Armchair

Furniture

-

Historic Hudson Valley

Name/Title

Armchair

Entry/Object ID

SS.2000.2

Description

Late Empire tall mahogany arm chair with curving back, scrolled arms and crest rail, red leather upholstery and decorative tacks, and brass castered feet: Voltaire-style, scroll-carved ends at crest rail develop into tall, narrow S-curve back; tufted back, seat, and arm pads upholstered in red leather fastened with matching decorative tacks; Has 1/2-open, 1/2-closed deep scroll-carved arms with armpads and cyma reversa curved legs; small brass plaque with painted black lettering nailed to back seat rail: "Washington Irving --Sunnyside-- 1783-1859."

Made/Created

Artist Information

Artist

Unknown

Attribution

Maker

Date made

circa 1830

Inscription/Signature/Marks

Type

Inscription

Transcription

See description

Dimensions

Dimension Description

Overall

Height

41-3/4 in

Width

27 in

Depth

33-1/4 in

Dimension Notes

Display Dimensions: 41 3/4 x 27 x 33 1/4 in. (106 x 68.6 x 84.5 cm)

Material

Leather, brass, Paint, Mahogany

Condition

Notes

Remarks: Details of Condition: Good. Several deep cracks where left proper arm attaches with back; left proper stile has diagonal split in wood where veneered glued back and repaired;backside of chair on proper left side has 3/4"lo x 1/4"h piece of veneer lifting from surface; light scratches on wood throughout; 1"x1" veneer piece glued back on as repair on backside of right proper rear leg; wood is worn on top of both scroll carved arms; front rail on proper right side has 2 3/8"x 1" veneer piece lighter in color where piece may have been previously damaged, has small round flush wood dowel holding piece in place; bottom edges of front rail has jagged edges where veneer has been broken off and is uneven.

Relationships

Related Person or Organization

Person or Organization

Washington Irving (1783-1859)

Notes

Former owner

Person or Organization

Logan Grant McPherson

Notes

Former owner

Person or Organization

Isabella Hoge

Notes

Former owner

Related Entries

Notes

SS.62.195 - Armchair - Similar item

General Notes

Note Type

Curatorial Remarks

Note

The chair gets its name from a print depicting Voltaire sitting in a similar chair. It is a bit of a mystery how a photo of this chair credited to SHR appears in Celia Jackson Otto's 1965 publication, since the chair was in the collection of the NYPL at that time. However, SHR was aware of the chair in the NYPL collection from at least 1946 and a photograph of the chair may have been shared by SHR (no mention is made in Otto's book of the NYPL or its ownership of the chair) [Jessa J. Krick, Collections Manager, 4/2/2015].

Note Type

StorageNote

Note

Home Location: Historic Hudson Valley, Sunnyside, Study