Pair of Side Chairs
Samuel McIntire
1794–99
Medium
Mahogany, ash, birch, and upholstery
Dimensions
Each: 97.2 × 54 × 47 cm (38 1/4 × 21 1/4 × 18 1/2 in.)
Classification
seating
Department
Arts of the Americas
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
89630
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
The design of these chairs was taken almost directly from plate two of Englishman George Hepplewhite’s 1788 edition of The Cabinetmaker and Upholsterer’s Guide, a pattern book that was available in America. The two chairs are part of a set of eight that may have originally been made for Salem merchant Elias Hasket Derby. The house for which these chairs were made was designed by Samuel McIntire, the craftsman to whom the carving on the chairs is attributed.