Sister Parish (born Dorothy May Kinnicutt; July 15, 1910 – September 8, 1994) was an American interior decorator and socialite. She was the first practitioner brought in to decorate the Kennedy White House, a position soon entrusted to French interior decorator Stéphane Boudin. Despite Boudin's growing influence, Parish's influence can still be seen at the White House, particularly in the Yellow Oval Room.
Early life
Sister Parish was born Dorothy May Kinnicutt on July 15, 1910, in Morristown, New Jersey. Her parents were G. Hermann Kinnicutt and May Appleton Tuckerman. Sister was born at home in a four poster bed. Her paternal grandfather was Francis Kinnicutt, Edith Wharton's doctor and close friend. In addition to their New Jersey house, the family had homes in Manhattan, Maine, and Paris. She was given the nickname Sister by her three-year-old brother Frankie.
As a child, Parish attended The Peck School in New Jersey, in the fall and spring. During the winter, she attended Chapin School in New York. Later, she boarded at Foxcroft School in Virginia.
Parish was a debutante in 1927. Once she had completed high school, her parents expected her to marry, and on Valentine's Day 1930, Kinnicutt married banker Henry Parish II at St. George's Episcopal Church in Manhattan.
After the wedding, the couple lived on East End Avenue in Manhattan (in an apartment done by a decorator), followed by a farmhouse on Long Lane in Far Hills, NJ which Parish decorated herself. In decorating the Long Lane house, Parish found her own sense of style. She painted wood furniture white and used cotton fabrics such as ticking stripe. She experimented with brightly painted floors. Parish's new home was lighter and more casual than other high society homes of the 1930s.
Parish spent most of her summers in her house in Islesboro, Maine.
Early career
The Great Depression tightened the family's finances and in 1933 the 23 year old opened a decorating business. Her Far Hills, New Jersey, office measured 14 feet by 14 feet and cost $35 a month. Parish outfitted the room with wicker furniture and hung a sign that said "Mrs. Henry Parish II, Interiors."
At the time she opened her business, Parish was completely untrained. She had never read a book on decorating or served any kind of apprenticeship. Parish's family helped influence her style. May's first cousin was acclaimed interior decorator Dorothy Draper. May's father collected antiques.
Parish's earliest work was decorating the houses of friends.
Jacqueline Kennedy and the White House
Parish met Jacqueline Kennedy socially in the late 1950s and helped her decorate the Georgetown house the family lived in while John F. Kennedy was a Senator. After Kennedy was elected President in 1960, Jackie hired Parish to help with the redecorating of the White House. Parish's name led to some confusion, with one newspaper proclaiming: ''Kennedys Pick Nun to Decorate White House.''
Prior to moving into the White House, the Kennedys leased a country house in Virginia called Glen Ora. Parish spent $10,000 redecorating the home; the cost enraged Jack Kennedy. The Kennedys had to restore the house to its previous look before vacating.
In a letter to Sister Parish, Jackie Kennedy explained her plans for the White House, ""I want our private quarters to be heaven for us naturally--but use as much of (the Eisenhowers') stuff as possible & buy as little new--as I want to spend lots of my budget below in the public rooms--which people see & will do you & I proud!" Parish used the Georgetown living room she had previously designed as a blueprint for the West Sitting Hall, painting everything off-white, installing bookcases for Jackie's collection of art books and paintings.
Parish and Jackie spent the entire budget of $50,000 allocated for the redecoration of the White House on the private quarters in the first two weeks. Winterthur Museum Director Charles Montgomery suggested the formation of a committee to acquire antique furnishings for the White House. The goal was to help furnish the White House with authentic pieces from a century and a half earlier. Noted collector Henry du Pont was made chair of the committee and Sister Parish was among the committee members. Parish and DuPont concentrated on including American Federalist furniture in the Sheraton and Hepplewhite styles.