Side Chair
Decorative Arts and Design

Side Chair
Artwork Details
Artist/Maker
Unidentified American Artist, possibly New York or New Orleans
Date
ca. 1850
Medium
Oak
Accession #
1987.181
Dimensions
69 1/2 x 10 1/2 x 19 3/8 inches
Location
On View - Stent Family Wing, Level 3, Gallery 304
Description
The Gothic Revival style, famously applied to the Houses of Parliament in London, developed in England during the 1830s in reaction to Neoclassicism, when critics argued that classical design was not as sacred as Gothic. Although never as popular in this country as it was in Europe, Gothic Revival was sometimes promoted for the design of picturesque cottages in the American countryside. The style was considered well-suited for heavy furniture in the front hall, where this chair from a house in Vicksburg, Mississippi, once stood.