Client

Overview

To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the landmark hotel White Elephant Nantucket, White Elephant Resorts engaged Elkus Manfredi Architects to transform the iconic property with a complete renovation of White Elephant Nantucket’s 54 rooms and suites and 11 cottages, drawing inspiration from the island of Nantucket—its landscape, and its seafaring and artisanal past – to breathe new life into the property and immerse guests in an authentic Nantucket experience. The reimagined hotel is filled with original artwork and custom design details that embrace and celebrate the island’s unique history and way of life.

Working closely with the owner, the Elkus Manfredi team and art consultant Emily Santangelo developed an artist-in-residency program, bringing selected artists to the island for a time and providing everything they would need to gather inspiration and source material to inspire new works for the collection. Orit Fuch’s 36-foot-long painting best demonstrates the goal of integrating the artwork into the transformation. Depicting a mysterious woman in a rowboat gliding past the hotel in the blue harbor waters, the painting sits within the millwork behind the reception desk, greeting guests with a contemporary statement of the island’s timeless beauty.

Goals

It was extremely important to the hotel’s owner that original artwork be part of the new design, and that the artwork feel like an integral part of the island’s story. Elkus Manfredi and art consultant Emily Santangelo worked closely with the owner to select the artists who would be invited to take part in the hotel's first artist-in-residency program. They included photographers, painters, and installation artists from Maine to Sweden. Each selected artist spent time on the island and was provided with everything they would need to gather inspiration and source material to create new works for the collection. Results include Thomas Jackson's photos of floating silks over landscapes that took place at various seaside locations; Mary Chandler's watercolors of historic homes and buildings in town that bring the island’s timeless, classic charm into the space; Isabelle vanZeijel, who created the hydrangea piece behind the concierge desk; and Clara Hallencrutz, whose photographs of lobsters make everyone smile.