Unknown American
Armchair

Public Domain

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Maker Unknown American

CultureAmerican

Titles

Armchair

Datec. 1775–1800

Made inPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

MediumUnidentified woods

Dimensions37 5/8 × 24 × 21 in. (95.6 × 61 × 53.3 cm)

Credit LineThe Bayou Bend Collection, gift of Alice C. Simkins in memory of the Hogg Family

Object numberB.2003.1

Not on view

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Department

Bayou Bend

Object Type

FURNITURE

DescriptionWindsor, the generic name given to utilitarian turned, stick, and bentwood seating furniture that had originated in England in the 1720s, first appeared in America in Philadelphia about a decade later. Chairs of this type, with their arm rails topped by a hoop-shaped piece of bent wood, were called “sack-back” and were popular until the end of the 1700s. The similarity of this chair to branded examples by Philadelphia chairmakers suggest that it was made in Philadelphia. While the city remained an important center, by the end of the century Windsor chairs were being produced all along the Atlantic seaboard.
ProvenanceLouis Guerineau Myers (1874–1932), New York; consigned to [American Art Association, Anderson Art Galleries, Louis G. Meyer Collection, New York, February 25, 1921, lot 487]; purchased by William C. Hogg (1875–1930), 1921; Estate of William C. Hogg; inherited by his brother, Mike Hogg (1885–1941), and sister-in-law, Alice Nicholson Hogg (1900–1977), later Alice Nicholson Hanszen, Houston; Estate of Alice Nicholson Hanszen; inherited by her niece, Alice C. Simkins, San Antonio, 1977; given to MFAH, 2003.

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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