CityView Magazine

in the grand manor house overlooking downtown Fayetteville. And then, suddenly, it was anyone’s guess who would own it next. With the house up for auction, a bidding war sprang up. My parents, a judge and a downtown property investor, entered a last-minute bid, never expecting to win. Everyone asked these life-long Fayetteville residents with four grown children what they planned to do with such a large house. Even now, they continue to study the options for Stone Manor: turning it into office space, a city club or maybe even selling it to a new owner. One thing remains constant – my parents do not want to see this famed house decay, especially the murals. It’s impossible to miss them: angels, animals, mythical plants and flowers winding their way through the already grand rooms of Stone Manor. Novikoff would eventually complete eight major murals here during the 1930s and ‘40s, including a motif painting in the breakfast room along with three smaller panels embedded in the wall of the main staircase landing. Even after 70 years, the murals remain surprisingly well-preserved. Novikoff painstakingly painted members of the Pittman family into the faces of his characters. He was clearly influenced by Russian, Asian and Middle Eastern artwork, plus the work of the classical painters who came before him. One example of his influences can be found in a mural located upstairs, where a fairy holds an arrow flying above a man of nobility wielding a bow. This motif is almost certainly related to a tale from “1001 Arabian Nights,” referred to as “Prince Ahmed and the Fairy” or “Prince Ahmed and Periebanou.” But arguably the most intricate artwork is in the breakfast room, where Novikoff depicted scenes influenced by the Far East using gold and silver paints. He showcased wild roosters, storks and a phoenix flying around strangely- colored plants and wildflowers (that he perhaps invented). The library to the east also contains mythical scenes of exotic castles and mountains. But the most well-preserved painting is in the east parlor, where Novikoff painted a dancer performing for a royal audience rumored to include the Roman emperor Nero. CityViewNC.com | 29

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