Exterior rear view of historic house. Photo by Ken Hayden. ©The Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands. 

While the climate in Palm Springs, California, is arid and dry like the surrounding desert of the Coachella Valley, there is no drought of mid-century modern architecture. Masterfully built and designed pieces of property are plentiful, but the Sunnylands estate in Rancho Mirage is unlike any other. The longtime winter retreat of Walter and Leonore Annenberg, Sunnylands has long been known as an icon of modernist design and architecture. Walter Annenberg was a billionaire publisher, philanthropist, power broker, art collector, and Ambassador to the Court of St. James. At a time when most great estates were built in traditional styles, the Annenbergs boldly chose to deviate from the norm.

The grand entrance to Sunnylands.

Designed by the master architect of Southern California Modernism, A. Quincy Jones, along with interior designers William “Billy” Haines and Ted Graber (known for decorating the White House), Sunnylands was completed in 1966 after three years of construction. The 200-acre desert compound is arguably the only purely modernist estate in the country. Sunnylands was a haven for elite politicians, entertainers, business tycoons, and royalty of the mid- to late-twentieth century. Seven U.S. presidents, Queen Elizabeth II and the royal family, Princess Grace, Margaret Thatcher, Bill and Melinda Gates, David Rockefeller, Oscar and Annette de la Renta, Frank and Nancy Sinatra, and most of old Hollywood were all guests of the estate. Following the Annenberg’s wishes that Sunnylands be used as a place to facilitate world peace, the Annenberg Retreat at Sunnylands, as it is now known, is the “Camp David of the West,” where U.S. and foreign dignitaries and heads of state can gather for summit meetings in a relaxed and secluded atmosphere.

 

L to R: Prince Phillip, Lee Annenberg, Queen Elizabeth, and Walter Annenberg standing in front of the entrance to the estate house during the Queen’s visit in February 1983. ©The Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands.
The Reagans dancing with members of a mariachi band at Sunnylands. January 1, 1983. Official White House Photo. Courtesy of The Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands.

 

Executed in exuberant Modernist style, Sunnylands is comprised of 22 spacious open rooms on a single level, with vast expanses of glass walls offering vistas of the San Jacinto and Santa Rosa mountains; lush grounds include twelve man-made lakes and a nine-hole golf course. Known especially for designs that integrated houses into their landscapes, and for his statement roofs, A. Quincy Jones’ signature style is reflected throughout the estate. The iconic Mayan pyramid roof, which is pink in color in accordance with Mrs. Annenberg’s wish to match the sunset glow of the desert foothills, crowns the historic house. Jones also incorporated his patroness’ love of flowers and nature in the cactus and rose gardens surrounding the house and terrace.

Master bedroom seating area. Only U.S. Presidents and other heads of state are permitted to stay here. Photo by Ken Hayden. ©The Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands.

Modernist elements include walls cased in richly textured Mexican lava stone, exposed steel beams, trellises, and hanging coffered ceiling grids. Haines and Graber designed most of the furniture in their signature Hollywood Regency style, with long, low seating, lacquered tables, and subtle lighting. The interior rooms of Sunnylands flow into one another with an expansiveness reflected by the surrounding desert landscape. Yellow and pink, two of Lee Annenberg’s favorite colors, are reflected in the hues of the home’s marble floors and guest wing suites.

The living room of the historic house features many original furniture designs by interior designer William Haines. Photo by Ned Redway. ©The Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands.

In 2002, following Walter Annenberg’s death, the Annenberg’s Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art collection, which was valued at $1 billion and included more than 50 masterpieces by van Gogh, Cézanne, Gauguin, and Monet, was donated to The Metropolitan Museum of Art. It was one of the single largest gifts to any museum, and it anchors the Met’s nineteenth-century European collection.

The coral and lemon yellow game room, featuring interior design by Billy Haines and Ted Graber.

The Annenbergs left all but their Impressionist and Post-Impressionist painting collection at the estate so visitors can enjoy the full range of artworks originally installed at the historic house. The Sunnylands collection includes masterpieces by Yaacov Agam, Harry Bertoia, Jean Arp, Emile Gilioli, Pablo Picasso, Jacques Villon, Andrew Wyeth, Romare Bearden, and Jean Fautrier. Important works of Chinese porcelain, Meissen vases, Chinese cloisonné objects and furniture, Tang Dynasty funerary sculpture, Flora Danica porcelain, Steuben glass, and English silver-gilt objects are also part of the collection.

Living area featuring richly textured Mexican lava stone wall, furniture designed by Billy Haines, a sculpture by Jean Arp (foreground), and paintings by Gauguin, Cézanne, and van Gogh.

Lee Annenberg had digital reproductions of the highest quality created of the donated works of art, along with facsimiles of the period frames. The digital reproductions of these paintings hang in their original locations in the house. Rodin’s Eve, a sculpture which was once buried in a French garden by a former owner, Henri Duhem, so it would be protected during World War I, now stands in the atrium of the historic house as a symbol of hospitality and tranquility.

The atrium of the historic house. The sculpture in the center of the atrium is an original casting of Eve, by Auguste Rodin, 1881. Photo by Graydon Wood. ©The Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands.

In 1993, the Annenbergs donated an unprecedented $500 million to the American public school system – the largest gift to the public ever made in this country. The gift was announced in a White House ceremony with President Clinton on December 17, 1993. The Annenbergs tradition as extraordinary philanthropists and gracious hosts to every guest, was extended to their final gift of Sunnylands to the public. The historic and iconic Sunnylands house can be toured during the Palm Springs Modernism Week 2016 Fall Preview this weekend, from October 21-23.

To learn more about the historic Sunnylands house and estate, click HERE.

To learn how you can attend the Palm Springs Modernism Week 2016 Fall Preview, click HERE.