Skip to Content
Today Open today 11–8

  • Mon 11–5
  • Tue–Wed Closed
  • Thu 11–8
  • Fri–Sun 11–5
  • The first hour of every day, 10–11 a.m., is reserved for member-only viewing.

Side Chair

A work made of mahogany with oak, maple, and upholstery.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

Image actions

  • A work made of mahogany with oak, maple, and upholstery.

Date:

1760–85

Artist:

Artist unknown (American, 18th century)
Boston

About this artwork

Designs for American furniture of the colonial period were usually based on European precedents, whether from an exact prototype, from designs in pattern books, or from the memory of an immigrant craftsman. In the case of this chair, the craftsman based the design on both an English chair that was imported into Boston sometime around 1750 and on a design plate from Thomas Chippendale’s pattern book, The Gentleman and the Cabinetmaker’s Director, published in 1762. With its delicate proportions and crisp carvings, this chair is one of the boldest expressions of the Boston Rococo style.

Status

On View, Gallery 167

Department

Arts of the Americas

Artist

Artist unknown

Title

Side Chair

Place

Boston (Object made in)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

c. 1760–1785

Medium

Mahogany with oak, maple, and upholstery

Inscriptions

Incised on rear seat rail:"V" original maple slip seat incised on rear rail:"VIII"

Dimensions

93.3 × 54.6 × 44.8 cm (36 3/4 × 21 1/2 × 17 5/8 in.)

Credit Line

Helen Bowen Blair Fund

Reference Number

1991.266

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/120394/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

Share

Sign up for our enewsletter to receive updates.
Learn more

Image actions

Share

Suggested Terms