Samuel Gragg
Side Chair

Side Chair

Public Domain

Side Chair
MakerAmerican, 1772–1855
CultureAmerican
Titles
  • Side Chair
  • Elastic Chair
Datec. 1808–1812
Made inBoston, Massachusetts, United States
MediumBirch, oak, beech, paint
Dimensions34 × 18 × 24 1/4 in. (86.4 × 45.7 × 61.6 cm)
Credit LineThe Bayou Bend Collection, museum purchase funded by the Coneway Family Foundation
Object numberB.89.18
Current Location
Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens
Mcintire Bedroom
Exposé

Explore Further

Department
Bayou Bend
Object Type
DescriptionIn 1808, Boston chairmaker Samuel Gragg received a patent for what he called an “elastic chair.” Using steam or boiling water to bend thin pieces of wood for components, Gragg’s chairs would have had a degree of flexibility or “give” without breaking. The fluid lines, imaginative construction, and painstaking artisanship of Gragg’s elastic chairs make them unique in American furniture design.
ProvenanceAcquired December 13, 1989, from Bernard & S. Dean Levy, NYC
Exhibition History"American Made: 250 Years of American Art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston," The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, July 7, 2012–January 2, 2013.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
Inscription: Branded on the underside of the seat rail: S. GRAGG / BOSTON

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

If you have questions about this work of art or the MFAH Online Collection please contact us.

Pair of Side Chairs
Benjamin Henry Latrobe
Pair of Side Chairs
1808
Yellow poplar, oak, maple, eastern white pine, gold leaf, gesso, and cane
B.90.9.1,.2
The Dundas Sofa
Robert Adam
The Dundas Sofa
Commissioned 1764, made 1765
Limewood, pine, beech and gilding with later silk upholstery
2014.810
Side Chair
Side Chair
late 17th century
Walnut
94.1059
Armchair
Armchair
c. 1779
Beech; various secondary woods, gilding, and upholstery (not original)
96.1079
Side Chair
Side Chair
c. 1740–1760
Mahogany; beech
B.57.75
Armchair
Armchair
Third quarter of 19th century
Mahogany, ormolu, leather seat
96.1387
High Chair
High Chair
c. 1780–1800
Soft maple, hickory, birch, basswood, beech, and white oak
B.61.83
Side Chair
Side Chair
c. 1740–1760
Black walnut; soft maple
B.60.51
Square Sofa
Square Sofa
c. 1790–1820
Mahogany; eastern white pine, spruce, and birch
B.56.172
Pair of Side Chairs
Pair of Side Chairs
c. 1840–1850
Rosewood; unidentified woods
B.2000.28.3,.4
scan from file photograph
Side Chair
c. 1735–1795
Black walnut; black walnut and southern yellow pine
B.69.66
Side Chair
Side Chair
c. 1745–1795
Black walnut; southern yellow pine
B.69.65