Side Chair
Maker
John Finlay
(American, 1777 - 1851)
Date1820-1830
MediumSoft maple, yellow-poplar, paint, gesso, modern caned-seat, minor inpainting
DimensionsOverall: 34 1/2 × 20 3/8 × 22 1/2in. (87.6 × 51.8 × 57.2cm)
ClassificationsFURNISHINGS
Credit LineMuseum Purchase, by exchange with The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Terms
Object number77.66
DescriptionKlismos-style painted fancy chair; saber front legs; cane seat ornamented with painted classical motifs.Cushion is located on DA Small Objects 14.
On View
Not on viewCollections
Copyright<a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" style="border-width:0" src="https://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc/4.0/80x15.png" /></a><br />This work is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License</a>.
Label TextSome of the most extraordinary interpretations of the klismos chair, which is based on an ancient Roman chair form, were produced in Baltimore. This chair, part of a set made for the founder of the Baltimore Sun, Arunah S. Abell, is dramatic in form-the deeply curved rear legs and seat back-and decoration. Each of the surviving chairs is enhanced with derivations of classical motifs including swags, faces, anthemia, and exotic creatures. The strong colors-originally a rich yellow body with deep green, black, red, and white details-indicate that the chairs may have been made to correspond to a decorating scheme.
