Angelo Donghia

He realized his calling at a young age and by the time he turned 11 his father had granted him his first decorating job at the tailoring shop, for which Angelo Donghia would recall “The result was perhaps liked by some and hated by others, but that didn’t bother me.

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s Mr. Donghia's client list grew to include major corporations, cultural institutions, mass manufacturers, as well as a number of celebrities.

Projects included the S.S Norway, the Omni International Hotels in Miami and Atlanta, and the St. Andrews Country Club in Florida, while Ralph Lauren, Halston, Donald Trump, Barbara Walters, Mary Tyler Moore,[3] Liza Minnelli, Neil Simon, Grace Mirabella and Diana Ross were amongst his celebrity clientele.

Well known for his entertaining, the opening reception included such names as Edith Head, Joel Schumacher, Diane Von Furstenburg and Norma Kamali.

The Foundation has made such donations as the Angelo Donghia Materials Library and Study Center at the Parsons School of Design and the Angelo Donghia Studio for Interior Architecture at the Rhode Island School of Design, as well as smaller donations to AIDS organizations for research and treatment.

Inspired by Jean-Michel Frank, Angelo Donghia noted in a 1977 New York magazine piece, “I feel that I’ve developed my own style that is as classic and minimal as the thirties style it reflects.” Furthermore, he understood what people like and enjoy living with and had an uncanny ability to turn that knowledge into comfortable, elegant designs.

Editor and filmmaker Julia Noran Johnston interviewed friends and colleagues close to the designer such as Paige Rense, Joel Schumacher, Melvin Dwork, John Boone, Ronald Bricke, Mario Buatta, Susan Buscavage, Chuck Chewning, Ann Sonet, and Masaru Suzuki.