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John Townsend: Newport Cabinetmaker
May 6, 2005–September 25, 2005
The Erving and Joyce Wolf Gallery, 1st floor
In the second half of the 18th century, the New England seaport of Newport, Rhode Island, was a leading center of the cabinetmaking business, with members of the Townsend and Goddard families dominating the trade. Chief among them was John Townsend (1733–1809), one of colonial America’s preeminent craftsmen and one of the few 18th-century cabinetmakers to sign and date his work. Some 45 pieces of Townsend's best work, more than half of them signed, form the core of this first retrospective and illustrate this cabinetmaker’s unsurpassed refinement of design and precision of craftsmanship. On view are his early works in the Baroque style—tables and chairs with cabriole legs, case pieces with block-and-shell carved fronts—as well as later examples, with straight legs and incised or inlaid decoration, in the Neoclassical or Federal style. Examples of furniture by some of Townsend’s peers, including John Goddard, set his work in context.
The exhibition is made possible by The Chilton Foundation and The Americana Foundation.
Additional support has been provided by Stanley and Judith Zabar, Philip Holzer, and Alamo Rent A Car, Inc.
The exhibition catalogue is made possible by The William Cullen Bryant Fellows.
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