Samuel Gragg
Side Chair

Public Domain

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Maker Samuel Gragg (American, 1772–1855)American, 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

On view

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Department

Bayou Bend

Object Type

FURNITURE

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.

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