Hearst Castle - don't look down

Russ told us that Mr Hearst once advised his architect Miss Julia Morgan: "There's nothing wrong with adding rooms to display the things that I collect." The meaning of that statement changes subtly when you learn that Mr Hearst collected antique ceilings. You can't go wrong looking up as you walk through Hearst Castle.




These are ceilings of a type that we just don't see in the modern world. Ceilings these days are plain and white, not ornately carved out of exotic timber.

All of the antique ceilings needed to be resized to fit the rooms they are displayed in. Moulded plaster was hand painted to match seamlessly.

All of the ceilings were amazing examples of craftsmanship, but most were also extraordinary works of art. This ceiling started its life as an artwork and was converted to ceiling duty at the ranch.


My favourites were the bold geometric ceilings like the one above.

This is the ceiling from the pool room. The hand painted illustrations depict sporting scenes to go with the gaming theme. It is about to receive a million dollar face lift courtesy of a grant for its restoration. The project is expected to take 5 years, hardly a blip in the long life of this ceiling.

The main hall boasts this extraordinary ceiling. The story of its installation was less smooth than than the finished product might suggest. When the ceiling was first purchased Hearst had the room specially sized to fit it. However, when the ceiling arrived, it was the wrong size and needed to be adjusted after all. He needn't have worried. If Russ hadn't told us, we would never have known.

The ceilings in the guest houses were elaborate too, but the most impressive ones were in Casa Grande.



This is the ceiling in Mr Hearst's private office. Actually, it's a fake. This is Miss Morgan's creation based on a ceiling that he wanted to purchase, but was unable to acquire. Every day this extraordinary collector spent at the ranch he would have looked up and seen the one that got away.

Mr Hearst's private bedroom features the amazing ceiling above. I'm not sure I'd want religious imagery hanging over my bed at night, but then I also wouldn't want my mother's portrait on the bedroom wall. Mr Hearst obviously had different tastes.