Garden Bench
Unknown Artist
ca. 1850
Medium
Cast iron
Dimensions
30 x 41 x 22 in. (76.2 x 104.1 x 55.9 cm)
Classification
Garden bench
Culture
American
Department
The American Wing
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Mrs. James A. Cole, 1978
Accession Number
1978.302.155
Tags
Art Historical Context
Nestled in the American Wing of the Metropolitan Museum Art, this *Garden Bench* (ca. 1850) exemplifies mid-19th-century American in outdoor design. Crafted from cast iron by an unknown artist, it measures a sturdy 30 x 41 x 22 inches, perfect for a leisurely seat amid blooming gardens. The medium was revolutionary during the Industrial Revolution, allowing for mass production of intricate, weather-resistant furniture that blended functionality with ornamentation—grape motifs, hinted at in its tags, evoke abundance and motifs popular in Victorian-era aesthetics. Historically, such benches ref...