Design for a Bed and Canopy
1841–1917
Medium
Watercolor over graphite
Dimensions
sheet: 15 9/16 x 11 5/8 in. (39.6 x 29.5 cm)
Classification
Drawings|Ornament & Architecture
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1946
Accession Number
46.38.114
Tags
Art Historical Context
This exquisite *Design for a Bed and Canopy* by the London firm Charles Hindley and Sons captures the opulent furniture aesthetic of the Victorian era (1841–1917). As a leading manufacturer of upholstered pieces the firm produced intricate designs for affluent clients, where beds served as grand centerpieces in bedrooms, symbolizing wealth and comfort. This drawing, classified under Ornament & Architecture in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints, exemplifies how 19th-century designers visualized luxurious domestic spaces. Rendered in watercolor over graphite on a modest sheet ...
About the Artist
Charles Hindley and Sons · 1841–1917
**Charles Hindley and Sons: Victorian Masters of Furnishing Design** Charles Hindley and Sons was a premier British cabinet-making and upholstery firm based in London, operating primarily from 134 Oxford Street. Established around 1820 by Charles Hugh Hindley, a furniture maker and upholsterer initially on Berners Street, the firm expanded significantly in 1844 by acquiring the rival establishmen...