Majolica in the Movies Update: Minton in "Annie"

Minton "Flower Bearers"

Five years ago, I posted a blog entry here on my memories of the musical “Annie” and the Minton majolica spotted in the John Huston film version as seen below.

The "I'm Going To Like It Here" number from "Annie" (1982)

Late last year I discovered the backstory on how the Minton mermaid centerpiece, "Flower Bearers," found its way into the movie and a brief provenance of where it came from as well as where it is now. I thought some readers might find it interesting.

Governor Milton S. Latham

Mary Kellogg Crittenden Hopkins

The centerpiece originally came from Sherwood Hall, the home of socialite Mary Kellogg Crittenden Hopkins, in Menlo Park, California, a small suburb of San Francisco. The home had previously been owned by California Governor Milton S. Latham under the name of Thurlow Lodge. Whether the centerpiece had been purchased with the home or moved there from her Nob Hill home in San Francisco is not known. 

Mary Kellogg Hopkins on her wedding day

Thurlow Lodge

The gardens of Thurlow Lodge, later renamed Sherwood Hall, Menlo Park

Sherwood Hall, Menlo Park, CA

Thurlow Lodge interior

Another interior photo shows a Minton jardiniere on a Minton pedestal.

Sherwood Hall interior showing Minton majolica

 jardiniere and pedestal on right.

Minton majolica jardiniere similar to the one in Sherwood Hall

Minton majolica pedestal similar to design to the one in Sherwood Hall

When the estate was liquidated in 1942 the content of the house was put into auction. A large number of the antiques were purchased by Warner Brothers studio for use in their pictures. It was through this acquisition that the centerpiece found its way to Hollywood and ultimately into the 1945 movie "Rhapsody In Blue" and later onto the dining table of Daddy Warbucks in the 1982 movie “Annie.” Other pieces from the estate found their way into movies like “My Fair Lady,” “The Big Sleep,” “The Unsinkable Molly Brown,”and “Psycho," and also into the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. 

Étage from Hopkins residence in “My Fair Lady”

Minton centerpiece in the 1945 movie "Rhapsody in Blue"

In 2011 Warner Brothers decided to clear some of their warehouse holdings and the centerpiece was placed at auction with Bonham’s. It found a buyer at the Wiener Museum of Decorative Arts in Dania Beach, Florida, where it can be found today.

"Flower Bearers" at the WMODA photo: WMODA

The resolution here is a happy one. People can visit the WMODA and learn a bit about majolica and see a piece of movie history.

For more on the mansions of Menlo Park go to their web site

For information on the Wiener Museum of Decorative Arts as well as their other majolica acquisitions go here

To view the Annie trailer go here.