Easy Chair
This is a fine example of an early Federal Philadelphia easy chair based on a design for a "saddle-check [cheek] or easy chair" in "The Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer's Guide," by George Hepplewhite (3rd ed. 1974, pl. 15). The chair, as widened by the padded hole in the seat deck, originally functioned as a commode for the elderly or infirm and was probably used in a bedroom. In its current state of preservation with its original horsehair and muslin foundation, the chair is a superb document of late eighteenth-century upholstery materials and techniques. Notice the way the upholsterer followed the line of the outsprung C-scrolled arms, molding and shaping the foundation to accentuate and not detract from the chair-maker's design. Such close cooperation between the chair frame maker and the upholsterer is typical of the best eighteenth-century work.
Artwork Details
- Title: Easy Chair
- Date: 1790–1800
- Geography: Made in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
- Culture: American
- Medium: Mahogany and pine with original muslin-covered foundation
- Dimensions: 45 x 33 x 34 1/2 in. (114.3 x 83.8 x 87.6 cm)
- Credit Line: Gift of Wunsch Americana Foundation Inc., 1993
- Object Number: 1993.31
- Curatorial Department: The American Wing
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