Orville Bulman (1904-1978)

Orville Bulman was a self-taught artist who was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan to a wealthy industrial inventor and manufacturer. Encouraged at an early age to take over the family business, the young Orville was more interested in pursuing a career in art. After graduating high school, Bulman traveled to Chicago, studied for a time at the Chicago Art Institute and worked as a cartoonist for the local newspaper. When not tending to the family business, Bulman continued his passion for art and honed his talents and gained acceptance into the prestigious Society of Independent Artists exhibition in New York in 1937.

Bulman began painting the rural South in the 1940s. His travels led him through Alabama, Louisiana and Florida. He fell in love with Florida and purchased a winter home in Palm Beach in 1946. He became inspired by Haitian art and culture and traveled there in 1952 to live with the natives and paint their villages and life much like Paul Gauguin. This body of work caught the attention of the art world and was featured in Newsweek and Life magazine. Bulman had his first one-man exhibition at Worth Avenue Galleries and sold out the entire show.

The French Surrealist painter Henri Rousseau was a big influence on Bulman. Upon his return from Haiti, he began creating paintings of the jungle with its rich flora and fauna populating them with lions, tigers and monkeys with a dream-like sensibility. Prominent residents of Palm Beach including the Duchess of Windsor, Marjorie Merriweather Post and Robert F. Kennedy began collecting his work and others were quick to follow. Bulman’s paintings, especially his jungle scenes, are highly sought after by collectors of his art.

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ABOUT BIERLY DRAKE AND STEELE DESIGN:

Born into an old New England family, Christopher Drake, ASID learned early in life from his parents that the home is a place to celebrate taste, quality and style. With that, the dye was cast. Christopher elected to major in Architectural History at Lake Forest College. He then attended the Sorbonne in Paris where he studied period decoration at the Musee des Arts Decoratifs. Returning from Paris, he continued this work at Rhode Island School of Design and landed his first real job for Bloomingdales. Following a six year tenure there, he joined forces with Lee Bierly, ASID to form Bierly-Drake, Inc. Drake’s Partner and late Husband, a native Californian, came to design with a totally different perspective. His orientation was architecturally-grounded. His work reflected the ‘light and fresh-air’ lifestyle typical of southern California. Together Bierly and Drake forged a unique aesthetic. Drake and Bierly received the prestigious Ballinger Award from the Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach for the renovation and restoration of their Palm Beach Home.

Both were active in the American Society of Interior Designers and received over two dozen merit awards as recognition for their efforts. 2007 witnessed their induction into New England Design’s Hall of Fame. Their work is frequently featured in magazines including Architectural Digest, House Beautiful and Veranda. Unfortunately, Lee Bierly died unexpectedly in 2011.

In 2013, Mr. Drake joined forces with William Bainbridge Steele creating Bierly Drake & Steele, Inc. William Steele, is a native of Santa Barbara and hailing from a deeply rooted Southern family, (a descendant of Robert E. Lee and William Barrett Travis). Will, as known to his friends, moved as a young boy to Vero Beach, Florida. After attending Mercer University where oddly enough studied Pre-Med, he recognized his passion as an entrepreneur and changed his major to business. In 1990 he founded William Bainbridge Steele Designs. Initially focusing on his love of retail he began his career with a home furnishings and decorative accessories showroom in Vero Beach which blended Interior Design, Floral Design and Event Planning. Following many successful Show Houses in Vero Beach, 2014 saw Will’s first Red Cross Show House in Palm Beach. The following year he was again selected by the Palm Beach Red Cross Palm Beach Show House and designed the home’s Primary Bedroom Suite.

Bierly Drake and Steele were proudly selected as one of the Design Firms to decorate the first Kip’s Bay Palm Beach Showhouse.

Nearly eleven years ago Drake and Steele joined forces as Partners both in business and life. They were married in Palm Beach on December 1st, 2018. The dynamic duo splits their time between homes in Palm Beach, Boston and Nantucket with their beloved Golden Retriever “Charlie”. As a team they are unstoppable, both challenge and inspire one another in life and design.