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Heckscher, Morrison H. (1985)
This title is out of print.
Here at last is the publication that documents The Metropolitan Museum of Art's superlative collection of late colonial furniture. This comprehensive catalogue—prodigiously researched and gloriously illustrated—presents 213 of the finest objects in the Museum's American Wing. These masterpieces of eighteenth-century furniture are fully described and considered in light of comparative pieces from collections across the country. For every object the author gives detailed information about provenance, construction, condition, inscriptions if any, dimensions, and materials. The volume will stand as the quintessential sourcebook for collectors and a tour de force of scholarship in the field. In his foreword, Philippe de Montebello, director of the Metropolitan, says: "The Museum's highest priority is to communicate fully and exhaustively what is known about its collections in catalogues such as the present one. The first of three volumes covering the entire field of American furniture, it is devoted to the achievements of American cabinet- and chairmakers in the mid-eighteenth century, and in it curator Morrison Heckscher is able to furnish not only both a synoptic and detailed account of the period, but also invaluable information on methods of manufacture and on stylistic considerations, since his points of departure are the objects themselves, ultimately the most direct and secure evidence from which accurate conclusions can be drawn." The catalogue contains an appendix of photographic details, a complete bibliography, and indexes.
ForewordPrefaceAcknowledgmentsNotes on the Catalogue
Introduction
The Catalogue
I. Seating and Sleeping Furniture
1. New England Chairs2. New York Chairs3. Pennsylvania Chairs4. Stools, Couches, and Upholstered-back Chairs5. Easy Chairs6. Settees and Sofas7. Cradle and Bedsteads
II. Tables, Stands, and Screens
8. Slab Tables9. Card Tables10. Dining Tables11. Square Tea Tables12. Round Tea Tables13. Stands and Firescreens
III. Case Furniture
14. Bureau Tables, Chests, Chests-on-Chests15. New England High Chests and Dressing Tables16. Pennsylvania High Chests and Dressing Tables17. Desks18. Desks and Bookcases19. Clocks20. Miscellaneous Case Forms
IV. Frames
21. Looking Glasses22. Picture Frames
Photographic DetailsShort Titles and AbbreviationsIndex
Morrison H. Heckscher is curator of American Decorative Arts at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Print Titles
Alteveer, Ian, Hannah Beachler, and Sarah Lawrence, Introduction, with an essay by Michelle D. Commander and a graphic novella by John Jennings. Before Yesterday We Could Fly: An Afrofuturist Period Room: The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v.79, no. 3 (Winter, 2022). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2022.
Adlin, Jane. Vanities: Art of the Dressing Table. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2013. See more
Allen, Josephine L. "Portrait Drawings by Copley." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New ser., v. 14, no. 5 (January, 1956). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1956. See more
Andrus, Vincent Dyckman. "Andrew Gauthier's Silver Bowl." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New ser., v. 9, no. 4 (December, 1950). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1950. See more
Andrus, Vincent Dyckman. "Some Recent Gifts of Early New England Furniture." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New ser., v. 9, no. 9 (May, 1951). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1951. See more
Avery, Kevin J., with an essay by Marjorie Shelley, contributions by Claire A. Conway, and catalogue entries by Kevin J. Avery, Carrie Rebora Barratt, Elliot Bostwick Davis, Tracie Felker, Stephanie L. Herdrich, and Karl Kusserow. American Drawings and Watercolors in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Vol. 1, A Catalogue of Works by Artists Born before 1835. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2002. See more
Barratt, Carrie Rebora, and Ellen G. Miles. Gilbert Stuart. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2004. See more
Barratt, Carrie Rebora, and Lori Zabar. American Portrait Miniatures in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2010. See more
Barratt, Carrie Rebora. "Faces of a New Nation: American Portraits of the 18th and Early 19th Centuries." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 61, no. 1 (Summer, 2003). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2003. See more
Biddle, James. "A Piece of Great Utility." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 25, no. 8 (April, 1967). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1967. See more
Bordes, Marilynn Johnson. Baltimore Federal Furniture in The American Wing. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1972. See more
Burroughs, Louise. "A Portrait by Smibert." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New ser., v. 3, no. 4 (December, 1944). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1944. See more
Campbell, Thomas P. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Arabic). New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2014.
