Jed Johnson

Jed Johnson: Opulent Restraint is the first book to chronicle the fascinating career, work and times of an interior design superstar whose life was cut short in 1996 by the disastrous explosion of TWA Flight 800. From humble beginnings in Minnesota, Johnson rose to prominence in nineteen-seventies New York, via the Warhol Factory, to the highest echelons of the rarified world of design and decoration. His impressive celebrity client list included Pierre Bergé, Mick Jagger and Jerry Hall, Richard Gere, and Barbara Streisand. Yet, with success and acclaim, he never lost his shy humility, generous spirit and quiet grace. Through a series of essays, project photographs and personal pictures we trace the influences on his nascent career, his special relationship with Andy Warhol and his magical affect on others. Many never-before-seen photographs are included by important photographers, among them: Cecil Beaton, Francesco Scavullo, Billy Name, Jack Mitchell, John Hall, Elizabeth Heyert and Warhol himself. Opulent Restraint is a must have book for every interior design office and for those interested in the fascinating Warhol years in New York. Interior Design magazine called Johnson “a great talent” whose “spirit lives on in a stunning legacy of interior design.”Pierre Bergé was the driving force behind the Yves St. Laurent empire and is the former president of the Paris Opera; Paul Goldberger is a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer, former architecture editor of The New York Times, current architecture critic for The New Yorker, and Dean of the Parsons School of Design; Arthur Dunnam is design director of Jed Johnson Associates, Inc.; Jay Johnson is the twin brother of Jed Johnson and president of Jed Johnson, Inc.; Bob Colacello is an author, former editor of Interview, and frequent contributor to Vanity Fair; Sandra J. Brant is president of Brant Publications and publisher of the magazines Antiques, Interview, and Art In America.