Designs for Two Chairs
1841–84
Medium
Watercolor over graphite
Dimensions
sheet: 9 15/16 x 14 3/16 in. (25.2 x 36.1 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
46.38.57
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the bustling world of Victorian Britain, where furniture design blended functionality with ornate elegance, *Designs for Two Chairs* by Charles Hindley and Sons captures the creative spark of a prominent London firm. Active from the mid-19th century Hindley and Sons specialized in upholstered seating, catering to the era's growing middle class eager for stylish home furnishings. Dated between 1841 and 1884, this sheet presents precise renderings of two chair concepts, likely prototypes for production, highlighting the firm's role in the ornamental furniture trade. Rendered in watercolor ov...
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...