Windsor Armchair

Date1775-1800

MediumYew, elm, beech

DimensionsH: 37 1/2"; Seat H: 17"; W: 19 1/4"; D: 17 3/4"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1954-886

DescriptionWindsor Armchair: bow back set in semicircular arm-rail with curved supports and 19 spindles, 11 of which extend to the bow; all of yew wood. Saddled elm seat. Front legs of yew in cabriole form and joined by bowed stretcher with diagonal braces to splayed, straight, rear legs of beech.
Label TextWindsor chairs are characterised by their shaped, plank seats with the legs and back elements tenoned into the seat. Chairs of this sort appear in 18th century English paintings and prints being used in gardens and on porches but they also were used inside homes. Most Windsor chairs were produced of multiple types of wood for the different elements (seat, legs, back arms, and spindles) based on the properties of those woods and painted to unify the appearance and protect the surface. Green was a common early color. First produced in England, American Windsor chairmakers copied the form imburing their products with distinct regional design characteristics.This example, with its cabriole shaped front legs, and hooped or bow back is of a type produced in the Thames River Valley, west of London, England.