Armchair, upholstered

Date1810-1830

OriginAmerica, Virginia, Fairfax County, Mount Vernon (possibly)

MediumTulip poplar and oak; linen, webbing, and curled hair.

DimensionsOH: 46"; OW: 33"; OD: 26"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1996-801

DescriptionArmchair with rectangular back and rounded crest rail, upholstered over crest rail and inside of stiles; trapezoidal seat upholstered half over the front and side rails; upholstered flat arms with rounded ends extending past arm supports that extend into front leg; straight front legs, chamfered on all corners, taper above seat rail to arms and below seat rail to metal castors; rear legs, chamfered on all corners, taper below seat rail to metal castors, taper above seat rail forming stiles; rectangular front, side, and rear stretchers.
ProvenanceTradition that armchair was made by slaves at Mt. Vernon.

Per vendor (by phone, 2019), an unknown woman brought the chair to his aunt Mary Moss's upholstery shop located on MacArthur Boulevard in Washington DC sometime in the 1950s to have the chair reupholstered. This woman offered the tradition that the chair was made for George Washinton by his slaves at Mount Vernon. She never returned to pick up the chair following the upholstery work and Moss kept the chair until 1990 when it was passed on to her nephew. The location of the aunt's shop in Washington DC lends minor credence to the idea that the chair was made at Mount Vernon given its close proximity to Washington DC. [At the time of this phone call, venodor also said the chair was accompanied by a large piece of original, unattached upholstery that was the same in appearance as the more modern textle used by Moss. However, no surviving scrap of material is known or documented to have entered the collection at the time of acquisition. The vendor, who is now elderly, might not recall all details perfectly; he had previously mentioned that the woman who brought the chair to his aunt's shop had the original textile remnant but did not return with it when she did not pick up her chair].