Campbell, Thomas P. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (German). New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2014. See more
Campbell, Thomas P. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Russian). New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2014. See more
Campbell, Thomas P. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Korean). New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2014. See more
Chow, Fong, James David Draper, Richard Ettinghausen, Everett Fahy, Henry Geldzahler, Stephen V. Grancsay, Morrison H. Heckscher, Thomas Hoving, Marilynn Johnson, Oscar White Muscarella, John Goldsmith Phillips, Olga Raggio, and Emanuel Winternitz. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 30, no. 2 (October–November, 1971). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1971. See more
Cummings, Abbott Lowell. "The Beginnings of American Landscape Painting." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New ser., v. 11, no. 3 (November, 1952). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1952. See more
Davidson, Marshall B. "Early American Lighting." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New ser., v. 3, no. 1 (Summer, 1944). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1944. See more
Davidson, Marshall B. "On Time in America." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New ser., v. 3, no. 4 (December, 1944). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1944. See more
Davidson, Marshall B. "Yankee Silversmithing." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New ser., v. 2, no. 2 (October, 1943). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1943. See more
Downs, Joseph. "A Portrait Bust of Washington." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New ser., v. 4, no. 6 (February, 1946). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1946. See more
Downs, Joseph. "Derby and McIntire." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New ser., v. 6, no. 2 (October, 1947). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1947. See more
Downs, Joseph. "Sauce for the Boston Goose." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New ser., v. 5, no. 2 (October, 1946). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1946. See more
Downs, Joseph. "Sugar and Spice..." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New ser., v. 5, no. 7 (March, 1947). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1947. See more
Downs, Joseph. "The Capitol." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New ser., v. 1, no. 5 (January, 1943). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1943. See more
Feld, Stuart P. "In the Latest London Manner." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New ser., v. 21, no. 9 (May, 1963). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1963. See more
Flexner, James Thomas. "The American School in London." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New ser., v. 7, no. 2 (October, 1948). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1948. See more
Galitz, Kathryn Calley. The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Masterpiece Paintings. The Metropolitan Museum of Art: New York, 2016 See more
Gardner, Albert TenEyck. "A Majestick Shape—1745." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New ser., v. 8, no. 2 (October, 1949). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1949. See more
Gardner, Albert TenEyck. "Fragment of a Lost Monument." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New ser., v. 6, no. 7 (March, 1948). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1948. See more
Gardner, Albert TenEyck. "Huntington's Franklins." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New ser., v. 15, no. 1 (Summer, 1956). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1956. See more
Gardner, Albert TenEyck. "Portrait of a Bronx Aristocrat." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New ser., v. 17, no. 8 (April, 1959). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1959. See more
Gardner, Albert TenEyck. "Southern Monuments: Charles Carroll and William James Hubard." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New ser., v. 17, no. 1 (Summer, 1958). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1958. See more
Gontar, Cybèle Trione. "The Campeche Chair in the Metropolitan Museum of Art." Metropolitan Museum Journal, Vol. 38 (2003). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2003. See more
Grancsay, Stephen V. "The Craft of the Early American Gunsmith." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New ser., v. 6, no. 2 (October, 1947). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1947. See more
Hamilton-Phillips, Martha. "Benjamin West and William Beckford: Some Projects for Fonthill." Metropolitan Museum Journal, Vol. 15 (1980). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1980. See more
Heckscher, Morrison H. American Furniture in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Late Colonial Period. Vol. II, The Queen Anne and Chippendale Styles. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1985. See more
