand
Lot 13: Set of Eighteen Royal Copenhagen Porcelain ‘Flora Danica’ Reticulated Lunch Plates
“If Carole Harris was one thing, Carole was absolutely sure of herself, her taste, and her ideas. Whether it was the business she was helping her husband John run, the ranch, or her passion – design.” Colin Stair
The Blue Toile Bedroom
The Blue Toile Bedroom continues the blue-palette theme, incorporating toile wall coverings and a mix of blue fabrics with French mirrors and bedroom furnishings. Pictured below is a charming blue-and-white moment that exemplifies Carole’s love of French furniture, showing a Régence carved walnut commode, a Louis XVI–style walnut armchair, and a late 19th-century French painting of a moody blue harbor scene.
Lot 58: Louis XV Provincial Blue and Cream-Painted Commode
Lot 685: Louis XVI Trumeau Panel Painted en bleu camaieu
Lot 766: Pair of Louis XVI Style Cream and Pale-Blue Painted Fauteuils a la Reine, Modern
Private Suites
Carole’s bedroom on the second floor was a sanctuary for her and housed many of her favorite things including dog paintings, porcelain dog figures and Mario Buatta‒designed chintz upholstered furniture. A sunny sitting room off of the bedroom provided another area of respite surrounded by cherished objects and a view of the property.
Lot 322: Régence Ormolu-Mounted and Brass-Inlaid Ebonized Bibliothèque
Lot 53: Regency Style Caned and Carved Coconut and Caned Tufted Upholstered Recamier
Lot 69: Louis XVI Ormolu-Mounted Tulipwood, Rosewood and Kingwood Polychrome-Painted Bureau De Dame
CATALOGUE ONLINE:
Monday, June 2
GALLERY PREVIEW:
Monday, June 2: 9am – 5pm
Tuesday, June 3: 9am – 5pm
Wednesday, June 4: 9am – 5pm
Thursday, June 5: 9am – 5pm
Friday, June 6: 9am – 5pm
Saturday, June 7: 11am – 5pm
Sunday, June 8: Closed
Monday, June 9: 9am – 5pm
Tuesday, June 10: 9am – 5pm
Wednesday, June 11: 9am – 5pm
Thursday, June 12: 9am – 5pm
Friday, June 13: 9am – 5pm
Saturday, June 14: 11am – 5pm
Sunday, June 15: Closed
Monday, June 16: 9am – 5pm
Tuesday, June 17: 9am – 5pm (Part II & Part III)
Wednesday, June 18: 9am – 5pm (Part III