Side Chair

1730–60

Artist unknown (American, 18th century)
Newport, Rhode Island

The triangular trade with the West Indies and England created by merchants in Newport—one of the busiest commercial seaports in colonial America—had an impact on the artistic styles developed in the region. The elongated back and rounded shoulders on this chair were inspired by furniture made in China specifically for the English market.

Status: On View, Gallery 166
Department: Arts of the Americas

Artist: Artist unknown
Title: Side Chair
Place: Newport (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. 1730–1760
Medium: White pine and upholstery
Inscriptions: Inscribed on chair seat bottom: "III".
Dimensions: 106.4 × 52.7 × 40.6 cm (41 7/8 × 20 3/4 × 16 in.)
Credit Line: Robert Allerton Purchase Fund
Reference Number: 1979.54
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/55376/manifest.json

John T. Kirk, American Chairs, Queen Anne and Chippendale (Knopf, 1972), cat. 156.
Opportunities in American Antiques (Israel Sack, 1979), 26 (ill.)
Michael Moses, Master Craftsmen of Newport, The Townsends and Goddards (Tenafly, MMI Americana Press, 1984), 274, fig. 73.
Milo M. Naeve, Identifying American Furniture, 2nd ed. (Nashville, American Association for State and Local History, 1989), 25, (ill. p. 10).
Milo M. Naeve, Identifying American Furniture, Colonial to Contemporary, 3rd ed. (American Association for State and Local History/AltaMira Press, 1997), ill.
Judith A. Barter, et al., American Arts at The Art Institute of Chicago: From Colonial Times to World War I (Chicago: The Art Institute of Chicago, 1998), 63–64, no. 12.

By descent in the Saltonstall family, Massachusetts; Israel Sack, Inc., New York, by 1937/8; Ralph E. Carpenter, Jr., 1937/8; Christie’s, 1978; Israel Sack, Inc., New York, 1979; sold to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1979.

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.

Suggested Terms

See all hours

On View

Date:

Artist:

About this artwork

Status

Department

Artist

Title

Place

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.

Medium

Inscriptions

Dimensions

Credit Line

Reference Number

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.

Extended information about this artwork

Publication History

Provenance

Share

Explore Further

Sign up for our enewsletter to receive updates.

Gallery actions

Image actions

Share

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.