The New Hotel Providence Boasts Rare Antique Treasures

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. October 14, 2008

Providence, RI, June 2005. Located in the heart of the Downcity Arts and Entertainment District, the new luxury Hotel Providence is a feast for the senses and a must-see for art lovers. In a continuous effort to make Providence a unique travel destination, the hotel's principal and antiques connoisseur, Stanley Weiss presents fine and intriguing pieces from his private collection beautifying the guest areas of the property, from the lobby to the event space.

Carefully chosen by Weiss, the historical significance of the pieces is the reason they decorate the space of the 80-room boutique Small Luxury Hotel member. Walking into the main lobby, the massive Portrait of a Lady by Edward Banard Lintott is a beautiful sight. According to Weiss, Lintott was a young contemporary and prot'eg'e of John Singer Sergeant who was doing portraits for New York society at that time.

Not only the hotel guests notice the meticulously decorated lobby. Others come inside just to get a glimpse of the portrait and the other antiques in the lobby, such as The Clock , one of Weiss's favorites. It was made by the Gilbert Company, an old-line American Clock Company, and was especially designed to keep precise time. The Clock's pendulum is very large and its weight very light, attesting to the precision and accuracy of the movement. The Egyptian motif, developed for only a short period of time during the turn of the century, along with its commanding size and a beautiful architectural pediment make this piece quite a standout.

According to Weiss, guests have commented on the pairs of Bronze Chinese Lamps , dating in the last quarter of the 19th century. These lamps are animated with birds in a high relief and show the fine bronze work coming out of China during that period.

Moving into the property, when walking into the Boardroom the Portrait of Benjamin Egbert Ward, (1799-1839) attracts the guests' immediate attention. Ward was a handsome ivy-league graduate, who ultimately became Attorney General to the "territory of Florida", although died at the age of 40.

To maintain the local Providence flavor, Weiss took a special interest in George William Whitaker, who was called the "Dean of the Providence Painters," and is regarded as the truest Rhode Island impressionist. Whitaker's landscape of Providence can be seen in the Hotel Providence lobby, illustrating hints of the State House, and other points of the city. Having established the Providence Art Club, Whitaker was also chairman of the Rhode Island School of Design's newly established painting department.

According to Weiss, "A developer is a dreamer playing with all one's options of both tangibles and intangibles. Using pieces from my personal collection to 'plug into' the hotel's grand plan is not unusual. I'm lucky. It's only a question of selecting those building blocks that will enhance the image and expression that the Hotel Providence will have. Personally, it gives me great pleasure to see worthy works of art used in a project of my own creation."