His clients over a career that spanned six decades included illustrious names like Astor, Rockefeller, Getty, Whitney and Mallon, as well as former Vice-President Al Gore. His talent was first spotted by Van Day Truex when he was a student at Parsons; he was offered a teaching job there upon his graduation in 1949. For several years he worked for Eleanor Brown at McMillen before Truex introduced him to Sister Parish in 1962. His first project: curtains for the Kennedy White House breakfast room. They would later partner in the firm Parish-Hadley. Their collaboration continued for 33 years until Parish's death in 1994, although Hadley continued to run the business until 1999. Among the top talent he fostered during his career: Bunny Williams, Thomas Jayne, Mariette Himes Gomez and David Easton. He continued to work into his 80s, always knows for his broad knowledge of design history and sense of order, both architectural and decorative.
Revisit our three-part series on our afternoon with Hadley from last October.
Photo: Albert Hadley at home in New York. Fernando Bengoechea/Beateworks/Corbis Outline from the New York Times
