Floral Details of an Art Nouveau Stained Glass Window on the Stairwell of "Tolarno" - Fitzroy Street, St Kilda
The Torlano Hotel on St Kilda's famous wide boulevard of Fitzroy Street was originally a fine Victorian mansion named "Tolarno" when St Kilda was populated with grand mansions that were close to the waterfront.
Believed to have been owned by a politician, little remains of the old "Tolarno" mansion which was converted into a rooming house after the property crash of the 1890s before then becoming an hotel. What does remain is the house's original wooden staircase and two stained glass windows. One window on the first floor landing features a stained glass window of St George and the Dragon made by Melbourne based stained glass manufacturer Ferguson and Urie. The second window on the second floor landing features stained glass windows in Art Nouveau style. The window has stylised blue flowers with white centres set in stylised garlands.
The Tolarno Hotel was purchased in 1965 by Georges and Mirka Mora who had migrated from France in 1951 and had an important influence on the changes which occurred in Melbourne's cultural life in the post-war period. Georges bought the hotel as a restaurant, art gallery, studio and home. It had originally been a mansion,
was converted to a boarding house in the late nineteenth century, and then to a hotel, with the present restaurant and bar added to the front, by the 1960s. The Georges amd Mirka were prominent members of Melbourne's artistic and bohemian society. They were associated with the revival of the Contemporary Art Society in the 1950s and their restaurants, of which they owned three, were used to display the work of local artists, many of whom have now become world famous, including Charles Blackman, Sidney Nolan, John Perceval and Howard Arkley. At the Tolarno Hotel Georges opened the Tolarno Gallery, where a remarkable series of art exhibitions were held in the 1960s. As well as displaying the work of local artists, including exhibitions of Sydney Nolan's Ned Kelly paintings and of Mirka's own paintings, as she was a successful artist in her own right. The gallery was also used for exhibitions of the work of modern French masters, which made Georges a valuable emissary of French art in Australia.
Between 1965 and 1978 Mirka painted a series of murals over the walls and windows of the restaurant, bistro, hallway and toilets. The restaurant has changed hands several times since 1970, though Georges continued to run the gallery until 1979. Substantial alterations were made between 2006 and 2007 to update the hotel and restaurant. As part of these works Mirka Mora was commissioned to restore the original murals and to paint new ones. The original painted windows at the front were replaced. The restaurant was renamed Mirka at the Tolarno Hotel.
Floral Details of an Art Nouveau Stained Glass Window on the Stairwell of "Tolarno" - Fitzroy Street, St Kilda
The Torlano Hotel on St Kilda's famous wide boulevard of Fitzroy Street was originally a fine Victorian mansion named "Tolarno" when St Kilda was populated with grand mansions that were close to the waterfront.
Believed to have been owned by a politician, little remains of the old "Tolarno" mansion which was converted into a rooming house after the property crash of the 1890s before then becoming an hotel. What does remain is the house's original wooden staircase and two stained glass windows. One window on the first floor landing features a stained glass window of St George and the Dragon made by Melbourne based stained glass manufacturer Ferguson and Urie. The second window on the second floor landing features stained glass windows in Art Nouveau style. The window has stylised blue flowers with white centres set in stylised garlands.
The Tolarno Hotel was purchased in 1965 by Georges and Mirka Mora who had migrated from France in 1951 and had an important influence on the changes which occurred in Melbourne's cultural life in the post-war period. Georges bought the hotel as a restaurant, art gallery, studio and home. It had originally been a mansion,
was converted to a boarding house in the late nineteenth century, and then to a hotel, with the present restaurant and bar added to the front, by the 1960s. The Georges amd Mirka were prominent members of Melbourne's artistic and bohemian society. They were associated with the revival of the Contemporary Art Society in the 1950s and their restaurants, of which they owned three, were used to display the work of local artists, many of whom have now become world famous, including Charles Blackman, Sidney Nolan, John Perceval and Howard Arkley. At the Tolarno Hotel Georges opened the Tolarno Gallery, where a remarkable series of art exhibitions were held in the 1960s. As well as displaying the work of local artists, including exhibitions of Sydney Nolan's Ned Kelly paintings and of Mirka's own paintings, as she was a successful artist in her own right. The gallery was also used for exhibitions of the work of modern French masters, which made Georges a valuable emissary of French art in Australia.
Between 1965 and 1978 Mirka painted a series of murals over the walls and windows of the restaurant, bistro, hallway and toilets. The restaurant has changed hands several times since 1970, though Georges continued to run the gallery until 1979. Substantial alterations were made between 2006 and 2007 to update the hotel and restaurant. As part of these works Mirka Mora was commissioned to restore the original murals and to paint new ones. The original painted windows at the front were replaced. The restaurant was renamed Mirka at the Tolarno Hotel.