Heckscher, Morrison H., and Leslie Greene Bowman. American Rococo, 1750–1775: Elegance in Ornament. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1992. See more
Heckscher, Morrison H., with the assistance of Lori Zabar. John Townsend: Newport Cabinetmaker. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2005. See more
Howat, John K. "'A Young Man Impatient to Distinguish Himself': The Vicomte de Noailles as Portrayed by Gilbert Stuart." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 29, no. 7 (March, 1971). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1971. See more
Howell, Rlene L. "Craftsmanship in Wrought Iron." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New ser., v. 9, no. 3 (November, 1950). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1950. See more
Husband, Timothy. "Ecclesiastical Vestments of the Middle Ages: An Exhibition." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 29, no. 7 (March, 1971). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1971. See more
Jeffery, Margaret. "Early American Embroidery." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New ser., v. 3, no. 5 (January, 1945). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1945. See more
Johnson, Dale T. American Portrait Miniatures in the Manney Collection. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1990. See more
Johnston, William R. "Anatomy of the Chair: American Regional Variations in Eighteenth Century Styles." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New ser., v. 21, no. 3 (November, 1962). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1962. See more
Karpinski, Caroline, A. Hyatt Mayor, and Edith A. Standen. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 23, no. 3 (November, 1964). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1964. See more
Kenny, Peter M., Frances Gruber Safford, and Gilbert T. Vincent. American Kasten: The Dutch-Style Cupboards of New York and New Jersey, 1650–1800. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1991. See more
Knotts, Benjamin. "Hands to Work and Hearts to God." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New ser., v. 1, no. 7 (March, 1943). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1943. See more
Matson, Jessie. "Staffordshire and the American Trade." Metropolitan Museum of Art Staffordshire and the American Trade bulletin, New ser., v. 4, no. 3 (November, 1945). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1945. See more
Matson, Jessie. "The Britannica in XVIII Century America." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New ser., v. 1, no. 10 (June, 1943). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1943. See more
Mayor, A. Hyatt. "Jefferson's Enjoyment of the Arts." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New ser., v. 2, no. 4 (December, 1943). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1943. See more
Perry, Regenia A. Selections of Nineteenth-Century Afro-American Art. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1976. See more
Rather, Susan. "A Painter's Progress: Matthew Pratt and The American School." Metropolitan Museum Journal, Vol. 28 (1993). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1993. See more
Rebora, Carrie, Paul Staiti, Erica E. Hirshler, Theodore E. Stebbins Jr., and Carol Troyen, with contributions by Morrison H. Heckscher, Aileen Ribeiro, and Marjorie Shelley. John Singleton Copley in America. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1995. See more
Reynolds, Graham, with the assistance of Katharine Baetjer. European Miniatures in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1996. See more
Safford, Frances Gruber. "Colonial Silver: In The American Wing." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 41, no. 1 (Summer, 1983). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1983. See more
Safford, Frances Gruber. American Furniture in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Vol. I, Early Colonial Period: The Seventeenth-Century and William and Mary Styles. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2007. See more
Sellers, Charles Coleman. "Charles Willson Peale's Portraits of Washington." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New ser., v. 9, no. 6 (February, 1951). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1951. See more
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "American Paintings in the Bequest of Richad De Wolfe Brixey." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New ser., v. 2, no. 9 (May, 1944). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1944. See more
The curators of the American Wing, with an introduction by Morrison H. Heckscher and H. Barbara Weinberg. A Walk Through The American Wing. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2002. See more
Weinberg, H. Barbara, and Carrie Rebora Barratt, eds., with essays by Carrie Rebora Barratt, Margaret C. Conrads, Bruce Robertson, and H. Barbara Weinberg. American Stories: Paintings of Everyday Life, 1765–1915. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2009. See more
Online Titles
Ackermann, Daniel Kurt. "American Georgian Interiors (Mid-Eighteenth-Century Period Rooms)." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. See more
