DAVID A. WEBSTER

1943 - 2020

WEBSTER, David A. Iconic Figure in the New England Design Community David Webster, the creative force and founder of Webster & Company, passed away peacefully at his home in Osterville, MA on July 5, 2020 following a lengthy illness. He was 76 years old. Born and raised in Framingham, Mr. Webster attended the Massachusetts College of Art & Design in Boston where his nascent passion for design was first nurtured. Upon his graduation from Mass Art, he went on to hold several positions with leading firms in the graphics design industry before starting his own company, Graphics, Etc. in 1973. Housed in a small suite of offices in Boston's Financial District, Mr. Webster built Graphics, Etc. into a thriving business, providing high-quality offset printing, publishing, and phototype setting services to companies throughout the Greater Boston and New England area. With the introduction of desktop publishing technology in the 1980's, the business model for traditional graphics design firms rapidly became obsolete, eventually forcing Mr. Webster to close the company. After paying off his creditors, Mr. Webster traveled to Palm Beach, Florida for a brief vacation to contemplate the next chapter in his life and career. It would be a trip that would change him forever. "I'd closed down my business and had to reinvent myself," he said in an interview with New England Home magazine in late 2018. "I was having lunch with a friend who owned a decorative fabric business, and he suggested I open a showroom at the Boston Design Center. I decided to take his idea to heart." Soon thereafter, Webster & Company was born. With a keen sense of design, style, and color, Mr. Webster opened a 2,600 square-foot showroom at the BDC in 1991, curating it with product lines from such prestigious brands such as Holly Hunt, Rose Tarlow Melrose House, and Nobilis. His eponymous company would soon grow to encompass more than 25,000 square feet, becoming one of the BDC's largest showrooms while earning a reputation as the premier "to-the-trade" destination for high-end home furnishings, art, and antiques. As his company grew, so, too, did Mr. Webster's influence across the international design community. At Decorex Paris, his invitation to cocktails for 60 European design professionals led to the creation of The American Party in Paris, an annual black-tie gala which counts the Mayor of Paris among its more than 1,000 guests. It would serve as a model for a similar event Mr. Webster hosted at Decorex London in 2017, efforts which were cited were among Mr. Webster's many career achievements at his induction into the New England Design Hall of Fame in 2018. Though Mr. Webster closed Webster & Company in early 2019, New England area designers continue to speak of him as a leader, mentor, visionary, and friend. "There is no one," designer Gerald Pomeroy was quoted in New England Home, "who had such an effect on the field of interior design and totally changed the landscape in this area than David Webster." Mr. Webster was preceded in death by his life partner, Mr. Richard Fitz Gerald; his parents, Daniel G. and Anna (MacInnes) Webster; his sisters, Martha (Webster) Harnett and Dorothy (Webster) Wenning; brothers-in-law, Robert O. Harnett and Robert E. Wenning, Jr.; his niece, Kimberly Harnett and nephew, Robert O. Harnett, Jr. He is survived by his nephew, P. Scott Wenning and his wife, Nancy, of Dallas, TX; his nieces Karen L. Wenning of Roswell, GA and Gian (Harnett) McMahon of Framingham; his nephew, Christian D. Wenning of Johns Creek, GA; two sons, Peter G. and Andrew H. Webster; his former daughter-in-law, Emily (Docken) Webster; granddaughter, Georgia Webster; and grandson, William Webster of Wellesley; more than a dozen adoring grandnieces and grandnephews; as well as countless friends, former colleagues, and admirers. A Memorial Service celebrating Mr. Webster's life will be held at Trinity Church in Boston at a future date when all present can safely travel and congregate to celebrate his memory.

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