American Furniture, 1650–1840: Highlights from the Philadelphia Museum of Art (Book)
Title: American Furniture, 1650–1840: Highlights from the Philadelphia Museum of Art
Author: Alexandra Alevizatos Kirtley
Abstract: American Furniture, 1650–1840: Highlights from the Philadelphia Museum of Art is the first publication dedicated to one of the finest collections of its type in the country. Best known for furniture by artisans from Philadelphia and southeastern Pennsylvania, the museum’s collection includes significant examples from cities and regions farther afield. Interpretive texts for each work focus on design sources, showing how early American furniture participated in an international visual language. A vibrant local economy was bolstered by coastal trade bringing Caribbean mahogany and European imports that continued to influence local production. By the 1740s Philadelphia had developed a distinctive idiom and led the developing nation in style and aesthetics. This volume provides an important resource for scholars of American furniture, illuminates the cultural and mercantile life of the fledgling nation, and offers a lively introduction to the donors, curators, and personalities who have shaped the institution from its earliest days to the present. Alexandra Alevizatos Kirtley is the Montgomery-Garvan Curator of American Decorative Arts at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Year: 2020
Primary URL: https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780876332962/american-furniture-1650-1840
Primary URL Description: Publication page at Yale University Press
Access Model: For purchase
Publisher: Yale University Press published in association with the Philadelphia Museum of Art
Type: Single author monograph
ISBN: 9780876332962

Philadelphia Furniture: Design, Artisans, and Techniques (Web Resource)
Title: Philadelphia Furniture: Design, Artisans, and Techniques
Author: Alexandra Alevizatos Kirtley
Abstract: This website contains in-depth consideration of the progression of the design of the front rails of high chest and dressing table ensembles, which were by the early 1740s a completely American design innovation. The first iteration of philafurniture.com is Kirtley’s taxonomy for describing the rails of Philadelphia high chests and dressing tables; in time, the website will be the place where we will post more about the design inspirations of Philadelphia furniture, construction techniques, and artisans who made, carved, upholstered, and ornamented the furniture. The website seeks to provide a space for the appreciation, study, interpretation, and research on Philadelphia furniture.
Year: 2020
Primary URL: https://philafurniture.com/

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