Linen Press

Byrdcliffe Arts and Crafts Colony American

ca. 1904

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 746

The Byrdcliffe Arts and Crafts Colony was founded in 1902 outside of Woodstock, New York, by Englishman Ralph Whitehead. Inspired by John Ruskin, Whitehead invited independent craftsmen and designers to work in traditional crafts, which included furniture, pottery, textiles, and metalwork. This oak linen press epitomizes Byrdcliffe furniture in its simple, rectilinear shape, hand-carved panels, natural wood surfaces finished with transparent stains in nature's colors. The carved panels, of stylized sassafras leaves, were designed by Edna M. Walker, who graduated from Brooklyn's Pratt School of Design where she studied with Arthur Wesley Dow. The cabinet remained in the Whitehead family who generously made it a partial gift to the Museum.

Artwork Details

Object Information

Overview

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Provenance

Title: Linen Press
Maker: Byrdcliffe Arts and Crafts Colony (American, 1902–1915)
Date: ca. 1904
Geography: Made in Woodstock, New York, United States
Culture: American
Medium: Oak, tulip poplar, brass
Dimensions: 55 x 41 x 18 3/4 in. (139.7 x 104.1 x 47.6 cm)
Credit Line: Purchase, Friends of the American Wing Fund and Mr. and Mrs. Mark Willcox Jr. Gift, 1991
Object Number: 1991.311.1
Curatorial Department: The American Wing

More Artwork

Sassafras Linen Press, Byrdcliffe Arts and Crafts Colony American, Watercolor, colored pencil, and black ink, over graphite — Sassafras Linen Press
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1904

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Outline Drawing of "Sassafras Linen Press", Byrdcliffe Arts and Crafts Colony American, Graphite — Outline Drawing of "Sassafras Linen Press"
Byrdcliffe Arts and Crafts Colony
Ralph Radcliffe Whitehead
1904

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