English pop star Robbie Williams teams up with Moooi, the Adjaye Associates-designed Princeton University Art Museum opens, and artist Norman Rockwell’s family calls out U.S. Homeland Security. All that and more in this week’s Five on Friday.
Norman Rockwell estate slams Homeland Security
Norman Rockwell in 1965; photo courtesy of UCLA Library/Wikimedia Commons
The family of late American painter Norman Rockwell issued a damning decry of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in USA Today this week, admonishing the department’s use of Rockwell’s paintings to spur an anti-immigration agenda. Artnet reports that the family renounced attempts to use Rockwell’s paintings to promote anti-diversity messaging by the Trump administration. The op-ed took aim at DHS’ general persecution of people of color as well as specific social media posts. The 1971 painting Salute the Flag was featured in a DHS post on August 20th with the caption “Protect our way of American life,” while an image of his 1946 Working on the Statue of Liberty oil painting was used in a post captioned “BECOME A HOMELAND DEFENDER TODAY.” DHS posted yet another Rockwell painting last month with the caption “Manifest Heroism.” Mercifully, comments concur with the Rockwell cause and the family’s op-ed concludes with a statement of solidarity: “We—as his eldest son, grandchildren and great-grandchildren—believe that now is the time to follow in his footsteps and stand for the values he truly wished to share with us and all Americans: compassion, inclusiveness, and justice for all.”
Pop star Robbie Williams designs a chair for Moooi
The Introvert Chair by Robbie Williams for Moooi; photo courtesy of Moooi
When he’s not hamming it up on “the Graham Norton Show” or promoting his biopic starring a CGI chimp, British pop star Robbie Williams may be thinking about design. Or at least sitting. Williams authored the plush Introvert Chair (complete with matching security blanket) as part of his drawing exhibition, Radical Honesty, earlier this year. The design is now being rolled out by Moooi, with a celebration on the schedule for Design Miami in December, Azure reports. The chair comprises a wooden frame wrapped in a 3D-quilted blend of virgin wool, alpaca, and cotton with a finish reminiscent of reptile skin. We love to see a designer with pieces supporting the back for good.
Adjaye Associates completes Princeton University Art Museum
The Princeton University Art Museum in New Jersey; photo by Richard Barnes
The highly anticipated Princeton University Art Museum has opened its doors in New Jersey. Spread across 146,000 square feet, the institution’s design by Adjaye Associates in collaboration with Cooper Robertson spans three stories and nine interlocking pavilions. Clad with sculptural precast concrete and outfitted with structural mass timber, the museum houses 80,000 square feet of galleries, 12,000 square feet of educational and event space, and a triple-height Grand Hall suited to accommodate more than 200 people. A series of embedded, site-specific artwork is also included, with two interior “artwalks” that encourage passage through the museum while navigating the university campus. The project is already receiving high praise, architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne even dubbing it “one of the best American museum buildings of the last 15 years.”
The rich are getting richer…and spending more
Rates start at approximately $1,500 per night at the newly reopened Waldorf Astoria New York; photo by Noe & Associates and courtesy the Boundary
Ain’t no party like a very expensive party, ’cause a very expensive party don’t stop! The Wall Street Journal reports that, the rich aren’t sweating the many red flags signaling an impending economic implosion in the U.S. In fact, the top 10 percent of earners accounted for nearly 50 percent of all spending nationally in the second quarter of 2025. This marks a new record high (up 4.4 percent compared to last year) driven by spending among the very richest people in America. Luxury hotels in New York saw the biggest gains in occupancy and average daily room rates year-to-date through September, with the average five-star booking client spending $1,710 a night. The city, of course, has plenty of big spenders, too. Roughly 34,000 of the four million homes filing tax returns in 2023 reported earnings of $1 million or more, while nearly 2,000 NYC households reported earnings of $10 million and up.
It’s BDNY weekend! Celebrate with us in New York
The 2024 Gold Key Awards; photo by PWP Studio
As we prepare to close out 2025, Hospitality Design and Boutique Design invite you to celebrate the very best of the industry. And one party simply won’t be enough. BDNY kicks off this Sunday, November 9th at the Javits Center in New York, with an esteemed lineup of panelists and elite manufacturers showing off superlative craftsmanship on the trade fair floor through Monday, November 10th. Once the show wraps, the Gold Key Awards for Excellence in Hospitality Design, hosted at Cipriani 42nd Street, will conclude the weekend on a high note. Preceding all of it is tonight’s Platinum Circle gala, which will honor eight industry titans with lifetime achievement awards. Honorees this year include AvroKO, Flick·Mars, Aliya Khan, and Marcus Samuelsson. Register and purchase tickets before it’s too late!
