Model B grand piano from the William Clark House, Newark, New Jersey
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.The elaborate art case of this grand piano provided the key in unlocking the attribution of the Worsham-Rockefeller Dressing Room. Both combine Renaissance motifs with others derived from Islamic ornament and British Reform design. There are direct parallels in the use of satinwood and purpleheart, the carved swags and figures, the stylized vegetal marquetry, the rectangular insets, and the curvilinear jigsaw-cut details. The piano was delivered to William Clark’s home in Newark, New Jersey, just before New Year’s Eve in 1882. A prosperous Scottish thread manufacturer, Clark had commissioned George A. Schastey & Co. to execute the complete interior decoration of his mansion, which remains standing today. The piano, which can be seen in the foreground of the drawing room photograph, was part of a larger suite of furnishings by Schastey.
Artwork Details
- Title: Model B grand piano from the William Clark House, Newark, New Jersey
- Maker: Case by George A. Schastey & Co. (American, New York, 1873–1897)
- Maker: George A. Schastey (American (born Germany), Merseburg 1839–1894 at sea)
- Maker: Steinway & Sons (American, New York 1853–present)
- Date: 1882
- Geography: Made in New York, New York, United States
- Culture: American
- Medium: Rosewood, satinwood, purpleheart, brass, and silver
- Dimensions: 60 × 84 × 40 in. (152.4 × 213.4 × 101.6 cm); 72 in. H with top open
- Credit Line: Collection of Paul Manganaro
- Curatorial Department: The American Wing