Avery, Kevin J. "Late Eighteenth-Century American Drawings." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. See more
Barratt, Carrie Rebora. "American Portrait Miniatures of the Eighteenth Century." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. See more
Barratt, Carrie Rebora. "Gilbert Stuart (1755–1828)." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. See more
Barratt, Carrie Rebora. "John Singleton Copley (1738–1815)." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. See more
Bortolot, Alexander Ives. "The Transatlantic Slave Trade." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. See more
Casey, Emily. "Visual Culture of the Atlantic World." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. See more
Heckscher, Morrison H. "American Rococo." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. See more
Heckscher, Morrison H. "John Townsend (1733–1809)." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. See more
Heckscher, Morrison H. and Peter M. Kenny. "English Pattern Books in Eighteenth-Century America." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. See more
Jaffee, David. "Art and Identity in the British North American Colonies, 1700–1776." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. See more
Jaffee, David. "Art and Society of the New Republic, 1776–1800." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. See more
Jaffee, David. "Religion and Culture in North America, 1600–1700." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. See more
Kenny, Peter M. and Beth Carver Wees. "Architecture, Furniture, and Silver from Colonial Dutch America." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. See more
Peck, Amelia. "American Needlework in the Eighteenth Century." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. See more
Wees, Beth Carver. "Coffee, Tea, and Chocolate in Early Colonial America." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. See more
Wees, Beth Carver. "Paul Revere, Jr. (1734–1818)." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. See more
Burton, Virginia, James Delihas, Morrison H. Heckscher, Thomas P. F. Hoving, Helmut Nickel, Stuart Silver, and Claus Virch. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 26, no. 1 (Summer, 1967). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1967. See more
Heckscher, Morrison H. "Creating Central Park." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 65, no. 3 (Winter, 2008). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2008. See more
Heckscher, Morrison H. "Gideon Saint: An Eighteenth-Century Carver and His Scrapbook." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 27, no. 6 (February, 1969). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1969. See more
Heckscher, Morrison H. "Note." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 26, no. 1 (Summer, 1967). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1967. See more
Heckscher, Morrison H. "Outstanding Recent Accessions. 19th-Century Architecture for the American Wing: Sullivan and Wright." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 30, no. 5 (June–July, 1972). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1972. See more
Heckscher, Morrison H. "The Metropolitan Museum of Art: An Architectural History." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 53, no. 1 (Summer, 1995). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1995. See more
Heckscher, Morrison H. In Quest of Comfort: The Easy Chair in America. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1971. See more
Heckscher, Morrison H., John K. Howat, Penelope Hunter-Stiebel, Jacques Lipchitz, Ben Vincent, and Roberta Wong. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 30, no. 6 (June-July, 1972). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1972. See more
Houghton, James R., Katherine Baetjer, Dorothea Arnold, Joan Aruz, Carlos A. Picon, Peter Barnet, Everett Fahy, Keith Christiansen, Walter Liedtke, Colta Ives, George R. Goldner, Ian Wardropper, Thomas P. Campbell, Dita Amory, Laurence B. Kanter, Morrison H. Heckscher, J. Kenneth Moore, Hilde Limondjian, Stuart W. Pyhrr, Donald J. La Rocca, Maxwell K. Hearn, James C. Y. Watt, Stefano Carboni, Julie Jones, Alisa LaGamma, Eric Kjellgren, Virginia-Lee Webb, Gary Tinterow, Malcolm Daniel, Harold Koda, and John P. O'Neill. Philippe de Montebello and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1977–2008. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2009. See more
Morrison H. Heckscher. Chippendale's Director: A Manifesto of Furniture Design: The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v.75, no. 4 (Spring, 2018). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2018. See more
Voorsanger, Catherine Hoover, and John K. Howat, eds., with essays by Dell Upton, Carrie Rebora Barratt, John K. Howat, Kevin J. Avery, Thayer Tolles, Morrison H. Heckscher, Elliot Bostwick Davis, Jeff L. Rosenheim, Caroline Rennolds Milbank, Amelia Peck, Catherine Hoover Voorsanger, Alice Cooney Frelinghuysen, and Deborah Dependahl Waters. Art and the Empire City: New York, 1825–1861. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000. See more
Heckscher, Morrison. "Arrival." 82nd & Fifth. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2013. See more