…………………..Many many years ago…..probably about fifty four years ago, I was invited to my new friend Maurice Antaya’s apartment on Bleeker Street in the West Village of NYC. I had just started to work as the designer of Giorgini, and Maurice designed for a sister company named Ginori……all under the umbrella of the main company Originala……At the time it was a powerhouse company with five or six divisions……..I remembered walking into his beautifully appointed apartment, and on the entrance wall was hanging this beautiful painting…..To me it looked like some enchanted magical forest showing a path leading you deep inside……I told Maurice how much I loved it, and he told me it was given to him by a friend who was also a student at Rhode Island School of Design where they both attended…….Every time after that I always commented on the painting….it just had a special effect on me…….On one of those occasions Maurice said to me….”if you love it so much then you shall have it….of course after I’m gone!”………….Well, Maurice is now 87 years young, and is now my OLDEST and LONGEST living friend……We have been through a lot together, and I love him dearly…….It was decided that he could no longer live by himself, and he moved back to RI where he was brought up, and where he is now closer to his existing family…..He lives in an assisted living facility that he has told me is very nice. I plan to visit him soon….As faith would have it Meredith Gladstone, a friend of Maurice’s from their days at RISD together…lives across the hall from him!!! They are both happy to have each other in their lives again….He has his own apartment, but it is much smaller than where he was previously living on Hanover Square in the heart of the financial district in NYC ……..He said to me, “Lou, it’s time you got your painting!….I want to make sure it’s in your hands, and I don’t want to leave it up to anyone else to make sure you get it.”……..So this past Weds. it was delivered to me by two wonderful people, Glenn and Charles, who worked for Maurice and myself at Anne Klein. They picked it up at his apartment, and drove to CT. to bring it to me. It was their first time at my home…We spent a lovely day together talking about old times. It’s been almost 40 years since we started working together…..so there was a lot to talk about, but it seemed like yesterday that we were all together. Charles was my personal assistant and Glenn was in charge of all print development for both Anne Klein Couture and Anne Klein 11….They are both extremely talented men, and it was my pleasure to mentor them and have them under my wing…..We promised that our next visit would be much sooner….We agreed a Christmas trip would be in order so they could see my decorations……I called Maurice to tell him Glenn and Charles brought me the painting, and it is now hanging in my dining room….He was very happy to know his cherished painting was with me……I love it now as much as I loved it the first time I saw it………..and it will always remind me of my dear friend Maurice.
