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Side Chair

Attributed to John Townsend American
1760–70
Not on view
The subtle tilt of the chair back afforded minimal comfort while prompting the sitter to employ respectable posture. As mercantile wealth and social status increased in the colonial period, so did entertaining customs and the hierarchical distance between those perched in these chairs and those serving them. When entertaining subsided, chairs lined the edge of a room allowing the abstract wonderment of the skillfully sawn, puzzle-like back to enrich the interior design.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Side Chair
  • Artist: Attributed to John Townsend (1732–1809)
  • Date: 1760–70
  • Geography: (none assigned) Newport, Rhode Island, United States
  • Culture: American
  • Medium: Mahogany, maple, chestnut, white pine
  • Dimensions: 38 x 20 1/2 x 16 1/2 in. (96.5 x 52.1 x 41.9 cm)
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Anthony W. and Lulu C. Wang Gift, 2004
  • Object Number: 2004.97
  • Curatorial Department: The American Wing

More Artwork

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Side chair, John Townsend American, mahogany, American
Side chair
John Townsend
1800
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Drop-leaf dining table
John Townsend
1756
Tall clock, John Townsend American, Mahogany, cherry, chestnut, oak, American
Tall clock
John Townsend
William Tomlinson
1789
Card table, John Townsend American, Mahogany, maple, chestnut, tulip poplar, American
Card table
John Townsend
ca. 1786
Bureau table, John Townsend American, Mahogany, chestnut, tulip poplar, American
Bureau table
John Townsend
ca. 1765

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