From Our West Coast Correspondent . . . Sunnylands!

Sunnylands, located in Rancho Mirage, California, is the estate of the late Walter Annenberg and his wife Leonore, pictured below.


Leonore and Walter, photographed by Jonathan Becker for Vanity Fair, 1999.


It was owned by the couple until 2009 and used as a winter retreat since 1966, the year in which the house was completed.

I received these photos from a friend in the Los Angeles area who visited the house and grounds over the Christmas holiday.



The front entrance to the estate.



The pool area.

The estate is run by the Annenberg Foundation Trust.  Photography is not allowed inside the home, so we were very happy to receive these photos of the exterior.  This is a magnificent, modernist estate designed by architect Quincy Jones (1913-1979) and beautifully decorated by William (Billy) Haines.  Mr. Haines also decorated the homes of Betsy Bloomingdale and Nancy Reagan.

We are forever grateful for these lovely pictures.  You can read more about Sunnylands at www.sunnylands.org.  I think we need to plan a trip to California to see Sunnylands for ourselves.